Halftime contest for apartment rental

[Brian Brush Fan]

So, at the beginning of the year, in order to win a apartment rental for a year, the contestant had to make a no-look, behind your head, half court shot. Obviously, that was stupid, so they changed the rules. Now, you have to make two, yes two, half court shots in a row to win the apartment rental.

Listen, in the history of contesting, this is the absolute dumbest thing I have ever seen. If I make two half court shots out of two half court shots, forget renting. I'm either going to own the unit or I'll take a $100,000 cash prize. But, no, not at Pitt.

So the question is this....would you take the odds of a student hitting two half court shots out of two half court shots or Capel actually making the tournament. I'm probably going to go with the former.

 

[Fredact]

That contest reflects so badly on the university, I’m surprised they allow it.

By the way, the rules actually are you have to make a shot in each basket from the same spot. I’m wondering if the odds are better if you make a layup at one end, then go for the full-court heave. If nothing else you might get a cheer for the layup.

 

[Brian Brush Fan]

That contest reflects so badly on the university, I’m surprised they allow it.

By the way, the rules actually are you have to make a shot in each basket from the same spot. I’m wondering if the odds are better if you make a layup at one end, then go for the full-court heave. If nothing else you might get a cheer for the layup.

Wow, that makes it even worse than I thought. I'm with you on making a layup first. At least you'd get the crowd involved by making something. Speaking of poor performances, what exactly was the hip hop dancing thing at halftime? I'd rather watch 8 year olds from Plum run up and down the court and make 1 basket in 8 minutes of game time than whatever that was this afternoon.

 

[KennyHeisman8]

So, at the beginning of the year, in order to win a apartment rental for a year, the contestant had to make a no-look, behind your head, half court shot. Obviously, that was stupid, so they changed the rules. Now, you have to make two, yes two, half court shots in a row to win the apartment rental.

Listen, in the history of contesting, this is the absolute dumbest thing I have ever seen. If I make two half court shots out of two half court shots, forget renting. I'm either going to own the unit or I'll take a $100,000 cash prize. But, no, not at Pitt.

So the question is this....would you take the odds of a student hitting two half court shots out of two half court shots or Capel actually making the tournament. I'm probably going to go with the former.

Honestly all of pitt’s contest comes off as cheap. The football one where you have three targets with one 35-40 yards away for 100 dollars of fast play coupons is asinine. The other basketball one, again for 100 fast play lottery coupons, for a layup, free throw, and TWO threes in 30 seconds also sucks

 

[KennyHeisman8]

Wow, that makes it even worse than I thought. I'm with you on making a layup first. At least you'd get the crowd involved by making something. Speaking of poor performances, what exactly was the hip hop dancing thing at halftime? I'd rather watch 8 year olds from Plum run up and down the court and make 1 basket in 8 minutes of game time than whatever that was this afternoon.

Take a three. The odds against two half court shots in a row is astronomical

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

The shot contest is awful and what was with the halftime performance today. Let the youth kids play a game rather than whatever that was.

 

[snaphook297]

The kids dancing at half sucked . Geez dont do anything if you are going to foist some jive ass dancing . Spend some money on talent or don’t do a thing

 

[Brian Brush Fan]

Honestly all of pitt’s contest comes off as cheap. The football one where you have three targets with one 35-40 yards away for 100 dollars of fast play coupons is asinine. The other basketball one, again for 100 fast play lottery coupons, for a layup, free throw, and TWO threes in 30 seconds also sucks

I remember when I went to an Ohio fb game after they hired Solich. During the game, they asked some kid a layup of a question and he got free tuition for the 2nd semester. And there we are making people solve the equivalent of a Rubik's cube in 5 seconds for a $100 prize

 

[PittPoker]

So, at the beginning of the year, in order to win a apartment rental for a year, the contestant had to make a no-look, behind your head, half court shot. Obviously, that was stupid, so they changed the rules. Now, you have to make two, yes two, half court shots in a row to win the apartment rental.

Listen, in the history of contesting, this is the absolute dumbest thing I have ever seen. If I make two half court shots out of two half court shots, forget renting. I'm either going to own the unit or I'll take a $100,000 cash prize. But, no, not at Pitt.

So the question is this....would you take the odds of a student hitting two half court shots out of two half court shots or Capel actually making the tournament. I'm probably going to go with the former.

The odds of making a half court shot twice in a row are astronomical. Ridiculous contest because nobody will ever win.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

They have no intentions of giving a prize away with those rules. If you do hit two half-courters, expect to get a call saying they reviewed the tape and you were over the line.

Should just have to make a layup, a free throw, and a three. Hell, our starting point guard couldn't do that most nights.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Take a three. The odds against two half court shots in a row is astronomical

Several people this year have figured out that that is the best way to do it.

Unfortunately for them, none of them could even make a three. Most people haven't even come close, whether they shoot a three or a half court shot. At least the guy today came kind of close.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Several people this year have figured out that that is the best way to do it.

Unfortunately for them, none of them could even make a three. Most people haven't even come close, whether they shoot a three or a half court shot. At least the guy today came kind of close.

