UTC guard Gee McGhee (12) directs teammates on the court against Wofford in this January 11, 2013, file photo.Sophomore Gee McGhee sat with teammates watching "SportsCenter" on Thursday a few minutes before midnight.
Earlier in the night he buried an improbable three-quarter-court heave that left his hand 0.3 second before the halftime horn sounded.
It banked off the glass and into the net and roused the 4,662 spectators into a frenzy.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore later exited a nearly empty McKenzie Arena knowing that ESPN had received video of his shot and that the sports network might use it as part of its top 10 plays of the day.
So he gathered with Greg Pryor, T.J. Williams and Anthanee Doyle -- who had his own highlight 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down in the final minute -- to watch the show.
ESPN, counting down from 10, showed the first five plays. Then McGhee got to thinking.
"There were a lot of plays that were way more exciting to me already," he said Friday.
Then ESPN played Nos. 5, 4, 3 and 2 with no video of UTC.
But No. 1 began with Sebastian Koch at the line and a "Big-Head" of UTC alum Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding) and coach Will Wade in the background. That led to ESPN showing McGhee's shot and a little celebration.
"It was crazy," McGhee said. "My phone started blowing up with texts and tweets.
"Then Mom called to congratulate me."
Note: Video of McGhee's shot is available through a link at www.GoMocs.com.