Kentucky once blocked a free throw to try to win a game | Weird Rules Ep 3

The NCAA rulebook knew Billy Gillespie was going to be trouble, so they made sure to include a note about what happens when you goaltend a free throw. What they couldn’t have expected was him trying to use that rule to his advantage.
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[@SecretBaseSBN]

Thanks for taking a moment to enjoy how dumb sports can be. If you know a story involving a weird, obscure, outlandish, outdated, unbelievable, inescapable, insurmountable, diabolical, what was I saying...just tell us the weird rules you know and we'll do the rest. -Will Buikema

[@TheGiftof7PRESENTS]

SB Nation good info. Never knew this happened

[@rgndsnali]

you asked for this, you never cover soccer (real football) with these kind of videos. two nice examples from german bundeliga would be: Schalke 04 in 2001 or Bremen vs. Hamburg 2009 (all games that year). check it out! edit rules are more interesting with Schalke here

[@SecretBaseSBN]

Surprise surprise, next Thursday we're dropping a soccer episode of Weird Rules. I'll check out what you mentioned though, thanks! -Will Buikema

[@paddyokay.]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_4-2_Grenada_(1994_Caribbean_Cup_qualification) this may well make an entertaining video. It was in both team’s interest to score an own goal to advance them to the next round of the tournament because of a ludicrous rule.

[@quadparty]

It's cricket, but it's high level cricket (an international), but you don't seem to have done one on the en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_bowling_incident_of_1981

[@jbaillie]

Why not include the game footage of this?

[@BoleDaPole]

christiandoritos thanks

[@jbaillie]

+christiandoritos you the real MVP

[@Empathyyy]

copyright

[@jamespang5345]

christiandoritos thx

[@BenDover-hh8hx]

Yeah just wasted 3min of my life listening to the most pointless conversation... when it just required a 40 sec clip

[@SimuLord]

Sounds like when Luis Suarez intentionally committed a handball at the end of the extra time period to stop Ghana scoring a goal against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup. Sure, he got a red card and Ghana got a penalty kick, but when Ghana missed it and the match went to penalty kicks tied 1:1, Uruguay won the shootout 4:2 and went on to place third at that tournament, the country's best finish since winning it in 1950. When your alternative is certain defeat, doing something wild and horribly unlikely in the slim chance of victory is all you can do.

[@stevencooke6451]

Never understand why he was villified for that. If he doesn't use his hands his team has a 0% chance of winning. The odds of Gyan missing that PK and then Uruguay winning in penalty kicks is not great but definitely greater than 0.

[@CalSticks]

like deliberately fouling the best player on the other team to ensure they get injured and can’t play; it increases your chance of winning, but it’s pretty unsporting

[@stevencooke6451]

@@CalSticks Not quite the same thing. It wasn't as if Suarez broke someone's leg to prevent a winning goal. It's equivalent to fouling someone on a last second layup if the defender also got tossed on the play and was suspended for the next game.

[@matiasaraya5451]

@@stevencooke6451 It is considered very unsportsmanlike to stop a goal with your hands, on the level of breaking someone's leg.

[@Philltrill6]

steven cooke tbh gyan would’ve made it had the ball not been so bouncy which was weird for all the players if I remember

[@dabbydabby6484]

Smart coaching if you think about it

[@MrDarkKobe24]

I disagree. The odds of the other team missing those two free throws are way too low in order for this to be an effective method (especially if the other team has their best FT shooter). It's more likely that the free throw shooter either: A: Makes it on purpose to go up by 3. Now you can inbound the ball with 1.2 left and maybe get a good look. B: Misses it so badly that the ball doesn't hit the rim. Now you inbound the ball only down 2. C: Misses it of the rim and you have a chance to win the game with a full court shot. While option C gives you a low chance at winning, I would rather take my chances at the shooter doing A or B than to goaltend the free throw.

[@ashantinyongo7632]

Nah that was a pretty stupid idea to take that chance.