You'd have to sublease the apartment to cover the cost of rotator cuff surgery if you did it that way. That's a 70-something foot throw.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

You'd have to sublease the apartment to cover the cost of rotator cuff surgery if you did it that way. That's a 70-something foot throw.

You are way more likely to make a top of the key three pointer than a half court shot, and your chances of making a shot from there to the other end are only slightly less than making one (let alone two) half court shots.

I mean I think we can all agree that it's a stupid contest, but if those are the rules a 25 footer and then a 63 footer would be way more likely (such as it is) than two 44 footers.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

You are way more likely to make a top of the key three pointer than a half court shot, and your chances of making a shot from there to the other end are only slightly less than making one (let alone two) half court shots.

I mean I think we can all agree that it's a stupid contest, but if those are the rules a 25 footer and then a 63 footer would be way more likely (such as it is) than two 44 footers.

Yeah, probably the case for some or even most. I know I couldn't do it that way because I might not even be able to throw it 63 feet with the state of my arm, and I sure as hell wouldn't risk becoming a .gif while finding out.

 

[JD1976]

These contests are all run through insurance companies. Obviously Pitt is spending about $150 to put on that contest.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Back to Back half court shots? The odds of that have to be 1 in a million. That's just embarrassing. I'd rather them see the make a layup, FT, and 3 for like a $50 gift card

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Back to Back half court shots? The odds of that have to be 1 in a million.

For some random schlub off the street, maybe. For someone who actually plays basketball it wouldn't be anywhere close to that high. You'd be off by more than three zeros.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I used to be able to hit rim pretty consistently from half court. I think people think it's farther than it is and it's best to just approach it like a set shot, except bring it from a lower angle so as to add some oompf. However, even if you hit the rim 20 consecutive times, it's very possible that none would go in. Lots of velocity and very little touch on those shots: You either have to swish it, catch a small bit of back rim, or get a perfect bank off the glass. Ain't no one ever making two in a row. You could shoot 100/day and not do that for a month.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

I used to be able to hit rim pretty consistently from half court. I think people think it's farther than it is and it's best to just approach it like a set shot, except bring it from a lower angle so as to add some oompf. However, even if you hit the rim 20 consecutive times, it's very possible that none would go in. Lots of velocity and very little touch on those shots: You either have to swish it, catch a small bit of back rim, or get a perfect bank off the glass. Ain't no one ever making two in a row. You could shoot 100/day and not do that for a month.

Steph Curry says hello.

 

[PittPoker]

For some random schlub off the street, maybe. For someone who actually plays basketball it wouldn't be anywhere close to that high. You'd be off by more than three zeros.

Nah it still would be.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I used to be able to hit rim pretty consistently from half court. I think people think it's farther than it is and it's best to just approach it like a set shot, except bring it from a lower angle so as to add some oompf. However, even if you hit the rim 20 consecutive times, it's very possible that none would go in. Lots of velocity and very little touch on those shots: You either have to swish it, catch a small bit of back rim, or get a perfect bank off the glass. Ain't no one ever making two in a row. You could shoot 100/day and not do that for a month.

Back when I was in school the contest was make a half court shot to win two plane tickets to anywhere in the country on, iirc, US Air (so you know I'm old). We used to go up to Trees and play ball almost every Saturday and Sunday back then, and we almost always shot a couple half court shots, you know, in case we got picked for the shot in the game.

If back then I shot 100 of them a day for a month I'd have made two in a row on numerous ocassions. Like I said, if you play basketball pretty frequently it isn't that hard (meaning not as hard as SMF's 1 in a million).

On the other hand, if I had to do it now, since I am old and don't play basketball anymore, yeah, it wouldn't be more than just dumb luck to make one.

 

[snaphook297]

Axe tyler ennis

 

[pittchagg]

A year of free rent in Oakland is probably, like, $25,000 in value. To be fair.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Steph Curry says hello.

I'm talking about the people they're pulling for these contests.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Back when I was in school the contest was make a half court shot to win two plane tickets to anywhere in the country on, iirc, US Air (so you know I'm old). We used to go up to Trees and play ball almost every Saturday and Sunday back then, and we almost always shot a couple half court shots, you know, in case we got picked for the shot in the game.

If back then I shot 100 of them a day for a month I'd have made two in a row on numerous ocassions. Like I said, if you play basketball pretty frequently it isn't that hard (meaning not as hard as SMF's 1 in a million).

On the other hand, if I had to do it now, since I am old and don't play basketball anymore, yeah, it wouldn't be more than just dumb luck to make one.

I am assuming Steph Curry isnt entering. Even for a guy who lets say played HS basketball and plays pickup once a week, to come out of the stands cold and go 2 for 2, it has to be pretty close to 1 in a million

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I am assuming Steph Curry isnt entering. Even for a guy who lets say played HS basketball and plays pickup once a week, to come out of the stands cold and go 2 for 2, it has to be pretty close to 1 in a million

Right. Because you don't understand math.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Right. Because you don't understand math.

