Iowa Player Needed Free Throw For Record; He Missed On Purpose

IOWA CITY, IA — When Jordan Bohannon stepped to the foul line on Sunday night, the Hawkeyes' point guard needed to make just one more free throw to break the school's record for consecutively drained attempts. Bohannon had made 34 straight.

This time, with his team up eight points with just over two minutes to play, he missed. The shot clanged off the front of the rim. Bohannon pounded his chest and pointed to the sky — an homage to a fallen Iowa legend.

The record had been held for more than two decades by Chris Street, a 6-foot-8-inch forward. In January 1993, Street, 20, was killed when his car collided with a dump truck equipped with a snow plow.

Bohannon explained in a post-game interview why he missed the would-be record-breaker – it didn't feel right. He missed so the record would stay with Street.

"Obviously that's not my record to have," he said. "That record deserves to stay in his name."

Bohannon has become close with Street's family and listened to his story. Over the past couple games, with the record approaching, he said it was emotional. But he knew how he'd handle the moment. Just before the shot, Bohannon made eye contact with his older brother — confirmation he was moving ahead with the plan, the Des Moines Register reported.

"Obviously it was a different time than I wanted to do it, but that's what I wanted to do," he said.

Bohannon went back to the line again after the miss and subsequently sunk two straight. He ended the game with 25 points and the Hawkeyes won their home finale.

You can watch the emotional moment when he misses the free throw below.

Here is the free throw Jordan Bohannon missed on purpose that would have broken Chris Street's record. And then a minute later, back to the line, you see his homage to Street. He made them both. pic.twitter.com/pv7Q0HOQdm
— Jon Miller (@hawkeyenation) February 26, 2018

Photo credit: Stacy Revere/Getty Images