[@blaze5053]

Ur backs against the wall you are trying everything

[@salacommander2674]

MrDarkKobe24 Ehhhh college players aren't so great at free throws...

[@Somm_RJ]

Ashanti Nyongo Genius. 1/1000 chance is better than 0/1 chance.

[@NBAInsider]

Im really loving this channel!

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

Ayyyyy man

[@user-qu8hs9bc2h]

Thanks

[@GrandDaddyCough]

@@user-qu8hs9bc2h no problem

[@sleepful1917]

@@user-qu8hs9bc2h no problem

[@sleepful1917]

@@user-qu8hs9bc2h woah travis is that you ??

[@AyoJeezy]

Hey man he’s just thinking of every way they can win the game

[@htx-brad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6eVe5lvbMSkbMU

[@daviddechamplain5718]

"Rife with joys and wonderful anecdotes" made my day.

[@Half_Centaur]

In order for this to work, Georgia would have had to miss two free throws. They choose who shoots, and I'm guessing that person would be about an 80% FT shooter. That means a 1 in 25 chance of them missing both (in theory). Then, Kentucky has to get off an inbound pass, and shoot a desperation 3-pointer. I'll give them a 25% chance of pulling that off. Then, they would go to 2OT, where they'd have a theoretical 50% chance of winning. Overall, their odds were, at best, 1 in 200 of this working out. Probably not worth the effort since they might've had better odds of just getting the rebound after the missed FT and putting up a full-court shot for the win.

[@tpoli5447]

Ya you could go either way, but it is more like a 10 percent chance of making the 3 to tie it

[@Half_Centaur]

T Poli Yeah, you're probably right. With only 1.2 seconds to shoot, 10% might be closer. I change their odds to 1 in 500. That's miracle territory.

[@OfficerJakeyPoo]

Half_Centaur they only would've needed to make one. If they miss one then they get to inbound the ball. Miss the 2nd one rather

[@Half_Centaur]

Jacob Diaz ummmm, what?

[@Somm_RJ]

Half_Centaur Doesn't matter, that was still a genius idea. Not that I doubt people's knowledge about the rules, but because of coming out with something with the tight situation they are in. Better have 1/500 or even 1/1000 than having 0/1 chance.

[@vontosmagicmurderbag2611]

I think the odds of Georgia missing both technical free throws with their best shooter are probably lower than the odds of them accidentally making the second regular free throw.

[@mastod0n1]

Watching a clip of the shot it looks like the Georgia player wasn't even trying to miss the free throw.

[@coasteringkid]

I don't like the interview aspect of this series. Just elongates the video with meaningless conversation instead of focusing on the story

[@SecretBaseSBN]

Thanks for the genuine feedback, what we are trying to do is essentially have someone unfamiliar with the topic (as hopefully many viewers are as well) to then help us dive into aspects of it hadn't been thought about by Ryan. Usually this leads us into goof territory, but sometimes it's the same genuine interest that we had in the first place and think a lot of people have who come to watch videos on KZbin. Not sure if that makes sense, but if you have suggestions for how we could do that better please let us know. We're making these for you, so want to best serve you -Will Buikema

[@airforce9872]

make it less cringe thanks

[@billybob9964]

SB Nation You should put some decorations in that black room. Maybe some plants on either side of you. Ferns are beautiful plants.

[@TheGreatBrownShark]

SB Nation so you bring in someone who knew a college basketball COACH? The person was obviously familiar with basketball. This video was too cringe to handle and didn’t even have footage of the game :/

[@walker1984]

This may be more effective with actual clips from the game you are talking about.

[@BrokawTom]

I like this series. Jon bois does his own thing. This is nice.

