VAN BUREN, Ark. — Trenton Cooley has lived in Van Buren his whole life and played basketball since he was in second grade.
"It means a lot just getting like my name out there. Even just from a shot that could have been anyone," Cooley said.
During a game against Greenwood on Jan. 9, Van Buren was up 13 points at the end of the third quarter with two seconds left on the clock. A Greenwood player missed a free throw, Van Buren player caught the rebound and passed it to Cooley.
"One of the teammates got the tip, I just caught it because I was right there in the perfect spot," Cooley said.
Cooley then threw the ball towards the pointers hoop.
"Trenton grabbed it and let it go and nailed it," Brad Autry, head coach for Cooley's team, said.
Cooley's shot was a nearly 85-foot full court buzzer beater. Autry said he was shocked to see it go in but was also worried if the points would count.
"I look at it and go, 'Wow, that's kind of amazing.' But at the time, I was like, good. We got three points. Everybody got that. You got it on the scoreboard? We're counting it," Autry said.
Autry said Cooley is an extremely hard worker, and this just shows this character.
"It was really something and honestly, Trenton does stuff like that all the time. He doesn't surprise me when he makes great plays," Autry said. "Trenton's a combination of one of the kindest, most generous people I know, who was also one of the fiercest competitors I know."
Cooley's shot got him a #2 spot on ESPN's SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays Segment on Tuesday night.
"The valedictorian of Van Buren High School, senior class Asher Wood put the video out and tagged ESPN and said SportsCenter Top 10," Autry said.
"I woke up in the morning like my phone was blowing up and then all my friends texted me like you're on ESPN," Cooley said.
Autry said he's seen a lot of basketball but never anything like this.
I've coached for 34 years, and I think 28 of those in college, I've texted about everybody that I know and said, 'Have you ever had anybody make a shot that counted from that distance?' And to a man, nobody's ever had anybody do it," Autry said.
Cooley's also a wide receiver for the Van Buren Football team.
"I want to play college football. But basketball is the dream that could come true also," Cooley said.
Van Buren won the game 68-45.
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