Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ball State University freshman wins free tuition after scoring half-court basketball shot

Higher education in the US has been a hot topic recently after student debt doubled over the past two decades to $1.2trillion

Aftab Ali
Tuesday 25 August 2015 07:16 EDT
Comments
(Ball State University/YouTube)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

One student will definitely be able to sleep better during the start of his university experience after he won free tuition for an entire semester – by scoring a half-court shot at a basketball game.

Lem Turner, a freshman at Ball State University in Indiana, was chosen at random from the crowd during the university’s welcome week celebrations to make the shot for the chance to win the $11,000 (£6,964) prize.

After taking to the court, the student, originally from Illinois, dribbled the ball a few times before leaning forward to make the jaw-dropping shot, after which the stadium reacted in the best possible way:

The student, however, has had a history of playing basketball at high school, but it is unknown whether he will be continuing on with the sport while at university.

This is the second time in three years a student has made a half-court shot at the beginning of the university term.

Higher education in the US has been a hot topic recently as costs and student underperformance has been soaring. In line with this, student debt in the country has doubled over the past two decades to a staggering $1.2trillion.

Presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, has placed the future of education at the top of her agenda and said no student should have to get themselves into debt to make their way through university.

To make further education more affordable in the country, Mrs Clinton has outlined a ten-year long plan, worth $350 billion, which, she said, will be “fully paid for by limiting certain tax expenditures for high-income taxpayers.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in