[@htx-brad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6eVe5lvbMSkbMU

[@richard_the_piano_man]

Want something similar? 1976 NBA Finals, Game 5 - 2nd overtime - John Havlicek scores with 1 second left to put the Boston Celtics up by 1 point over the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix has no timeouts remaining, but the clock stops on a made basket. (Plus the crowd at the Boston Garden went berserk on Havlicek's basket and stormed the floor, thinking the game was over). Normally, Phoenix would get the ball back with 1 second left underneath their own basket (meaning they have to go the length of the floor to have a chance to score). BUT - there were 2 NBA rules with loopholes that the Suns exploited - 1) calling a timeout when you have no timeouts remaining results in a technical foul, with the opposing team being awarded ONE free throw, and 2) after a technical foul, the team that committed the technical foul was awarded the ball at HALF COURT (and not under the basket). So - with Phoenix down one point with 1 second to go and with no timeouts remaining, they call a timeout they don't have. Technical foul assessed - JoJo White of the Celtics makes the free throw - Celtics now up by 2 points, but the Suns get the ball at half-court instead of under the basket (and a better chance to score and tie the game - remember that the 3-point shot didn't exist in the NBA in 1976). Garfield Heard of the Suns makes an impossible turning jumpshot to tie the game and send it to a 3rd overtime period.

[@bradleybalsters6070]

dude I watched this game live when I was a kid and I was starting to wonder if I imagined this happening lol

[@lamakicker69]

“Not all free throws are free” *tells story about giving up a free point on said free throw*

[@wk3820]

Kentucky also once had a coach allow a team to score a TD late in a football game just so we could try to score a TD ourselves and go for 2 to tie the game. And it almost worked. The 2-pt conversion was dropped in the end zone!

[@garymarcum4025]

This game and tournament in general was surreal with the tornado and having to move venues and just the run that Georgia made was insane

[@ryanparker3898]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been a documentary on Billy cyldes time at Kentucky. One of the most bizarre tenures to have ever happened in coaching history.

[@DrSayre]

Really should be... everything from waiting on Billy Donovan to a tornado at the SEC Tournament, blocking a free throw to Alan Cutler chasing Gillispie out of town and watching a door for 2 days until Calipari was hired. We weren't good, but those 2 years were fun looking back on them.

[@Cha0sDunk]

I really like this series

[@sabenbrooks986]

You guys should go a weird rules on how Mike Vrabel exploited the rules about timing in the 2020 divisional round in order to ultimately help his team win

[@aceman5099]

I was at that game. One of about 2,000 people. It was the SEC Tournament in Atlanta where a Tornado hit the Georgia Dome on Friday night so they had to postpone the game until Saturday morning where they moved the rest of the game to Georgia Tech's arena due to part of the roof being torn off the dome. I was also in the dome when the Tornado hit, scary stuff.

[@koobyroory]

I love this channel! I find myself watching every new series you put out!

[@gurt9222]

King Luke this sint new you minecraft kid

[@paulnamalomba194]

I miss this series...but great work SBN!

[@StoicTheGeek]

I know you’re focused on American sports, but the Trevor Chappell incident from the 1981 Aus vs NZ cricket match is notorious and even 30 years later sparks bitter contempt towards the Aus team from New Zealander’s. It’s perfect for your channel - taking advantage of a technicality never taken out of the rules from a former version of the game.

[@D0cSwiss]

Ooh, yeah, that'd be a good one

[@ThiagoLamelo92]

Bring the Bois back

[@htx-brad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6eVe5lvbMSkbMU

[@hayleydanvers1614]

I've subscribed for these weird rules videos. Keep these going.

[@DerKiesch]

Hmm... saw the game footage. What made this more unreasonable in hindsight is, that seemingly the player shooting the freethrow actually tried to sink it (the shot looks quite good). So the goaltending might not have been needed because if the throw was a hit, they'd still have had 1.2 seconds on the clock.

[@jacobhernandez2412]

A cold one with the bois

[@Crushblow]

I removed ad block just to watch a 20 second ad and a video that didnt show any video of what the video was discussing. good job

[@EE-gv9wt]

This is good but not pretty good

[@pingvins909]

best comment here

[@htx-brad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6eVe5lvbMSkbMU

[@beasty.4120]

What a amazing coach...I wouldn't think about that if I was the coach..

