I hope you guys brought tissues, because this story is a going to pull at your heartstrings…in a good way. Iowa point guard Jordan Bohannon purposefully missed a free-throw with a little more than two minutes to go in a game against Northwestern on Sunday, but that’s not why we’re crying. It's because he did it to honor the consecutive free throw record of Iowa legend Chris Street, who was killed in a car accident on Jan. 19, 1993 at age 20.
Street made 34 consecutive free throws before his tragic passing in the middle of his junior season. His legacy lives on 15 years later. “Obviously, that’s not my record to have. That record belongs in his name,” Bohannon told a local reporter when asked if he purposely missed the free throw.
Bohannon went on to tell the reporter, “I’ve been really close with his family these past couple years. Getting to know them a lot and just listening to his story, honestly. It’s really got me emotional these past couple games because I’ve known what I wanted to do. Obviously it’s a different time than when I wanted to do it, but that’s something I wanted to do. Like I said, it’s been an honor to get to know his family.”
Bohannon and the Hawkeyes still beat the Wildcats 77-70. Street’s parents, Mike and Patty, shared a hug with Bohannon on the court after the game. Mike says his son would “want him to do the best he could do and stay after it. But that was Jordan’s decision, and if that’s what he wanted to do, then we appreciate it. We certainly in the future want him to get another shot at it.”
