Salida's Dylan Everhard joined tennis star Rafael Nadal, NBA guard Monta Ellis and NHL champion Evgeni Malkin on Tuesday when video of his highlight-reel basket made ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day.
Then he took on South Carolina football player Jadeveon Clowney.
Everhard, 10, heaved a basketball three-fourths of the way across the court Sunday for a buzzer-beating basket during his youth all-star game.
Luckily for the left-hander, 8-year-old sister Kaitlyn was filming from the baseline and captured his football-style pass swishing through the net as the first-quarter buzzer sounds.
While the crowd that gathered to watch the Central Valley Hornets League age-group showcase went wild, Everhard calmly walked to the bench. A quarterback in the Salida Steelers football program, Everhard most clearly recollects the reaction in the gym.
"I remember passing the ball in and the kid I threw it in to passed it back to me," Everhard said. "I didn't think it was going to go in. Right when I made it, the crowd erupted."
The oldest son of Eric and Anne Everhard has friends in high places. One of them, CenCal Beverage Company president Bob Dinsmore, sent the Everhard video to an acquaintance at ESPN. Amid a sea of clips submitted to the sports network every week, the nine-second shot debuted Tuesday in a compilation topped by a Malkin highlight.
While watching the sports network on Wednesday, little brother Ty asked if the clip would be on TV again. After telling him no, the Everhards were surprised to see Dylan's shot, this time on the top of the list.
That placement put it up against a Clowney tackle from the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2, a 30-time ESPN Best of the Best champion. Clowney's helmet-blasting hit of Vincent Smith ultimately got the vote a fan poll, beating Everhard's highlight 63-37 percent to remain the top clip. Still, it was a big deal for the Everhards.
"That's not bad for a 10-year-old going up against a college kid," Anne Everhard said with a laugh. "It's something he's going to have the rest of his life. The whole thing has been fun. He's a pretty shy kid who doesn't really show his emotions. Just to see the smile on his face is pretty priceless."
Dylan Everhard, a fifth-grader at St. Stanislaus Parish School, has been something of a celebrity on campus this week. He's had to carry his own pen for all the girls who want him to sign their hands.
A second-grader even asked him to sign his forehead. What else could he do but oblige? He wouldn’t mind an encore for another ESPN moment.
"I'll have to do another one," Everhard said.
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