[@ShawnMcClurg]

this is a cool series

[@PepperCoyotes]

OOH! Is Elena the same person that identified the first "dab" in the Jon Bois DeVry highest scoring college basketball video? I love these vids btw. Keep them coming,

[@andrewschaeffer5241]

I think so, and she also in his "NOOOOO" video

[@tombstonejones9581]

You are correct.

[@andrewschaeffer5241]

amen

[@PoorlyPlayingMagic]

I believe that Elena Bergeron is the editor in chief at SB Nation

[@virajd7429]

Pepper Coyote badminton

[@lucasj.lovekin6776]

that so funny when my friends and i would play outdoor basketball with a clock we would have to do this all the time. never thought it actually happened. we didn’t have the technical rule though

[@julianacruz9024]

a basketball team in the Philippines was down 1 point and have a possession and no timeout left with two seconds in the clock,they make a timeout call to interrupt the game because it cause them a technical and a one free throw shot to the opponent and that is the time to have gather and make a plan for a play but sadly the last shot doesnt go in but many are amaze with that very rare basketball strategy.

[@CJ-ck2hp]

This video was awesome!

[@husker53j]

Thanks for showing a video clip of it👍🏻

[@antonioflores4240]

This is great 😂

[@sagacious03]

Okay video! Thanks for uploading!

[@harharhar696969]

Ahhh like my economics professor always taught: there is no such thing as a “free” throw

[@RiverM8rix]

If you’re talking about weird rules, I would suggest looking into Carlisle, which was a school that contributed the most to the banned play and item lists, while also popularized pass plays

[@juniorfibroso]

Awesome, congrats for the video

[@ArrangedNoiseFan]

I don’t even watch sports, but I love this series

[@absolutelypro4612]

Even though it didn’t work? Gotta give coach the props for pulling this outta his playbook

[@nathanpryer715]

Anyone have a link to the final moments of this game?

[@davidbilly3766]

As a UK fan sadly I remember this game

[@antoniojosemartinezsalas6463]

00:01 they were very ahead of the meme

[@100kSUBSCRIBERchallenge81]

Not big on basketball but why couldn't the Georgia FT shooter hit the final of his extra 2 FT off the backboard?

[@ajh22895]

In Rugby, it's possible to block a penalty. The penalty only applies fully when kicked out on the full. So it is possible for a team to intercept the ball before it goes out, thus retaking possession and negating the penalty. They still lose ground but the other team doesn't get a set of 6.

[@thebasketballhistorian3291]

1. Intentionally foul to stop the clock. 2. Other team intentionally misses to drain the clock. 3. First team goaltends the intentional miss to get a technical and stop the clock again. 4. If the other team misses a technical free throw, the first team goes for a 3-pointer to tie the game. The last seconds of a basketball game is always a chess match.

[@Dizzinator2114]

The funny thing is if you look up the video the coach is swinging his arm yelling goaltend! Goaltend!

[@TheShachattack13]

The video title made me laugh

[@koriommangek1534]

TheShachattack13 lol

[@hoosierhell7456]

I know that SB Nation stands for Sports Blog Nation but it should honestly be Sports Ball Nation

[@notoriousnutter958]

SB nation helped me write a big ass essay.

[@cameronpalmer401]

This had me thinking John Calipari had Nerlens Noel goaltend a free throw.

[@_Maxten]

makes sense, they dont have any more time outs so its a game of chance so they'll end up getting to inbound

[@CAF51]

I like this new series, good sketches alongside the discussion, but I just wish you would splice in a few bits of historical footage/pictures alongside.

[@serjaimelannister6630]

Damn son. Bois was out there on the court playing 10D chess

[@DevveIoper]

It would be nice if you showed the video of the guy blocking the shot

[@ZMW7]

I’m from Lexington, Kentucky, and so many people are die-hard UK fans

[@kh7955]

Do a video on the crazy free field goal rule in the nfl

[@joshuacorazza260]

Very awkward conversation but still enjoyed the vid

[@scrappy8823]

I was hoping too see proof but hey I loved the vid anyway👌🏿👌🏿🤩🤓

[@henry7486]

Pat Beverly also did this when Klay Thompson was shooting a free throw.

