This KU student made a 3 to win $5,000 from Bill Self. Here’s what she’ll do with it
Kansas coach Bill Self might be requesting a little more randomness when it comes to picking out Late Night in the Phog half-court shot participants in the future.
That’s because one of Friday night’s contestants — Libby Frost from WaKeeney, Kansas — had all the looks of a ringer as a former all-league basketball player in high school; she made a three-point shot to win both herself and fellow KU student Carson Juhl $5,000 of Self’s money.
“I can’t even believe it’s real,” Frost told The Star afterward. “It’s crazy.”
Frost — from WaKeeney, a town of about 2,000 in the northwest part of the state — was selected via a text drawing to take part in the Late Night contest.
She nearly won herself $10,000 a few minutes before she made her three-pointer.
Self offered her and Juhl a half-court shot for that amount, with Frost’s attempt hitting off the side of the rim to the left.
As is customary at Late Night, Self offered Frost the chance to pick anyone in the building to shoot her second shot for her. He even suggested former KU guard Sherron Collins.
After seeing her first shot nearly go in, though, Frost declined, deciding to take the second shot herself.
“When I was so close to that first one, I was like, ‘No way am I letting someone else do it for me,’” Frost said.
She missed, but Self decided to give one final opportunity after that. He told Frost if she hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, he would give her and Juhl $5,000 each.
Frost made sure to negotiate, asking Self if it was fine if she shot behind the shorter women’s three-point line. He agreed.
“I knew I was going to make it,” Frost said. “So whenever he said, ‘Oh Libby, you can shoot from right here,’ I was like, ‘Thank you. I practice these.’”
Sure enough, Frost’s attempt hit nothing but net, sending KU’s basketball players rushing around her in celebration.
“All the basketball players talked to me, and they’re like, ‘Great job, great shot.’ That was cool,” Frost said. “I literally watch every single one of their games and probably am one of their biggest fans. So that was the best part definitely — when the basketball players talked to me — and getting to meet Bill Self.”
As for the money? Frost said there was only one thought about what to do with it: give it to her mother, Lisa, who is a nurse practitioner in WaKeeney.
“She deserves it. She’s probably spent a million dollars on me,” Frost said. “She’s the most generous and strong person I’ve ever met. I don’t know who deserves it more than her, honestly. She’s done so much for me and my family, and she worked so hard. She’s been a great role model for me.”
Juhl, a senior from Lawrence who attended Free State High School, also celebrated Frost’s shot by zooming around the Allen Fieldhouse court. He said he planned to invest some of his $5,000 while having some fun too.
“I like to golf a lot. Maybe I’ll treat myself to a few extra rounds,” Juhl said. “It’s great to have, you know?”
Self said afterward he was impressed by Frost.
“She was probably the most impressive thing tonight,” he said.
Frost, who averaged 12 points per game her senior season for WaKeeney-Trego and was a four-year starter there, said she had an offer to play college basketball at a smaller school but chose KU instead.
“I decided not to because I love KU basketball,” Frost said. “If I can’t play at KU, then I’ll just go to school here.”
Getting her moment in the spotlight at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday, then, held an extra bit of significance.
“It was really awesome, once in a lifetime for sure,” Frost said. “To just be on that court in front of everyone made me feel kind of like a real basketball player, and I got my (KU) basketball jersey on, so it was unreal.
“It was really awesome. I feel really honored to have been able to have the opportunity.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 10:03 PM with the headline "This KU student made a 3 to win $5,000 from Bill Self. Here’s what she’ll do with it."
