Matt Steven can't see the hoop, Still takes the last shot

A few seconds left. The game teeters on these two free throws. The shooter gulps. The packed gym goes silent, save for the tapping of a white cane on the back of the rim. That's right. The shooter's brother is under the hoop, rapping a cane on the rim. That's because the shooter, Matt Steven, is blind.

So why is a blind kid in a competitive CYO game for sighted high schoolers in Upper Darby, Pa.? Because he doesn't like to miss anything -- especially free throws.

Matt, a senior, had been on the St. Laurence CYO team for a year and never played in a game -- never expected to. "He just likes being on the team," says Matt's brother and coach, Joe. Matt shoots free throws every practice, though, making about half. And that's what gave Joe a crazy, unthinkable, wonderful idea.

Before a charity tourney this past February, Joe asked the other teams if Matt could shoot all of St. Laurence's free throws. Amazingly, they agreed. So did the refs. A blind kid was going to be his team's designated shooter. Hey, it's still better than Shaq.

Did that make Matt nervous? "Nah," he says. "I shoot 'em all the time!"


Matt Steven is blind, but that didn't stop him from being a hoops hero.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3967807

He is better than some college and pro players. Shaq should take lessons.

What makes him so good?

That kid...sure plays a mean roundball!

OK, joking aside, this is an amazing story. This may be another instance where other senses have developed to compensate for one that is impaired (or missing, in this case). He's apparently trained all the muscles involved in shooting free-throws to respond in the same nothing-but-net way repeatedly. His hearing could possibly help him line up with the backboard and goal, but I suspect it's more a matter of musculoskeletal training than anything.

Anyway, it's a terrific, inspiring story.

called "A Sense of Where You Are." When Bradley was at Princeton, he used to practice hook shots and could make them without having the basket in his sights. He knew where he was just because of sheer repetition, and he could make them with his eyes closed. Pete Maravich could make some ungodly shots without looking.

I think this kid has a remarkable sense of where he is.