It has been 25 years since the passing of Iowa Men’s Basketball player, Chris Street. Street came from Indianola, Iowa and excelled in multiple sports but decided to continue playing basketball at the University of Iowa. Being a 6’8”, 220 lb power forward, Street was a competitive player for the Hawkeyes. In his last game in a loss against Duke, Street broke the school record for consecutive made free throws after making his 34th free throw that game.
On Jan. 19, 1993 Streets was on his way home from a team dinner just outside of Iowa City, when he collided with a snow plow and was killed. As a son, teammate and player, Streets left a legacy as a Hawkeye. The University of Iowa Men’s basketball team retired the jersey number 40 in memory of Streets and created the Chris Streets award for players who best exemplify the enthusiasm and intensity of the former player. At the time, Iowa Coach Tom Davis commented, “We want to remember everything Chris represented. He was one of the greatest Hawkeyes of all time.”
Streets’ free throw record had not been touched until this 2017-18 season, by sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon. On Feb. 25 Bohannon went to the line with 33 consecutive free throws and shooting around 90 percent at the foul line. To break the record, Bohannon had to make his two free throws. He made his first one, tying the record at 34. Before his second one Bohannon looked up and pointed, then stepped up to the line and missed the next free throw.
The crowd was shocked with the missed free throw, but later learned that Bohannon had purposely missed. “That’s not my record to have. Obviously that record deserves to stay in his name,” Bohannon said after the game.
Streets parents sought out Bohannon after the game. “Christopher would want him to do to the best he could do and stay after it, but that was Jordan’s decision, and if that’s what he wanted to do, then we appreciate it.”
A sophomore playing college basketball recognized the importance of a legacy and wanted the record to stay in Streets name.
