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Purdue Fort Wayne’s Rasheed Bello might’ve made history on Wednesday night. The guard could be the first basketball player ever to successfully use his shoe to block the shot of an opponent.
The hilarious yet controversial tactic quickly went viral online. Many are asking the same question.
Is that legal??
It’s certainly something you don’t see every day. In fact, Southern Indiana head coach Stan Gouard said, “I’ve never seen that before in my life… A first in my 25 years of coaching. Never saw it before.”
After losing his sneaker during a defensive possession, Bello retrieved it from the court while continuing to lock down his offensive foe. As a Southern Indiana shooter went up for a jumper, the shoeless guard swatted the shot with footwear in hand.
Rasheed Bello. The first player to ever record a block with a shoe? Send this shoe to Springfield, Mass.#FeelTheRumble #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/BF44qmdpPY
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) December 7, 2023
The block stood and play continued on the court, but the unorthodox denial had many wondering whether it was within the rules of the game.
Off-duty referee (and USI announcer) Zane Clodfelter answered those questions with a resounding ‘Yes.’
Yes, it’s legal, as long as you don’t throw the shoe.
There you have it.
The shoe-aided block was part of a strong defensive performance, as those Purdue Fort Wayne players held Southern Indiana to just 57 points on 36% shooting.
Bello finished the night with 12 points and five boards to go along with that rejection, being one of three Mastodon players in double figures.
With the win, Purdue FW improved to 9-1 on the year as they continue a hot start to the 2023 campaign.
While the play worked in the guard’s favor this time around, he’ll likely try to keep the sneakers laced up tight as the season continues.