Blindfolded coach hits half-court shot, foils prank

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Joel Branstrom figured he was about to be the butt of some kind of joke when he was blindfolded at a pep rally and told he would win tickets to the NCAA's Final Four if he could hit a half-court shot.

But the popular girls basketball coach played along and sent the Olathe (Kan.) Northwest High School gym into a frenzy Friday by hitting the improbable shot.

"I've been around long enough and done these kinds of practical jokes," said Branstrom, who also teaches biology at the suburban Kansas City school. "I figured they were trying to punk me."

Before launching the shot, Branstrom figured he was about to be hit in the face with a pie, so he held the ball up as protection for a few seconds.

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/01/26/20100126Half-court-shot-26-ON.html

A video isn't at the link but probably somewhere, I saw the video on the local news as well as ESPN.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1707302.html

That was cool.

That's hard enough to do WITHOUT being blindfolded.

Hopefully the NCAA or one of the colleges will come across with some seats for the guy to tie into the publicity.