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Playing in an NCAA Tournament game is a special experience not many basketball players get to have, and Friday in Seattle, Liberty guard JC Shirer Jr. got that opportunity thanks to an observant referee.
With the clock rolling inside a minute to go and the game in hand for Oregon, leading 78-46, referee Roger Ayers noticed Shirer -- the last Liberty player who hadn't gotten in the game -- seated at the scorers table as he came up the floor. With both teams content to run out the clock, Ayers recognized there may not be another stoppage to get Shirer in the game, so he stopped play to clean up a phantom wet spot on the floor to allow Shirer Jr. to check in and get his March Madness moment.
From the outside it may seem like a fairly insignificant moment, but kids like Shirer Jr. work incredibly hard behind the scenes and in practices to help their team win their conference tournament and get to the Big Dance. It may be the only opportunity he gets at this stage, and it's a very cool gesture from Ayers to recognize the situation and make sure Shirer got to sub in for that final minute so he showed up in the box score of a tournament game.
