Grizzly basketball coaches shoot to raise heart disease awareness
11/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2011
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It has a way of affecting almost every family but Montana basketball coach Wayne Tinkleand first-year assistant Jono Metzger-Jones are taking a shot at raising awareness. Well several dozen shots.
Tinkle and Metzger-Jones are participating in the second annual Shots from the Heart competition, a free throw shooting tournament made up of basketball coaches from around the country. The tournament is co-sponsored by collegeinsider.com, the Skip Prosser Foundation and the American Heart Association.
Skip Prosser was head coach at Wake Forrest in 2007 when he unexpectedly died from a heart attack after a workout.
"We are excited to participate," Tinkle said. "Skip Prosser was a great coach and a better human being, and to be a part of something with his name on it is truly an honor."
"Heart disease is something that affects everyone," Metzger-Jones said. "When you have an opportunity to help raise awareness for this disease you can't pass that up."
The tournament is made up of two, 64-coach brackets, one for head coaches and one for assistants. Tinkle's first-round opponent is North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried. Metzger-Jones will meet fellow Big Sky assistant Jay Collins from Northern Arizona.
The coaches will shoot 25 free throws with an athletic department employee watching and keeping score. The scores are sent in to collegeinsider.com, and the winner is advanced to the next round.
"It is really nice for the University to be in both brackets," Tinkle said. "As competitive as we are, we are not taking this lightly."
The tournament will run through February. Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg is the defending champion.
You can find more information about the Shot from the Heart competition here. To donate $10 to the Skip Prosser Foundation text SKIP to 48510.