[@leaguemaskthaamumugod7552]

OF COURSE it was while Billy G was on board. The one era of Kentucky Basketball I don't remember bc we've all tried to forget it

[@goonsdotnet7510]

RIGHT! When I saw the title, I though "this either be some Adolph Rupp play from back when the rules were weird, or a BCG play" When they said it was BCG I thought "of COURSE it was him"

[@lukamullen2190]

People have this all wrong. First of all, the ball has to touch the rim for the clock to start on a miss. Second of all, the clock doesn't start until a player rebounds it, not when it touches the rim, so they still could have had a chance.

[@lkentonon]

I mostly click on SB Nation videos for the John Bois loving comment sections

[@WesleyImboden]

Yo I remember this but I was a kid and had no idea it was planned 😂

[@TheShachattack13]

If the strategy worked, it would’ve gone down as the smartest coaching decision in the history of college basketball

[@ozanozenir2503]

more like a huge choke for the opposing team.

[@mattcelder]

I waited 3 minutes and 31 seconds for them to show the game film but they never did... These videos are best if you just read the title then go find the actual video somewhere else

[@epifaniocortez]

this was a nothing to lose scenario...one must take risk and not afraid of failing

[@brettlaing752]

Where tf is John bois? Bring him back

[@jackalman718]

LMAO

[@JeremyWhy]

He at least gave them a chance. LOL! They were guaranteed to lose in the traditional scenario. 😂

[@CAL4Eagles]

found the topic interesting then realized it was sb nation

[@imthrillz5255]

I figured they would show the clip

[@BudStickly]

It's ok, we got Coach Cal a few weeks later

[@nonamelegend_vapor]

Traveshamockery.... I remember that commercial

[@ESmaniak]

Old white dudes go ham over college basketball. Respect ✊🏽

[@lukeedwards4707]

such a good video

[@SpongeBobaFett]

Air Force vs BYU around 2008-10. Got a penalty called in them for "intention to deceive" after running a successful trick play with about a 21 point lead

[@jamiecollett8840]

Except Billy Clyde stated after the game he didn't know it would result in a technical. He thought goaltend, shot counts, get ball back down 3 with 1.2 seconds left.

[@akivapoppers2296]

The best application of this rule would be if down by 1, 1.5 seconds left. Here the odds are too small because they were down by 2. Interesting idea though!

[@joshrhinehart]

Couldn't he instead have just gotten a lane violation intentionally as many times as necessary until the shooter either made the free throw or air-balled the free throw while attempting to miss on purpose? What would have prevented that strategy from working?

[@sneakywalrustoucher6196]

If he were to have missed the first I could see this having a chance at being effective. They go up two with the goal tend and hope a college player goes 1/2 at least. I’d like the chances of tying on the chance of a college player missing a free throw and our team inbounding for 3 more than the I like the odds of winning on a full court shot.

[@owenjohnson469]

For the record he did just yell out “Hey goaltend!”

[@UMAKEMESMILESWACKIN]

i had a story once the Philippine men's team tried to shoot the ball on their opponents basket to try to trim the lead for the quotient system but were prevented by the referee

[@sth02]

Hey! Anyone else recognize Elena from one of Jon's stories?

[@uncledavid5344]

I don’t think I understand what Kentucky was thinking (or maybe the guy in the video didn’t explain it right). Georgia is up by 1. They go to the foul line to shoot 2 free-throws. They make 1, going up by 2. Then, in Kentucky’s mind, Georgia is going to intentionally miss the 2nd free-throw by throwing it hard off the backboard. So Kentucky intentionally goal tends. Georgia then gets 1 point, going up by 3, and 2 more free throws, which Kentucky is hoping Georgia will miss both. BUT, if Georgia misses the first one, why would they not stick to the original plan of missing the 2nd free-throw intentionally by throwing it hard off the backboard?

