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Pellston senior Christopher Hass gets set to dunk the ball Thursday in a Ski Valley Conference win over Gaylord St. Mary. Hass needs 40 points to become just the 34th player in Michigan high school boys basketball history to score 2,000 career points. (Steve Foley/News-Review) |
Who’s going to stop Pellston’s Christopher Hass?
Maybe only history.
Hass, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who is headed to Bucknell University, is poised to join an elite group of high school basketball players in the state of Michigan, most likely by the end of next week.
Hass, who early last season became Pellston’s all-time leading scorer, enters a Tuesday, Jan. 10, game at Central Lake needing 40 points to reach the 2,000 career point mark. He had 31 in a 64-28 win over Gaylord St. Mary on Thursday, bringing his career total to 1,960.
The Hornets, who are 6-0 overall, 4-0 in the Ski Valley Conference, play at Onaway on Thursday, Jan. 12.
Hass could reach the 2,000-point plateau against Central Lake. But if he doesn’t, he almost certainly will do it against Onaway.
Hass, a first-team Associated Press Class D All-Stater last year, is averaging 30.5 points per game this season. He tossed in a season-high 41 against Forest Area on Dec. 13. He has scored at least 30 points in Pellston’s last three games, including 39 against Mancelona in his first game after the Christmas break on Jan. 3.
Barring a catastrophe — read: an injury — Hass will become just the 34th male player in state history with at least 2,000 points.
And he could, when it’s all said and done, be among the top five scorers the state has ever seen.
Jay Smith (1976-79) of Mio leads the list with 2,841 points, while Mark Brown (82-85) of Hastings is second with 2,789. Tory Jackson (82-85) of Saginaw Buena Vista is third with 2,518.
If Hass stays at 30.5 points per game for the remaining 14 regular-season games, he would have 2,404 career points heading into the state tournament. That total would put Hass eighth on the list, behind Marcus Taylor (97-2000) of Lansing Waverly, 2,448, and Sander Scott (86-89) of Northport, 2,358.
Depending on how far Pellston goes in the state tournament — and, frankly, it’ll be a major, major upset if the Hornets don’t win their Class D district — Hass could finish right up there in the top five with Smith, Brown, Jackson, Mark Macon and Drew Neitzel.
No matter where Hass ends up, he can take his rightful spot among the very best prep scorers the state has ever seen.
But he’ll have to really get on his horse if he has designs on family braggin’ rights.
His sister, Stephanie, scored 2,732 points during her final four years of varsity ball at Harbor Light Christian from 1998-2001. When she graduated, she was the state’s all-time leading scorer for girls’ basketball, and held that honor until Central Lake star Jasmine Hines passed her last year.
Stephanie Hass, now Stephanie Manthei, is now second on the girls’ list. She actually scored 3,054 points during a five-year varsity career when you add in the 322 she had as an eighth-grader.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association does not recognize points scored as an eighth-grader for its record-keeping purposes.
Wingman
Hass isn’t the only prolific scorer on the Hornet roster.
Maybe only history.
Hass, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who is headed to Bucknell University, is poised to join an elite group of high school basketball players in the state of Michigan, most likely by the end of next week.
Hass, who early last season became Pellston’s all-time leading scorer, enters a Tuesday, Jan. 10, game at Central Lake needing 40 points to reach the 2,000 career point mark. He had 31 in a 64-28 win over Gaylord St. Mary on Thursday, bringing his career total to 1,960.
The Hornets, who are 6-0 overall, 4-0 in the Ski Valley Conference, play at Onaway on Thursday, Jan. 12.
Hass could reach the 2,000-point plateau against Central Lake. But if he doesn’t, he almost certainly will do it against Onaway.
Hass, a first-team Associated Press Class D All-Stater last year, is averaging 30.5 points per game this season. He tossed in a season-high 41 against Forest Area on Dec. 13. He has scored at least 30 points in Pellston’s last three games, including 39 against Mancelona in his first game after the Christmas break on Jan. 3.
Barring a catastrophe — read: an injury — Hass will become just the 34th male player in state history with at least 2,000 points.
And he could, when it’s all said and done, be among the top five scorers the state has ever seen.
Jay Smith (1976-79) of Mio leads the list with 2,841 points, while Mark Brown (82-85) of Hastings is second with 2,789. Tory Jackson (82-85) of Saginaw Buena Vista is third with 2,518.
If Hass stays at 30.5 points per game for the remaining 14 regular-season games, he would have 2,404 career points heading into the state tournament. That total would put Hass eighth on the list, behind Marcus Taylor (97-2000) of Lansing Waverly, 2,448, and Sander Scott (86-89) of Northport, 2,358.
Depending on how far Pellston goes in the state tournament — and, frankly, it’ll be a major, major upset if the Hornets don’t win their Class D district — Hass could finish right up there in the top five with Smith, Brown, Jackson, Mark Macon and Drew Neitzel.
No matter where Hass ends up, he can take his rightful spot among the very best prep scorers the state has ever seen.
But he’ll have to really get on his horse if he has designs on family braggin’ rights.
His sister, Stephanie, scored 2,732 points during her final four years of varsity ball at Harbor Light Christian from 1998-2001. When she graduated, she was the state’s all-time leading scorer for girls’ basketball, and held that honor until Central Lake star Jasmine Hines passed her last year.
Stephanie Hass, now Stephanie Manthei, is now second on the girls’ list. She actually scored 3,054 points during a five-year varsity career when you add in the 322 she had as an eighth-grader.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association does not recognize points scored as an eighth-grader for its record-keeping purposes.
Wingman
Hass isn’t the only prolific scorer on the Hornet roster.
