Akshay Zaveri, a sixth-semester mechanical engineering student, had 19 seconds to make a halfcourt shot at ESPN’s College GameDay on Feb. 24. In the final seconds, he made the shot, leaving Gampel Pavilion $19,000 richer.
When Zaveri arrived at Gampel Pavilion at 4 a.m. for UConn’s feature on ESPN’s College GameDay he did not expect to particpate in one of College GameDay’s most well known traditions — the halfcourt shot.
“We were there at four in the morning and this guy came up to four or five of us and we went to the Werth Family practice facility and took some practice shots,” Zaveri said.
‘College GameDay’ is a two-hour pre-game broadcast created by ESPN with the intent to get fans excited and ready for whatever big game is happening later that day. In this case, it was a men’s basketball game — UConn vs. Villanova. This event was especially exciting for UConn students as GameDay hadn’t made its way to Storrs in over 10 years.
Zaveri was taken to the Werth Family UConn Basketball Championship Center to show GameDay that he was capable of making a shot from halfcourt.
“When we went to the practice facility in the morning, I pretty much hit the rim on all of my shots and then one went in, so I knew I had a good chance, but then I was definitely a little nervous when it actually came down to it.”
“I was there since 4 a.m. so I hadn’t eaten or anything, so the first few shots I don’t know what happened, but I had a feeling for that last one that it was going to go in.”
Akshay Zaveri, a sixth-semester mechanical engineering student
Zaveri had just 19 seconds to get a basketball through the hoop and in the final second, he did just that.
“I was there since 4 a.m. so I hadn’t eaten or anything, so the first few shots I don’t know what happened, but I had a feeling for that last one that it was going to go in.”
When asked what was going through his mind after making the shot, he said, “I didn’t really even think about the money. It was just sick to have made it and have everyone cheering for you. All my buddies were on the side so they came down and we were all celebrating.”
He called his mom and dad prior to the shot and let them know he was going to be taking it on television. His dad was watching the moment live when it occurred.
“He just thought it was cool that I had the opportunity, and he didn’t really think I was going to make it … my mom and dad were just sitting there waiting, holding their breath,” Zaveri said.
Zaveri told the GameDay announcers that he plans to use the money for a few vacations, but after the event he was able to go into a bit more detail.
“Probably gonna buy a pair of shoes, save some of it and then once I graduate maybe go on a few vacations with friends and family,” he said.
Zaveri would like to give a shoutout to some of his friends, Tom Maclaughlin, Nick Sabillon, Morgan Balesano, Rachel Coppinger and Katelynn Horvath, who were there with him on the court to celebrate the moment.