Minot teen to appear on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” after half-court shot goes viral

MINOT, N.D. (KVRR) — A seventh grader from Minot goes viral after winning a basketball shootout contest at his school and now he’s appearing on the Jennifer Hudson Show.

13-year-old JJ Franks from Bishop Ryan Catholic School will appear on the show Thursday.

In January, JJ scored a layup, free throw, three-pointer and a one-handed half-court shot to win ten thousand dollars.

He says he plans to save up most of the money for college.

JJ even had shoulder surgery early in the year and was cleared to play basketball two weeks before making the shot heard ’round the world.

“I was really nervous. Nobody had done very well before. So, my bar wasn’t too high in underperforming, so I just went out there and had fun. When I made the shot, it was the day of our teacher’s funeral. It was really, quite a sad day for us so, that definitely helped out,” JJ said.

Catch JJ on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. on KVRR.