While a Pennsylvania student’s shot at winning a $10,000 prize for his one-handed half-court basket was denied by his school due to a vague technicality, it looks like the young man may still be rolling in dough — literally.
Not only is Jack Lavery, of West Chester University, getting the 10 grand his school denied him in the disputed contest, the 18-year-old is also getting a year of free pizza — all courtesy of Pizza Hut.
The company announced its unusual offer on Twitter Tuesday.
“Hey @JackLavs22, we know greatness when we see it. We have a check for $10K and free pizza for a year for you. What say you? #PayJackLavs,” @pizzahut tweeted.
Lavery gained national attention after he was chosen at random for a basketball contest at his school. The college freshman had 25 seconds to make a layup, a foul shot, a three-pointer and a half-court shot. He made the first three, but his first attempt at a half-court shot failed before hitting a second attempt at the buzzer.
The crowd went wild and Lavery hopped around the court high-fiving everyone. But when the excitement died down, the school said it would not hand over the $10,000 on the line. They said Lavery was supposed to make all four shots on the first attempt.
Pizza Hut was not involved in the contest, but decided to step in after seeing Lavery’s video.
“That was one that seemed a pretty remarkable feat with a disappointing ending for everybody," Pizza Hutt spokesman Doug Terfehr told NBC Philadelphia. "These are moments that we can appreciate that are better than an average day."
Lavery's anger over losing his prize has apparently dissipated as he realized he was looking at a year’s worth of free food and — for a growing teenager — that could amount to a lot of slices.
“I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be awarded the generous gift of $10k and free pizza for a year! Thank you @pizzahut You guys rock," @JackLavs22 tweeted.
I smell a TV commercial in there somewhere.
