Student Wins $10k From Half-Court Shot, Gives It to Grandmother

Some might use $10,000 on a nice vacation getaway or one of those 3D televisions, but this student used her winnings to pay grandma’s bills.

University of Kansas (KU) student Jordan Stiers won a hefty amount of prize money from a half-court shot at her school’s annual event ringing in the new basketball season and dedicated it toward her paternal grandmother, whom raised her and her siblings.

“I was just thinking about my Nana and what I was going to do to help her,” Stiers told The Kansas City Star, after she won. “I’ve always thought about that one question: ‘If you win so much money, what are you going to do with it?’ And she’s helped me a lot in my life, so pay it forward.”

Stiers, one of five children, was rescued by her Nana, Roxanne Edwards, from foster care at age 10, along with her four siblings.

“She’s taken care of us, so I’m going to take care of her,” said the grateful student.

Stiers’ victory cash was made possible through mostly luck, as she won the raffle for the chance, but also some skill as her decision to cast Brennan Bechard, director of KU basketball operations, to deliver the attempt.

Bechard made the same half-court shot at last year’s annual event, called Late Night in the Phog, for another student in the same situation as Stiers.

“I saw he won, and I was like, ‘Double or nothing,’” Stiers said.

Upon winning a second time, Bechard was greeted by (and ran away at first from) his team who celebrated in the best way possible – tackling him to the ground.

That moment when you win $10,000 from Coach Self.#KUlatenight pic.twitter.com/iRf6KARbqL

— University of Kansas (@UnivOfKansas) October 2, 2016