By Drew Williams/sports editor
Chris Cuthbertson/The Collegian
The first intramural matches of the spring started Jan. 28 with three-point and free-throw shooting contests in the NE Campus gym.
Casey Holder/The Collegian
Jason Wright, an adjunct instructor of psychology, said he came into the event optimistic.
“I’ve been coaching basketball for about seven years,” Wright said. “So I was hoping that would help.”
Wright and NE student Khalid Parker dominated the three-point contest, which had four rounds. The first two rounds consisted of 15 shots while the last two rounds had 10 shots each.
Parker looked to be the favorite going into the final round against Wright. He was 11-of-15 in each of the first two rounds and 7-of-10 in the third round, but making only 5-of-10 in the final round hurt his chances.
“I was feeling good at first, but I guess my arm just got tired,” he said.
Wright, whose first-round group wasn’t competitive, was allowed to move on to the third round by hitting nine of 15 shots. He matched Parker’s third-round total by going 7-of-10 and ultimately won the contest by shooting 6-of-10 in the final, one better than Parker.
After the contest, Wright was happy he won but still a little disappointed in himself.
“I didn’t think bad shooting could win a three-point contest,” he said. “I could have shot better.”
Chris Cuthbertson/The Collegian
Wright was right, and he proved it in the free-throw contest.
After making only six of his 10 shots in the first round, he went on to make his next 24 of 25 free-throws, including all five in the final round.
“I guess I’ll blame it on my master’s in sports psychology,” Wright said jokingly. “It probably helped me keep my cool on the line.”
This is Wright’s second semester teaching at TCC. He attended Grapevine High School, where he played basketball all four years and graduated in 1996. He had a chance to play college basketball but said he was burned out and decided to go to Pepperdine University instead. He later transferred to the University of North Texas, where he received his degree.
When the event ended, NE intramural director Bart Desender was happy everything went smoothly.
“The event was supposed to be at 12:30, but we had to change it to 2 o’clock because of a scheduling conflict involving a conditioning class in the gym,” he said. “That class is also going to affect future intramurals.”
Desender said all NE intramural basketball events scheduled at 12:30 p.m. will be changed to 1:15 p.m., except for the events scheduled on Feb. 25. All events scheduled at 12:30 p.m. that day will be changed to 2 p.m.
