Simply put, there really might not be a worse way to lose a basketball game than putting the ball in your own basket. Turnovers happen all the time, missed shots happen, even ill-advised fouls, but the sting of scoring on your own basket is the worst.
When you raise the stakes, doing it in a playoff game, that’s really as bad as it gets. That’s exactly what former Arizona State standout Jermaine Marshall did in the Greek League playoffs, with his team seemingly in perfect shape to advance to the next round.
Up 95-93, Marshall’s Kifisia squad appeared to be in the driver’s seat after their opponent, Aris, missed a free throw. Kifisia got the rebound, and passed it around, apparently enough to confuse Marshall, who put the ball in his own basket before time expired, forcing overtime.
Aris would defeat Kifisia by a final score of 108-103, advancing to the Greek League semifinals. You know you’ve made a very poor play when your highlight makes it over here to the States.
Surely Marshall is a fine player, but plays like those won’t help his case for playing back here at home any time soon. Hopefully he can recover from the blunder. But it will definitely be a long offseason for him and his team.
