In sports, sometimes heart can matter more than height, but this was about as lopsided as it gets.
College basketball tipped off today, and we’re officially in the busiest part of the sports calendar. NFL, NBA, NHL, and now both college football and basketball are all going on at the same time.
It’s a lot to keep track of, though sometimes things happen amongst the chaos that deserve their own time in the spotlight. This hilarious tip-off from college basketball is one of those spotlight worthy moments.
The Samford Bulldogs were matching up against the Purdue Boilermakers and their All-American candidate Zach Edey, who is 7’4″ tall. With the Bulldogs not expected to really compete in the game, their coach opted to not take himself too seriously, and let some Samford fans in on a little stunt they were going to pull.
Before we get to the video of the stunt, we first have to understand the “why,” which is explained in this video below by Samford Head Coach Bucky McMillan:
“Every game is going to start with a jump ball. Some say to win that jump ball, you gotta have height. I disagree. It’s not about height, it’s about heart.
When we take on the Purdue Boilermakers…we’re playing against 7’4″ All-American candidate Zach Edey. Some say 7’4″, some say 7’10”. We’ve got a secret weapon for that jump ball (and) his name is Dallas Graziani.
We’ve got some intense training we’re gonna be doing over the next five days to show you how big Dallas Graziani at 5’7″ (can be).”
First off, that’s hilarious, and I love that they don’t mind going into the game knowing they are an underdog and having a little bit of fun. Secondly, a lot of people thought that this was all just a big joke to get people to tune into the game, and that Samford wouldn’t have the guts to do it.
Well, we now have video proof that Coach McMillan stuck to his word and sent out 5’7″ (and a half) Dallas Graziani out for the tip against the towering Zach Edey, and as you might imagine, the height actually beat out the heart (at least in this situation).
Take a look:
So close, yet so far away…
