We’ve all heard of players doing something miraculous in the final game of their high school careers, but how about a coach? That’s exactly what happened in Augusta, Georgia as Augusta HS varsity coach Robin Kelsch decided to retire from coaching after 13 seasons on the bench to take a position as the school’s principal.
True, that’s a noble decision, but what he staged during the final moments of his team’s 99-69 Regional Semi-Final loss has been met with both criticism and praise for the long-time head coach. In the closing seconds of the lopsided blowout loss, an Augusta player pushed the ball up the court after an opponent miss, as Kelsch suddenly emerged from the sidelines to receive a pass and promptly nail a 3 pointer at the buzzer.
The basket obviously didn’t count but the staged event served as a touching send-off for their beloved coach. Although some questioned the play as poor sportsmanship, opposing coach Brad Carr had no problem with the orchestrated event and was actually involved in it’s planning.
The bucket is being touted by everyone as “The Shot” and has aired on ESPN recently numerous times this past week and was featured in Sporting News’ live blog.
When I retire from coaching, I hope my kids help me do this:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
