Hoosiers Now

Indiana Cheerleaders Cassidy Cerny and Nathan Paris Make 'One Shining Moment' Video

Another college basketball season is in the books, and congrats to Kansas for its national title. The annual ''One Shining Moment'' video is a classic, and it also features that great rescue move by Indiana cheerleaders Cassidy Cerny and Nathan Paris when a ball got stuck above the backboard. Here is the full ''One Shining Moment'' video.

Tom Brew

One of the best parts of crowning a champion at the Final Four is sharing in the celebration. And when it's done, the annual ''One Shining Moment'' video after the CBS/TBS telecasts is always memorable. It's one of the best things about college basketball, because it always puts a bow on a great season, one that ended with the biggest comeback in title game history when Kansas beat North Carolina 72-69.

For two Indiana cheerleaders — Cassidy Cerny and Nathan Paris — it was a no-brainer that they were part of the highlight reel. Their slick move to recover a basketball stuck above the backboard on March 17 during Indiana's first-round game against Saint Mary's went viral that night — and now will live in infamy.

Here's the full "One Shining Moment'' video (Note: Cerny and Paris appear quickly at the 40-second mark):

Cerny and Paris were simply smarter than everyone that night in Portland during the Hoosiers' first-round game. Saint Mary's center Matthias Tass, who's 6-foot-10, couldn't reach the stuck ball with the short mop stick, and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis thought about it, but couldn't reach it either.

Indiana cheerleaders Cassidy Cerny and Nathan Paris come to the rescue to dislodge a basketball stuck on top of the backboard during the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament game against Saint Mary's in Portland, Ore. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)
Indiana cheerleaders Cassidy Cerny and Nathan Paris come to the rescue to dislodge a basketball stuck on top of the backboard during the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament game against Saint Mary's in Portland, Ore. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)

Referee Kelly Pfeifer grabbed a chair, but he couldn't reach it, either, with the short mop handle. Tass tried stepping up on a not-so-secure folding chair, but the referee wouldn't let him.

Paris, a senior cheerleader from Floyds Knobs, Ind., hoisted partner Cassidy Cerny, a sophomore from Avon, Ind., up on his shoulders, just like they do in many of their routines, and he lifted her into the air with his hands. She stood up and grabbed the ball off the board, and the game continued. Problem solved. 

Cerny even got an NIL deal out of her heroics. 

The two did a lot of media since their 15 minutes of fame, both locally and nationally. 

Related stories on NCAA basketball

  • CHEERLEADERS TO THE RESCUE: Indiana cheerleaders Nathan Paris and Cassidy Cerny became national heroes Thursday night when they performed a stunt to get the basketball dislodged from the top of the backboard. "It worked, it was good. It was pretty easy,'' said Cerny, who said they practice that move ''every Tuesday.'' Their move went viral. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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