The Shot Heard ‘Round the World: Why Caitlin Clark’s Legendary 36-Foot Record-Breaker Still Holds the Sports World Captive, Even After an Ex-NFL Star Recreated It
In the annals of college basketball history, few moments are etched with the same indelible ink as the deep three-pointer launched by Caitlin Clark against Michigan. It was the shot that propelled her into the stratosphere, crowning her as the NCAA women’s all-time scoring leader—a feat of athletic, emotional, and cultural significance. But for those who were actually there, standing on the baseline or the bench, it was more than a record. It was a visceral, seismic event that defied belief.

Now, months later, that legendary moment is once again sending “chills through the sports world” [00:00], not just through replays, but through an utterly unexpected act of tribute. A former NFL safety, Tyvis Powell, attempted to recreate the iconic 36-foot launch from the very spot on the Iowa court. The audacity of the attempt was surprising, but the result was nothing short of astonishing. His successful recreation, on the first try, has re-energized the conversation about Clark’s genius and validated the monumental scale of her legacy.

The emotional core of this renewed fervor was captured by Iowa Assistant Coach Jan Jensen, who, in a heartfelt on-court discussion, broke down the raw, chaotic energy of the original moment. Her account serves as a powerful reminder that Clark’s greatness was, and remains, an experience that transcends mere statistics, permanently altering the DNA of college athletics and inspiring awe from elite athletes across every major sport.

The Anatomy of an Impossible Shot
To truly appreciate the enduring power of Clark’s shot, one must first understand its context and difficulty. This was no ordinary three-pointer from the arc; this was a “deep three” [00:00] launched from approximately 36 feet, the kind of range previously reserved for video game glitches or desperation heaves. More importantly, it was the shot that completed a record, carrying the weight of an entire program, a roaring crowd, and a moment decades in the making.

Jan Jensen, a fixture in the Iowa program, provided an emotional, detailed recollection of the night Clark broke the record, emphasizing how the young superstar made “the extraordinary so ordinary” [00:51]. This phrasing perfectly encapsulates Clark’s unique athletic gift: the ability to execute feats that are technically almost impossible, with an apparent ease that tricks the viewer into believing it’s routine.

Jensen described the sequence leading up to the shot with the intimacy of a true eyewitness. She noted Clark’s “calculating” nature, showing how she sized up the situation before making her move [01:09]. But the true emotional climax was the moment the ball left Clark’s hand: “when she came down I’ll never forget it this place was like boom” [01:14]. The word “boom” wasn’t just a description of the crowd’s volume; it was the sonic representation of a moment of history, a blast of collective emotional release that shook the foundation of the arena.

The veteran coach recalled the almost unbelievable “loudness factor” [01:30] once the shot fell, confirming that the fans who were there truly felt they had never experienced anything louder. Clark’s decision-making—coming down the court, feigning a pass to Hannah Stuelke, executing a quick behind-the-back move, and then letting the ball “launch” [01:24]—was described not as luck, but as calculated genius unfolding in real-time. This level of execution under suffocating pressure is what separates generational talents from simply great players. As Jensen summarized, Clark “made that look easy and it’s anything but” [01:42].

The Crossover Challenge: An NFL Star Steps Up
The emotional reverence for the shot laid the perfect groundwork for the surreal turn of events that followed. If the shot was truly anything but easy, could a professional athlete whose primary focus is tackles and touchdowns actually replicate it?

Enter Tyvis Powell, the former NFL safety. Powell’s career on the gridiron demanded elite hand-eye coordination and explosive power, but his basketball skills—especially from 36 feet—were entirely unknown. His challenge was a compelling piece of viral content: an elite athlete from one sport attempting to breach the legendary barrier established by an icon in another. His very presence on the Iowa court, preparing to take the shot, was a testament to the shot’s enduring cultural magneticism. The legend of Clark’s deep three is so powerful that it compels elite athletes, regardless of their specialization, to test their own limits against it.

The stakes, though purely symbolic, felt immense. As Powell prepared for the attempt, the host, Cameron Irwin, jokingly questioned the probability of success, but Powell was resolute, declaring that if he were to make the shot, he would “never shoot another basketball” [01:54]. It was a perfect, humorous acknowledgment of the shot’s inherent impossibility, cementing the feat as a career capstone for any player, let alone a former defensive back.

The Climax: One Take, Immortalized
What followed was the kind of improbable sporting spectacle that defines viral moments and elevates the stature of the original event. Powell took his position, far beyond the collegiate three-point line, and let fly. The ball sailed through the air, and with the kind of collective gasp that must have mirrored the original crowd’s silence, it dropped straight through the net.

Powell had done it. On his first try, the former NFL star had perfectly recreated the most talked-about shot in college sports.

The reaction was immediate jubilation. “That was awesome,” one person exclaimed [02:10]. Powell, basking in the success, delivered on his promise: “I ain’t never got to shoot again. Everybody just witnessed that, thank you” [02:25]. The emotional outburst was genuine, a mixture of disbelief and pride at having momentarily touched the same impossible plane of athletic execution that Caitlin Clark occupies.

Jan Jensen, who had just spent minutes describing the historical difficulty of the shot, was left stunned and impressed, acknowledging the legitimacy of the athlete who just pulled off the feat: “I don’t know I haven’t seen anybody do a first try… that’s who you are” [02:32]. Powell’s retort, “I aim to please,” [02:42] was the perfect ending to the challenge, but the moment had a deeper significance than mere entertainment.

The successful recreation, far from diminishing Clark’s accomplishment, amplified it. It proved that while Powell’s shot was a moment of extraordinary luck combined with high-level athleticism, Clark’s original shot was a moment of calculated necessity made to look easy. The sheer shock that accompanied Powell’s single make confirms that Clark’s ability to pull that shot off reliably, and with the record on the line, is superhuman. Powell’s one-and-done miracle only makes Clark’s season-long, pressure-filled consistency look even more legendary.

The Transcendence of a Legacy
The story of the deep three, Jensen’s emotional testimony, and Powell’s successful recreation is fundamentally about legacy—specifically, how true athletic genius breaks free of its confines.

Caitlin Clark’s shot didn’t just break a record; it broke barriers, drawing millions of new viewers to women’s basketball. Her legacy is one of transcendence, reaching beyond the court to inspire discussions about athletic achievement and cultural impact. Powell’s successful stunt confirms that the aura surrounding her shot is real—it’s not just hype created by media, but a legitimate phenomenon that commands the attention and participation of other elite competitors.

In a world where sports fans often debate GOAT status and historical placement, the “legendary deep three” [00:00] offers tangible, irrefutable proof of Clark’s unique place. Powell, a veteran of the unforgiving NFL, recognized the shot’s immortality immediately, declaring that now, he never has to shoot again. He realized that by momentarily replicating the genius, he had linked himself to the moment, becoming a small footnote in the larger chapter of Clark’s greatness.

As Jan Jensen noted, she will now “have to live with this moment every single day” [02:47]. The shot is a permanent fixture in the collective memory, constantly being relived, re-analyzed, and, now, occasionally re-enacted. The passion in Jensen’s voice, the raw emotion of the crowd’s “boom,” and the perfect arc of Powell’s one-take shot all merge into a single, undeniable conclusion: Caitlin Clark is an icon, and her legendary shot will continue to send chills through the sports world for generations to come, proving that greatness, when executed flawlessly, truly is timeless.