College basketball players who scored one, and only one, basket in their careers

A deep dive into extremely hard work for very little reward ... or so it seems.

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This story originally appeared in Athlon’s college basketball annual preview.

You only get one shot

Every now and then I get an idea and wring out of it as much as I can. This is an example of that. I wanted to write about NCAA college basketball players who scored one, and only one, basket in their careers. I wanted to ask about their big moment and also why they bothered, whether their endless hours of commitment only to ride the bench nearly all game every game was worth it. They were mostly eager to answer those questions, though sometimes they thought the entire thing was a prank.

I eventually wrote this story, plus two others with completely different interview subjects, for alumni magazines.

I researched the backgrounds of a bunch of these players, chosen randomly based on the uniqueness of their last names so I could find them easily (an old reporting trick), and I was struck by the fact that every single one I looked up went on to a successful post-playing career. They are doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs and professors and on and on.

The scrubs became stars, just in other fields.

You haven’t heard of any of these guys, and there’s no reason you should have. They played Division 1 college basketball, in the strict definition of that phrase. But they didn’t play much.

I can relate sort of. I was a quite terrible player on my freshmen basketball team. I was slow and uncoordinated and often passed it to the wrong team. But I scored one and only one basket off a feed from my great good friend Dave Reed after a missed free throw.

These one-shot wonders talked about the highs (many) and lows (same) of being at the far end of the bench. To a man, they loved their time on the team, no matter how small their roles were.

Our panel:

Duke Antonelli, 2012-14, Wake Forest

Chris Ebersole, 2009-10, Stanford, now the director of player development and experience for the Lakers

Garland Gantt, 2003-4, Hawaii, now an attorney near Washington, D.C.

Casey Langel, 2000-1, Colgate, now an attorney near Philadelphia

Frank Tanner, 2012-13, UNC, now a financial analyst in Raleigh, N.C.

Dan Wuebben, 1997-98, SLU, now a PhD and professor in Spain

Justin Hoeveler, 2005-6, Northwestern, now an MBA and CEO of Youth Enrichment Brands

Practice

All of these players dreamed of playing big-time college basketball. The irony is that to fulfill that dream, they spent a lot of time on the scout team pretending to be someone else.

WUEBBEN

I was kind of a utility guy. I could practice with the guards or practice with the big guys. I knew both of those positions. They had some issues that year keeping guys on scholarship. They really needed guys to practice. That’s why I got picked up as a walk-on.

GANTT

I always had to emulate the opposing team’s point guard to prepare our team’s point guard. Which was a lot of fun, actually.

ANTONELLI

Whenever we’d play N.C. State, because I was such a good shooter, they would have me be Scott Wood. He was my favorite scout player to be because I just had the green light. It was funny—every time I was Scott Wood, I would make a ton of 3s on (the first team), and the coaches would get pretty mad at the guys. So I had a good time.

TANNER

I think Scott Wood probably takes the cake on that. Joe Harris (Virginia) is second. The offense N.C. State ran, they put Scott Wood running across the baseline. He’d pop up on the wing and step into his shot and just launch it. I could shoot from six, seven feet outside the three-point line. The instruction (to the first team) was don’t let me get the shot off. If I launched it, it was a win for me. My only objective was to shoot it.

EBERSOLE

During that era, Pac 10 basketball was exceptionally strong. I was a point guard-shooting guard combo. I got to play Darren Collison, I got to be O.J. Mayo, Jerome Randle from Cal, Aaron Brooks from Oregon, guys who were really exceptional players. I had the green light to shoot from anywhere. The coaches said, if you have a sliver of space, put the ball up, because that’s what the opponent is going to do. It was fun having the green light on the scout team and being able to imitate those really awesome players. I’m not sure how well I did it, but I did my best impression.

HOEVELER

I planned tennis and basketball in high school. I was able to walk on to the tennis team (at Northwestern). I redshirted my first year, played for three years, worked my way up into a little bit of a scholarship. I had a desire to give basketball a shot.

