Valley Christian’s Korver Crowned CIF Hoops Skills Champion

While several teams were capturing team titles at Anaheim Arena last weekend, Kari Korver was claiming a title all her own.

The Valley Christian High junior won the CIF-Southern Section Skills Challenge, along with Edison High’s Dylan Garrity on the boy’s side. More than 60 participants competed – each nominated at the MVP of their respective leagues, in both the boy’s and girl’s divisions.

For the competition, sponsored by 94Fifty Sports Technologies, each player performed a series of ball handling and shooting drills using 94Fifty’s skill measurement technology. With sensors inside the basketball, the skills of a player can be charted with specific data.

There were two rounds to determine the overall skill champion, with a ball-handling and shooting champion named after the preliminary rounds.

The first round of the competition required players to complete a set of advanced ball-handling drills and a 10-shot shooting sequence,  where the sensors recorded elements such as a players control of the ball, hand speed, coordination, and shot release speed. Ball-handling and shooting scores were then combined into a final score to select the top 5 boys and girls to compete in the final round.

“We were very impressed by the skill level of all of the players who competed, and our sensor-embedded products performed very well in allowing us to count skills that the human eye is just not meant to see. “  said 94Fifty CEO Mike Crowley.  “The two champions earned their titles by showing they have clearly worked hard over the years to perfect their skills.”

In addition to the overall champions, 94Fifty also crowned a top ball-handler and top shooter for the men’s and women’s division.   On the boy’s side, sophomore Max McCoy from Simi Valley Royal High school won the shooting competition, while Gary Mathews (Whittier High School) took the ball-handling crown.  For the girl’s division, Tyler Kim (Marlborough High School) won the ball-handling crown while Korver, the overall champion, also took the shooting crown. 

“We thought the competition highlighted the exceptional skill we have in Southern California, and we hope that it sets the standard for basketball skill development in our region and for the U.S.” added Rainer Wulf, Assistant Commissioner of the CIF-SS. “We wanted to do something unique and that has never been seen before. Congratulations to Dylan and Kari for claiming the 2011 titles.”