Recap of NAL Holiday Tournament Final Day
A great day of hoops was to be seen at the final day of the North American Lighting holiday tournament at Paris, Illinois. Paris and Rockville won their respective pools and had to face the second place team in the opposing pool to advance to the championship. There was one upset along the way but still made for a great day of basketball.
Review of Scores
Paris 56, Salt Fork 47
In this Illinois school matchup, both teams struggled to find the basket and the leading scorer in the game had just 15 points. Salt Fork’s zone gave Paris fits at times but they overcame it for the victory.
Chrisman 77, Rockville 71
Chrisman shot itself into the championship game as Rockville tried to do the same. A combined 20 three-pointers were made, eight by Rockville junior Hunter Michalic who had 29 points in the game. Chrisman just made more plays down the stretch to take the victory.
5th place – South Vermillion 64, Hutsonville/Palestine 35
South Vermillion got out to a fast start and never looked back in clinching third place in the tournament. They looked like a well-oiled machine and never stopped scoring the ball. There were a lot of contributors in this one for South Vermillion
3rd place – Rockville 51, Salt Fork 45
In the second game of the day for both teams, Rockville came out just a bit more fresh. Lance Hopkins played super aggressive early on and then kind of quit doing so after the first quarter. He had 19 points in the third place game and looked very good. Brady McMasters had 19 as well for Salt Fork
Championship – Paris 65, Chrisman 52
A much more lopsided game than the score indicates, Paris took the trophy on their home floor. Paris got to the rim at will in this game led by Zach Burger’s 19 points. Chrisman battled til the end though closing down what once was a 20 point disadvantage.
All-Tournament Team
Chris Johnson (Paris), Salem Isaf (Paris), Zach Burger (Paris), Kyle Webster (Chrisman), Brian Porter (Chrisman), Lance Hopkins (Rockville), Hunter Michalic (Rockville), Caleb Fauver (Salt Fork), Adam Hedden (South Vermillion), Nathan Kiger (Hut/Pal)
Scouting Reports
Chris Johnson (Paris) – 2017 G 5’10 – He has great handles, a quick first step but not much speeed, uses his high IQ to combat that aspect though. He has a nice shooting touch from the midrange and drives and looks to score. He is active defensively as well and forces multiple bad passes a game.
Bryce Krabel (Chrisman) – 2018 G 5’10 – A shooter that will shoot anytime there is a gap. Funky shot but the lefty makes it work. Quick release as well. I would like to see him become a little bit less one-dimensional and work on driving to the basket a little bit, because as fast as he was closed on he can take advantage.
Lance Hopkins (Rockville) – 2017 G/F 6’4 – He impressed me today with a vastly improved jumper. Looks really smooth although his release is a bit shaky at times. Played with a ton of strength and aggressiveness with driving and did some work on the boards as well. I really want to see what he can do is he goes 100% every play, he could be unstoppable.
Hunter Michalic (Rockville) – 2018 G 5’11 – He looked really good today and has a great looking shot. He can get to the rim decently as well. Anytime a kid can hit 8 from long range in a game, he has my attention. Michalic looks like he can grow 1-2 more inches as well and if he does and he gains some strength, he will be a nice D3 player.
Braden Kalber (South Vermillion) – 2018 F 6’9 – Kalber was an interesting guy. He looks like a basketball player on defense. But on offense he’s not there yet. When he gets it in the post he looks to pass instantly and I want to see him aggressive especially against the smaller guys he’s matched up with.