They had me be J.J. Sullinger. It wasn’t the big one (Jared). It was his brother, who was at Ohio State before he was.

Getting in

The home crowd always loves the walk-ons. They cheered when they entered the game, and when they scored … bedlam. Here’s a dirty little secret: The walk-ons first thought upon getting into the game was not, I’m going to do everything in my power to score. No, it was considerably less ambitious than that.

GANTT

I was a local guy. I was from Hawaii. I went to high school there. Whenever there was a blowout, people—or at least my close friends—would try to get the crowd rallying up to put me in the game. It made me feel silly.

HOEVELER

I think that would have been a little tough. I didn’t want that Rudy persona. Not that it’s any sort of the same passion for Northwestern basketball as there was for Notre Dame football.

WUEBBEN

The first thought is, I don’t want to get embarrassed. The second thought is, Pass me the ball. I very much remember getting in and thinking, I’m going to shoot as soon as I get the ball.

ANTONELLI

My first thought is, Don’t screw up. You’re a little uncomfortable. You don’t want to mess up.

GANTT

I don’t want to look like an idiot. I don’t want to get a turnover. When the opportunity presented itself to get a shot up, of course. I think every guy who doesn’t play wants to let it fly. But my mindset wasn’t, Get a bucket. My mindset was, Don’t eff up.

TANNER

There’s a phrase for UNC walk ons—“we want biscuits.” If you get 100 points at UNC, Bojangles has a deal the next day (two sausage biscuits for $1). So the walk-ons are usually the players who come in for point No. 100. So that would be chanted.

EBERSOLE

When the score was not close, and the under 4 (minutes) timeout came and went, I started to prepare my mind that I may get in here. It’s a tricky thing to do. You’re sitting for pretty much the entire game. The nerves are a huge factor. As much as you can do in practice, there’s no way to replicate the game. And you have so few opportunities to get in, those nerves stay with you, for sure. I think I played 12 or 13 minutes over my quote unquote career. So those nerves never evaporated. I was always nervous going into the game.

One game, I had a close-to-open look from three and a guy running at me. I pump faked and drove. There’s pictures from that play where the bench is right behind me. A few of my best friends on the team have this dejected look on their face. Like, you’re driving? Why didn’t he shoot it? It’s pretty funny. They knew that was one I should have taken, and looking back, I probably should have. But I was trying to make the right play, so I thought, drive and kick.

HOEVELER

I didn’t really have a burning desire to shoot it. It’s kind of hard to sit on the bench for two hours, have very little game experience, come in and have very little feel or rhythm and shoot a shot. (The shot he made is the only one he ever took.)

WUEBBEN

Once you get on the court, the crowd kind of disappeared. It wasn’t until I scored and heard all these people … wow, this place is really full.

The shot

More than one player thought the request for an interview about making one and only one basket might be a prank from a family member, friend or teammate. Gantt joked he’d be happy to discuss, “the greatest three-pointer ever.” These guys remember almost every detail about their one shining moment and recall feeling a sense of accomplishment, mixed with relief, after the ball dropped through the net.

LANGEL

I can tell you where on the court I was, who made the assist, and the name of the guy who was guarding me, mostly because that guy’s name was really unique—his name’s Commander King. I think he’s still a basketball coach out on the West Coast somewhere (at a high school in Arizona).

There was a long rebound to a guy named Bill Kern, who I’m still friends with today. He’s a heady point guard. He pushed it over half court. I ran the right wing. I probably stopped somewhere around 25 feet. Guys don’t like to guard you that far away from the hoop. He found me. It’s one of those ones where the coach goes, “no, no, no, you’re too far away!” and gives you a “yes!” when it goes in.

I anticipated it being one of dozens, if not 100 more threes in my college career. (An injury shortly after that one basket forced Langel to give up his basketball career.)