2 in a row cold. What do you think the odds are: 10,000 to 1?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

2 in a row cold. What do you think the odds are: 10,000 to 1?

For someone like you describe, who plays basketball on a regular basis, it would be less than that. 10000-1 to make two would be 1% to make each one. Someone that plays basketball on a regular basis can make more than one out of every 100 half court shots. Easily. Like I said, we used to do it up at Trees all the time. There wasn't anyone in our group who never made any, or was so bad that they were 1 in 100 bad. Not even close.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

For someone like you describe, who plays basketball on a regular basis, it would be less than that. 10000-1 to make two would be 1% to make each one. Someone that plays basketball on a regular basis can make more than one out of every 100 half court shots. Easily. Like I said, we used to do it up at Trees all the time. There wasn't anyone in our group who never made any, or was so bad that they were 1 in 100 bad. Not even close.

Its 2 in a row cold in a large arena

 

[snaphook297]

Me and smf used to drain half court shots doing pick upgames at schenley hs

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Its 2 in a row cold in a large arena

How many feet is half court further from the basket in a large arena as opposed to a smaller one?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

How many feet is half court further from the basket in a large arena as opposed to a smaller one?

5-6 maybe??? Most HS/rec center courts are not the same size as a regulation size court. But not only that, 99% of people called out of the crowd to take these shots have never taken a shot in a large arena. The depth perception throws you way off. Not to mention the pressure aspect. So 1 in a million

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Most HS/rec center courts are not the same size as a regulation size court.

With the exception of some of the really small schools, are there ANY high schools in western PA that don't play on regulation sized courts?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

With the exception of some of the really small schools, are there ANY high schools in western PA that don't play on regulation sized courts?

When I played in HS, there were only 2 schools on our schedule that had a regulation size court. I would imagine the PIAA allows a minimum size and most schools go for that to save money. I doubt any YMCAs or rec centers have a regulation size court.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

When I played in HS, there were only 2 schools on our schedule that had a regulation size court. I would imagine the PIAA allows a minimum size and most schools go for that to save money. I doubt any YMCAs or rec centers have a regulation size court.

You must have gone to a smaller school. None of the big schools have small courts at this point. Literally, none of them. NA, Penn Hills, USC, Mt. Lebo, Pine Richland, Norwin, Greensburg, Baldwin, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, North Hills, Seneca, none of those places have small courts. They are all the regulation 94 feet.

At this point, places like maybe Monessen or Jeanette or Frazier have small courts, but none of the big schools are playing on small courts.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

You must have gone to a smaller school. None of the big schools have small courts at this point. Literally, none of them. NA, Penn Hills, USC, Mt. Lebo, Pine Richland, Norwin, Greensburg, Baldwin, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, North Hills, Seneca, none of those places have small courts. They are all the regulation 94 feet.

At this point, places like maybe Monessen or Jeanette or Frazier have small courts, but none of the big schools are playing on small courts.

You'd be surprised. Just looked up Peters and Montour's new gym and neither are regulation. USC's old gym also isnt regulation but I think they built a new school semi-recently so maybe the new one is. Also looked up NH. Also not regulation.

 

[PITTstorm]

Back when I was in school the contest was make a half court shot to win two plane tickets to anywhere in the country on, iirc, US Air (so you know I'm old). We used to go up to Trees and play ball almost every Saturday and Sunday back then, and we almost always shot a couple half court shots, you know, in case we got picked for the shot in the game.

If back then I shot 100 of them a day for a month I'd have made two in a row on numerous ocassions. Like I said, if you play basketball pretty frequently it isn't that hard (meaning not as hard as SMF's 1 in a million).

On the other hand, if I had to do it now, since I am old and don't play basketball anymore, yeah, it wouldn't be more than just dumb luck to make one.

Pretty sure you had to buy a program and have some kind of sticker on the USAir page for the chance to shoot at halftime. I pulled one the last home game of my senior year…and made the shot!
IIRC, someone also “shot” from the opposite foul line for the chance to win a car back then. Saw it happen one time at the Civic Arena.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Pretty sure you had to buy a program and have some kind of sticker on the USAir page for the chance to shoot at halftime. I pulled one the last home game of my senior year…and made the shot!

That is correct. Programs cost $1, and I used to buy one all the time. Never did get a sticker though.

Rumor, for at least a while, was that the guy who sold the programs over on the student side of the court knew which programs had the stickers in them and would give them to his friends. But that was probably (hopefully) sour grapes on the person telling the stories part.

 

[PittPharm2002]

Honestly all of pitt’s contest comes off as cheap. The football one where you have three targets with one 35-40 yards away for 100 dollars of fast play coupons is asinine. The other basketball one, again for 100 fast play lottery coupons, for a layup, free throw, and TWO threes in 30 seconds also sucks

I don’t think it’s Pitt creating them - it’s sponsors

 

[Brian Brush Fan]

I don’t think it’s Pitt creating them - it’s sponsors

I'm pretty sure that Pitt has the final say on what stupid contests get approved. Who is in charge of that?