[@uncledavid5344]

I feel like what happened was a Kentucky player tried to steal the ball early and then some fake story about some convoluted plan involving weird sports rules was created; either by Kentucky to help the player save face or this white guy who looks like he gets sunburned by sitting too close to the television.

[@SecretBaseSBN]

So in your first comment, you have it right, but because those are free throws assessed from a technical foul (for the goaltend), the idea was they wouldn't lose any time off the clock when he misses both of them (or at least that's the dream scenario). It's confusing as hell.

[@uncledavid5344]

So are you saying Kentucky would have had possession of the ball after Georgia shot the technical foul free throws, even if Georgia missed? Wouldn’t Kentucky have been considered to be on defense when they committed the technical, so that Georgia should have maintained possession? My understanding is in college, if you’re on offense and commit a technical, you don’t lose possession (even though in high school you do). But why would Kentucky be considered to be on offense?

[@jamalcole1985]

Should have show the actual footage

[@rhombo323]

Sometimes coaching is more about knowing how to work the rules to your advantage than actually playing better than the other team.

[@ozanozenir2503]

and thats exactly how they lost lmao.

[@d.m.conroy6717]

the set is a great tribute to Charlie Rose

[@weekendwarrior1909]

I wonder if this will work if your team is up and wants an overtime to win in a quotient system..

[@1mfilms]

So they had two options: #1. Block the free throw. 10% chance opponent's best FT shooter misses technical FT. Maybe 30% chance to make game-tying inbound 3-pointer. #2. Let them intentionally miss. 75% chance to grab rebound but 2.5% chance to make full court shot. Option #1 seems best.

[@bballdragon5]

That was a low-key smart move because if he did nothing he would have had no chance of winning. Do nothing: Other team misses on purpose, you have to fight for rebound, and with no timeouts, you can't really do anything. Goaltend: Best case scenario, team misses technical free throw and you have a chance to tie. Worst case scenario, you are down 4 with basically no chance of winning unless you get a 4-pt play (the other team has to play some form of defense because otherwise they would just lob it for a quick 2pt dunk and go for a steal, of course they should give 3pt shooters plenty of space, but fouls can also be called off-ball). Either way, both of those options in my mind have a higher probability than getting a rebound within 1.2 secs and firing a full-court shot off without being blocked in time. If it had worked, he would have been considered a genius.

[@lil_a7teraglow690]

Well when you shoot a free throw it has to touch the rim unless it's an airball so the defense could box out and have 1 player cherry picking so the defense would get the ball and through the ball to the other side of the court for a 2 and tie the game

[@mrmacross]

I am of the impression that in the 2019 Finals, Golden State did their own spin on intentional technical fouls to prevent time running off the clock. So when Draymond was laying on the floor at halfcourt with 1 second to go and GSW down a point, he called a timeout GSW didn't have. And because the NBA doesn't have an automatic runoff the way the NFL does (but really, after the Jason Kidd soda incident, they should...), GSW was granted a timeout at the expense of a technical foul. And then it got really fishy when Toronto had to run an in-bounds play, and the refs called a foul without letting a single tenth of a second run off the clock. In the end, it didn't work because Kawhi hit all three free throws to put the game out of reach, but just like Kentucky in this play, they manipulated technical fouls in order to preserve time on the game clock.

[@camerongreen2077]

Traditionally city site either strict specifically signal certainly collective useful.

[@Sprecherfuchs]

Can someone help me out, i don't know enough about basketball. Why is it better to block a free throw and hope they miss the next two, than just hope they miss the one that they have left??

[@bwburke94]

This is why the NFHS rule is better. Two shots and the ball for technicals.

[@doodlingfresh1265]

Plz do a video on lonzo ball like u did on Ben Simmons

[@spaceracer23]

Any story that ends with Kentucky losing is a good story.