GANTT

I was at the right angle, a diagonal shot. It came to me. There was a guy from Tulsa running out at me. But I had enough space to get the shot off. It was all net. The place erupted. I remember running down with my hands up holding up the three points sign. It was one of the greatest feelings I’ll probably ever have, for sure.

WUEBBEN

We were coming down, almost like a fast break situation. I think there’s a minute and a half left in the game. We’re up by 18. I got the ball on the left wing. I knew I was shooting. I did kind of a between the legs dribble toward the elbow, which is just one of those spots where if I could get the ball there, I could hit a 15-foot jumper.

Afterwards I walked out and there were little kids waiting for my autograph. I thought that was hilarious.

HOEVELER

We were down 15, 17, with a minute and a half or two minutes to go. They still had their starting guards in there. I anticipated a pass being thrown from the wing to the top of the key. I stepped in front and intercepted it.

This was a week or two weeks after I had been out for two months (with a stress fracture in his leg). I had no legs, no ability to get up—not that I really had that much to begin with—but I think I got up maybe three inches on my finishing layup, which (teammate) Tim Doyle pointed out very quickly afterward. I’m going to blame it on the injury. …

Synergy Sports was the first company to break down every basketball play and chart individual player’s skills. I worked for a sports agency. We had access to it. I was able to find the clip somehow. I can’t find it anymore. I would say (I watched it) between 10 and 15 times.

ANTONELLI

We were trying to get (teammate Doug Niedrich) a basket. We got him the ball. He was at the foul line, a little toward the right of the basket. He put up a shot. It came off the left side of the basket. I just happened to be there. I jumped up with three other Brevard guys. I tapped it back in with my right hand, from the left side. It was a great feeling.

Instantly, right after it went in, I had a huge adrenaline rush. Like, holy shit, I just scored a basket. It was honestly one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had.

From my perspective, I’m a three-point shooter. I’m a sharp shooter. That’s my thing. That’s always been my persona in the basketball world. I really would have liked to have made a three-pointer or two. But it didn’t happen. I’ll take the two.

In the locker room after the game, Niedrich came up to me and said, hey, thanks for saving my butt, Duke. He actually thanked me first. Which was kind of funny. (Editor’s  note: Niedrich played four seasons for Wake, appeared in 14 games and took seven shots. He never scored a point.)

EBERSOLE

It was actually the last game. I knew it was our last game because it was in our conference tournament. As I go in the game, I pretty much know, this is it. This is the last two minutes of our season (and my career). The game is definitely over by this point. I caught a pass on the right side. I can’t remember if I took one dribble or no dribbles. I put up like a semi-floater on the right side that banked in.

It was a real mix of emotions. You’re excited to finally score a basket and get in the stat sheet. But you also know your season is coming to an end and it’s the last time you’ll be on the court with your brothers. It was this weird state of conflicting emotions.

I got the ball again later in that game. I made a nice little move on the right side. I beat my man, took a shot from a pretty similar angle, a little floater. I just didn’t realize how much more athletic the players from the University of Washington were then me. A guy who I thought I had left in my wake on the way to the basket had already caught up and blocked it from behind out of bounds.

I was pleased with the move, so I was OK with it.

Unseen rewards

They weren’t exactly the Big Men on Campus. But playing on the team still became a pivotal time in each of these men’s lives. They made friendships that endured to this day and learned skills they have applied in their careers.

While reporting this story, Athlon randomly identified more than a dozen players from the list of 1,017, and every single one of them went on to a successful post-college career, which suggests that big stats are not the only benefit of playing college basketball. The players say they needed to be self-less and show perseverance to make it as a walk-on, and they have used those attributes since then.

ANTONELLI

It was definitely, at times, you could say almost slightly demoralizing. You weren’t as highly recognized and scoring points and playing. But it is very much rewarding in the sense you are part of a brotherhood. You really do develop close relationships with the scholarship guys. Just because you don’t get in games, they don’t treat you any differently. We’re all friends. I still have relationships with all those guys. You really do feel a part of the squad.

