Paul Jesperson's 'Merrill' Magic Resurfaces in 2016!

Every once in a while a new player, perhaps a G-League rookie with the Valley Suns in Tempe, Arizona, where Paul Jesperson is head coach, will see the shot for the first time on Instagram or some other social medium. Every March, there's a good chance it comes up among his colleagues or friends. But have any of his players challenged the Merrill High School alumnus to a half-court shot?

"No, I don't think they want to do that," Jesperson, 33, deadpanned. He insists he didn't practice that particular distance during his days at Northern Iowa, but there was a confidence he harbored when he launched the longest buzzer-beater in NCAA Tournament history and gave Northern Iowa a stunning 75-72 win over Shaka Smart's Texas Longhorns in Oklahoma City on March 18, 2006. "You don't work directly on half-court shots, but you spend a lot of time in the gym so you get a confidence to be in those situations and take those shots, whether it's a half-court shot, a catch-and-shoot three, a pull-up jumper," Jesperson said.

"You start building confidence form the work you put in. The consistency, that work you carry with you through the season, gives you the belief. If I'm in a situation like this, I'd feel good about it.

It happened to be my opportunity to hit a shot. I felt good about it. " Isaiah Taylor drove and scored for the Longhorns with 2.