N.Y. guard somehow hits game-winning buzzer beater from his knees
Of all the remarkable, hard-to-believe buzzer beating shots Prep Rally has seen this season, one from New York on Saturday night easily takes the cake.
As reported by YNN Rochester and submitted to Prep Rally by Rochester (N.Y.) East High shot clock operator Stephen Sickles, Rush-Henrietta (N.Y.) High edged past Greece-Athena (N.Y.) High by a score of 57-54 after a truly unlikely heave of a three slipped through the net as time expired on Saturday.
The player delivering the killer blow in the video you see above is Rush-Henrietta point guard Daniel "Bay" Barley, who somehow found a way to get himself in a shooting position while tumbling to the court as time expired. After slipping while attempting to rush the ball upcourt, Barley somehow kept his dribble as he tumbled, then collected the ball and fired up a shot from midcourt with one knee still on the ground.
"I know that the clock was running down, so I wanted to be the one with the ball and as I fell I knew to keep my dribble so I could get back up, and I got back up I was ready to shoot the ball," Barley told YNN. "I shot it and I was just praying that it would go in."
Somehow it did, and Rush-Henrietta teammates, coaches and fan went into a state of absolute bedlam.
The excitement was understandable given the shot that Barley hit, and somehow he seemed like a perfect character to come through with such a notable bucket as well. Barley has a bit of a Khalid El Amin look (remember him?) and sports flashy bright pink shoes. After hitting his shot, Barley strutted around the court with his jersey off but a full t-shirt on underneath, all while being pelted with congratulations from teammates (and at one point running over a Greece-Athena player stunned on the floor).
The miracle bucket earned Rush-Henrietta a victory in the prestigious East High Rochester Area Players Tournament, a big step boost as the team looks to earn a playoff spot down the stretch. The Royal Comets stand at 7-7 overall, with a 4-4 league record, but a few more timely buckets like Barley's could get them right into the playoff mix. Given their luck so far, one wouldn't want to bet against that, either.
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