Looking back now, I think the value I perceive from it has changed. At the time, it was, I’m on an ACC basketball team. It was a status thing. The guys on the team were my friends. I’m also really big into fitness, so I love the fact we had a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach.

But looking back, I think the value I really got from it is the overarching experience. I never would have thought that I would be part of an ACC basketball program. You get a lot of connections. And being able to look back and say, that was awesome, I’m still friends with a ton of these guys.

GANTT

I think that the preparation of playing sports—the adversity you face, the highs and the lows—it makes being a lawyer much easier. Being able to deal with people with crazy personalities or high-pressure situations—none of the stuff that I do as a lawyer rattles me.

When I played sports I got rattled all the time. I’m guarding a guy who I’m fearful he’s going to drive right past me or I don’t have the strength to box him out—I never face that as a lawyer. I won’t say that it’s necessary, but having played sports, it gives you that personality that you can deal with stuff that other people can’t.

TANNER

The perks are always nice. You get plenty of shoes to last you a lifetime. At least the people at UNC. They’re all Jordans.

EBERSOLE

I learned that it’s important to stay with it. If you have a dream, as clichéd as it sounds, keep pushing on it, no matter how hard it gets. The manager position (Ebersole was a team manager for two seasons) is not a glamorous position. A walk-on on a team is not a glamorous position. But the rewards come along the journey.

LANGEL

Sports teaches you through the wins and the losses, the team wins and the team losses, the personal trials and tribulations, a certain level of perseverance.

Absolutely those life lessons that you learn on the court and the effort that you learn it takes to succeed on the court, or even just get out there, are always going to translate into the professional world.

EBERSOLE

If I had not scored, I would look back on it just as fondly. But it’s certainly nice to be able to tell my grandkids someday, Oh, I scored a basket at Staples Center back in my day. I think it’ll be funny and kind of cool. It definitely doesn’t change the experience. It’s definitely a footnote to a footnote in even that game’s narrative.

ANTONELLI

I think it does make a pretty significant difference in the way I think about it and remember it. Even if it’s just one bucket, it’s really nice to get a bucket. Then you can be like, You know what? I freaking scored.

But it’s absolutely 100 percent not the first thing I think of. The first thing I think of is the guys.

WUEBBEN (The local TV news did a whimsical story about the basket. One of the coaches joked that nobody knew how to pronounce his last name, so they just called him Omaha, after his hometown.)

I think getting the bucket, and then having it get that much attention, to have this kind of spoof news story about it, put it into perspective and made me appreciate it. But it didn’t change a whole lot.

We got to the second round of the NCAA tournament that year. Sitting there and watching, in the tournament, was the big thing for me. We beat UMass in the first round and then we lost to Kentucky. That was the year Tubby Smith took them to the national title. They just blew through everybody.

Winning a game in the NCAA tournament, being in the arena, being a 10 seed and beating a 7 seed, going back to the hotel, getting the vibe of being in the dance, that’s what I’ll always remember. On the list of things I remember from that year, scoring the bucket is probably third or fourth.

LANGEL

What means more to me are the baskets I made every day in practice that year playing on scout teams, getting to go at our first team guys under game-like conditions. One basket, chuck one in from 25 feet out, with maybe 2,500 people watching? I did that a ton in high school, probably with more people watching.

GANTT

I think my memories would be just as fond if I didn’t make it. I still talk to my teammates to this day.

TANNER

It feels good, obviously, to score a bucket and have your two seconds of fame. But really what I enjoyed most was making the starters and scholarship players better during practice. The main thing is the relationships and friendships you build.

There are definitely things you learn as a walk on, certain traits that you have to have, that I think serve you well. One of those is work ethic in the face of adversity or potential for not being in the spotlight. You don’t get the recognition or what most would consider the reward of playing in the games. But there are other rewards – seeing the development of other players, building those relationships.

It’s a huge privilege and a huge honor. It’s a lot of work, don’t get me wrong. But it was totally worth it.