Michigan State wasn’t the only big winner at the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., this past March. Former Trinity Episcopal standout Tristan Samuels won a scholarship to Gulf Coast College in Panama City,&160;Fla.

Samuels attending the Final Four with shooting coach Ed Palubinskas, a former LSU player.

Palubinskas had a booth located in a convention hall at the Final Four site, selling videos and some of his artwork.

At a nearby booth, a vendor was displaying a shooting basket machine which passes the ball back to you when it goes through the net.

Samuels passed his time working out on the machine and the vendor asked him if he could continue shooting to help his display.

The machine registers the number of shots made.

Samuels hit 95 of 100, which drew the attention of several college coaches wandering the facility.

One of those coaches was Miami assistant coach Stan Jones.

&uot;He told me he had some things going, but was very interested in me,&uot; Samuels said. &uot;He ended up signing all three of the three guards he was recruiting, which was unusual. But he called the coach at Panama City and told him I could play Division I ball.&uot;

Samuels was offered a scholarship on the spot after trying out.

&uot;They liked the way I played,&uot;&160;he said. &uot;And I like their style. They run up and down the floor and shoot the ball within eight seconds. I think I’ll fit in perfect. He liked the way I shot the ball and told me I will be doing a lot of shooting.&uot;

Samuels will be a sophomore at Gulf Coast. He transferred to Friends after a redshirt season at Pratt (Kan.) College.

&uot;Things couldn’t have worked out better,&uot; Samuels said. &uot;I’m really excited how things fell together.&uot;

Samuels, said Jones told him he will be keeping tabs on how well he does at Gulf Coast.

&uot;He told me not to let him down,&uot; Samuels said. &uot;I definitely don’t plan on doing that.&uot;