A Three Point Day
Des Moines, Iowa (Feb. 10, 1997)-- Three days before the NBA crowned Steve Kerr of the Chicago Bulls as its long-distance champion at a three-point contest in Cleveland, Ohio, Drake University held its third annual three-point shootout at the Bell Center. The Feb. 6 competition didn't draw the hype or intensity that accompanies the NBA's all-star weekend but it did draw Zack Johnson, a junior business management major at Drake.
The competition closely mirrored the professional format. Participants were allowed 25 shots from five different stations around the three-point arc. Each basket made was worth one point, and the last ball at each station, the money ball, was worth two points.
Fifty-six enthusiastic Drake students, faculty and staff took part hoping to advance to Iowa City to face the winners from Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa. For the second time in three years, Johnson displayed his knack for sinking the long ball
Known more for his conquests on the links as a member of Drake's NCAA-qualifying and highly ranked District golf team, Johnson accumulated 23 of 30 possible points by draining four of the five money balls and hitting seven shots in a row at one stretch. Johnson easily outdistanced the competition, earning 17 points.
Remarkably, Johnson confessed that he doesn't practice shooting on a regular basis.
" I played basketball up to my sophomore year in high school," said Johnson. " Now I play intramurals with the guys on the golf team, and we shoot three-pointers all the time. But I don't go to the gym to just shoot around."
Johnson has always known, though, that he had a talent for shooting.
"Even in high school basketball, shooting was always my strong point," said Johnson. " I wasn't the best of athletes but I could shoot. I think shooting and golf go hand in hand. They both require good concentration and hand eye coordination."
When Johnson won as a freshman two years ago, the competition did not go beyond Drake. This is the second year that the winners from the four Iowa universities send their champion to Iowa City to compete for Chicago Bulls tickets.
Johnson will shoot at Carver Hawkeye Arena at halftime when the Iowa men's basketball team hosts Minnesota Feb. 16. A Cedar Rapids native and avid Hawkeye follower, Johnson is thrilled to just be attending the big game.
And of his chances, " I don't feel any pressure. If I relax and and have fun the shooting will take care of itself," Johnson said.
© 1997 CyberPress Communications, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Drake University 50311.
Back to the headlines