Old National Presents: Hallman recalls buzzer-beater

If there were was a Mount Rushmore for the most famous shots in Purdue men’s basketball history, Arnette Hallman’s mug would be chiseled on it.

Hallman’s last-second shot from about 20-feet helped sink No. 1 Michigan State 36 years ago Wednesday.

Fans who have been watching Purdue men’s hoops since the 1970s know the shot. On Jan. 13, 1979, Hallman hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer to upset the Spartans and set off one of the great celebrations in Mackey Arena history.

“I still think about that moment just about every day," Hallman said via phone Wednesday afternoon from his home in Frankfurt, Germany. "It was fantastic."

It certainly was.

"I can hear the crowd yelling me to ‘Shoot it, shoot it,' ” Hallman said. "Nobody designed last-minute plays better than Coach (Lee) Rose, but this one didn’t work too well.

“The plan was to go inside into Joe Barry (Carroll, Purdue’s star junior center) and the second option was (senior guard) Jerry Sichting in the right corner. I remember Magic (Johnson) chasing Jerry around and with the ball landing in my hands. Time was running out, so I shot it."

The result was his lone field goal of the game and a Purdue 52-50 victory. Fans spilled onto the court, and after Rose's Boilermakers went into the locker room, they decided to return to the court for a curtain call of sorts that ended up being a victory lap.

“I remember the ball going through the net and then having all these people on top of me before I knew what hit me. It was awesome,” said Hallman, who was in his first season as a Boilermaker after transferring from junior college. “And the victory lap, I had never done like that before. We blew the roof off that place.”

But before the victory lap, Hallman had a brief conversation, or maybe confrontation is a better word, with the Spartans' other big star of its 1979 national championship team, Greg Kelser.

“Greg and I were both pretty good leapers and he dunked on me during the game, putting one in my face,” Hallman said, laughing as he told the story. “After he did that, he came up to me and said ‘Give me five’ and I raised my hand and gave him some skin. It was that good of a dunk and we had a good, fun respect for each other.

“Well, after I made the game-winner, I was walking off the court and I asked him to give me five. And he did, so that was a cool moment that I won’t forget.”

Hallman, who enjoyed a 14-year professional career that was played mostly overseas, had the same agent as Magic, George Andrews . Preceding his trip across the Atlantic was a brief stint with the Boston Celtics, though for a long while it looked as if the Lakers were going to pick Hallman.

“I saw Magic on occasion through the years, and every time I saw him, we talked about that game,” Hallman said. "They won the national championship that year but lost three conference games on last-second shots. So it was very memorable to him, but not in a good way.”

Hallman, who possesses an infectious, if not boisterous laugh, had fun during his time in the NBA. In Boston, he got to know a rising superstar in Larry Bird a bit.

“I remember him wearing a shirt with a Boilermaker Pete on the front and I thought ‘Man, that is cool he has a Purdue shirt,’" Hallman said. "But then I saw a screw going through the middle of Pete and realized he had it from his days in college.”

Hallman’s Geoffrey Holder-esque laugh ramped up a bit. Bird and Hallman faced each other once in college, in Bird’s senior year. Larry Legend was reminding Hallman that his Sycamores beat his Boilermakers in that meeting.

“That’s Larry,” said Hallman.

Hallman has remained in Germany since his playing days ended, and he has maintained his athletic physique. At 57, the 6-foot-7 Hallman may not be able to jump to the level that he could when he threw down those powerful left-handed dunks that shook the Mackey Arena rims, but he prides himself in staying in great condition.

“People see me and tell me I can still play,” Hallman said. “I like that.”

Hallman holds a couple of jobs, one as an investment banker and the other in customer service at the Frankfurt airport.

“I have lots of interests, and I love my work,” said the man who is a long way, literally and figuratively, from his humble beginnings growing up on the streets of Chicago.

He speaks six languages and is the proud father of three boys. His oldest, Arnette Hallman Jr., plays professional basketball in Europe. He is the same height as dad but plays in the backcourt some.

“The game is so different now, from what it was then, there is no comparison,” said Hallman, who averaged 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 67 games as a Boilermaker. “But, man, I had a great two years at Purdue and it was great winning a Big Ten title and going to the Final Four the next year in 1980. Absolutely wonderful.

"The '79 team was our best team because we had Jerry Sichting. But that first year we didn't even get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, so we made the best of it the next year. That much, I do remember. We really made the best of things that last year."

For Purdue basketball fans with long memories, the Final Four appearance will never be forgotten. But neither will the Boilermaker basketball version of “the shot heard 'round the college basketball world.”

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