Small seat change leads to big payoff for Reynolds

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Getting shut out of the E-Zone ended up putting Cosmo Reynolds in the money zone.

Unable to secure a spot in the standing student section, Reynolds went to another area where he was randomly selected to shoot the halfcourt shot at a Kentucky Wildcats’ game. The shot is sponsored by the Central Bank of Kentucky and any successful contestant wins $10,000.

Reynolds is a freshman at Kentucky and he is the grandson of Joanie (Rudmann) and Malcolm “Mac” Adkins for Ironton. Mac Adkins is one of the best basketball players in Chesapeake history who played at West Point when Bob Knight was the head coach and his teammate was Mike Krzyzewski.

“He’s a good shooter. I don’t know if he got any of my genes, but he does come a basketball background,” said Mac Adkins.

Reynolds was trying to get a ticket in the E-Zone for the Kentucky vs. Tennessee game a few weeks ago but was unsuccessful. The setback proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“I’m usually standing in the E-Zone which is a standing area for the students. However, ticket sales for the Tennessee game went so quickly I was forced to sit in the reserve area which are seats along the side,” said Reynolds.

About six minutes into the game and two people came up to the row Reynolds was in and asked which one of them wanted to shoot the half court shot.

“I thought I was in trouble at first. I didn’t say anything at first.I was with my buddies and they all nominated me. I’m glad they did,” said Reynolds.

A contestant gets three attempts and Reynolds connected on his third shot.

“The first one was a horrible shot. It was an air ball,” said Reynolds. “They second one I thought was my best one. It just hit the back of the rim and went straight up. But the third one I thought I got this thing lined up and I think I’ve got enough on it, so the angle in my head I thought this one may go in.”

It did.

“As soon as I made the shot, my phone was going crazy. I got all the people I went to high school telling ‘you going to let me have a couple of hundreds?’” Said Reynolds.

The whole experience was something that Reynolds said didn’t compare to anything he has ever done.

“It’s so weird. It’s so loud and the actual depth perception it’s not like playing in a regular gym with all the rows of people. I was nervous, man. I was real nervous,” said Reynolds.

“When I’m at the gym just playing pickup all the time, I’ll shoot a couple of halfcourt shots every now and then. It’s not like I had to change up my form, but when I got out on the court you actually realize how deep that shot is. It’s very nerve racking.”

Reynolds said he has always worked on his shooting but growing up he was usually the tallest player on his team and was forced to play inside. Once he got to move outside, he was able to work and refine his outside shot.

“I’m only 6-3 which is still tall, but I was forced to play center growing up so I had to shy away from shooting. Once I got older and all the guys starting catching up to my height, I had a good shot but I was never much of a ball handler, so shooting was one of the things I could do besides rebounding and play defense,” said Reynolds.

The $10,000 payday was a boost to Reynolds’ financial situation that was very much appreciated but he admitted the prize money was on his mind.

“It’s weird. I work a job. I’m a student, so I don’t see that much money,” said Reynolds. “That wasn’t even the picture when I was making the shot. I was just so happy that I got the opportunity. I’ve grown up here in Lexington so that’s really a dream come true as a kid being a Kentucky fan. The money is such a cool thing.”