JUDA - Five Juda basketball players lived the dream of dribbling and shooting at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
It served as the stage for the Junior NBA Skills competition April 4. Kylie Moe, in the 9-10-year-old girls division, and Cole Bauman, in the 13-14 boys division, each won championships and are in contention for qualifying for the national Junior NBA Skills competition in Orlando, Fla.
"I was very nervous," Moe said. "The free throws in the Bradley Center seemed like they would be a lot harder. I thought the hoops would be a lot bigger. It was a big honor. When we got the plaques, I was smiling a lot."
The skills competition included a right-handed layup, a shot from the free throw line, dribbling through cones, passing to a coach and receiving a pass and then finishing by dribbling through cones and shooting a right-handed layup. The competition was based on time.
"It's like the punt, pass and kick of basketball," Juda boys basketball coach Andy Werner said.
Moe, who entered with the fastest qualifying time in the nation for 9-10 girls, improved her time to 19.4 seconds, which was about two seconds faster than her time from the Green County regional competition.
To qualify for the national Junior NBA Skills competition, Moe and Bauman will have to be in the top four times out of each NBA city hosting a competition.
"To me it would mean everything and I would never think of doing that," Moe said of the chance to qualify for nationals. "Being from a small town, it would be really cool."
Bauman won his title with a time of 18.7 seconds, which was six-hundredths of a second faster than the runner-up.
"I was really kind of nervous when I was doing it," Bauman said.
"I was just hoping I could win and get the same time I got in Juda. I was thinking about it the whole time and hoping I could win it."
Juda had five basketball players advance on to the Junior NBA Skills competition at the Bradley Center. Miranda Trotter in the 13-14 girls division and Samantha DeVoe in the 11-12 girls division each finished as the state runner-up. Matt Schmitt finished third in the 9-10 boys competition.
Each of the Juda basketball players competed in a Green County competition at Juda High School on Feb. 28.
"I was really happy if we could get one kid onto the Bradley Center and we got five. It's pretty good for a small town to put up those numbers," Werner said about two state champions and two runner-ups.
It served as the stage for the Junior NBA Skills competition April 4. Kylie Moe, in the 9-10-year-old girls division, and Cole Bauman, in the 13-14 boys division, each won championships and are in contention for qualifying for the national Junior NBA Skills competition in Orlando, Fla.
"I was very nervous," Moe said. "The free throws in the Bradley Center seemed like they would be a lot harder. I thought the hoops would be a lot bigger. It was a big honor. When we got the plaques, I was smiling a lot."
The skills competition included a right-handed layup, a shot from the free throw line, dribbling through cones, passing to a coach and receiving a pass and then finishing by dribbling through cones and shooting a right-handed layup. The competition was based on time.
"It's like the punt, pass and kick of basketball," Juda boys basketball coach Andy Werner said.
Moe, who entered with the fastest qualifying time in the nation for 9-10 girls, improved her time to 19.4 seconds, which was about two seconds faster than her time from the Green County regional competition.
To qualify for the national Junior NBA Skills competition, Moe and Bauman will have to be in the top four times out of each NBA city hosting a competition.
"To me it would mean everything and I would never think of doing that," Moe said of the chance to qualify for nationals. "Being from a small town, it would be really cool."
Bauman won his title with a time of 18.7 seconds, which was six-hundredths of a second faster than the runner-up.
"I was really kind of nervous when I was doing it," Bauman said.
"I was just hoping I could win and get the same time I got in Juda. I was thinking about it the whole time and hoping I could win it."
Juda had five basketball players advance on to the Junior NBA Skills competition at the Bradley Center. Miranda Trotter in the 13-14 girls division and Samantha DeVoe in the 11-12 girls division each finished as the state runner-up. Matt Schmitt finished third in the 9-10 boys competition.
Each of the Juda basketball players competed in a Green County competition at Juda High School on Feb. 28.
"I was really happy if we could get one kid onto the Bradley Center and we got five. It's pretty good for a small town to put up those numbers," Werner said about two state champions and two runner-ups.
