The 2014 AAU National Championship was the championship round of the shortened 2014 AAU regular season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Illinois State Champion Springfield Falcons took on the New York State Champion New York Stars for the title, with the Falcons holding home court advantage. Springfield defeated New York 4 games to 1 to win their first AAU National Championship.
The 2014 AAU Season was shortened due to a labor dispute that led to a lockout. The owners and the AAU Players Association reached an agreement to end the dispute in late March. The 2014 AAU Season, which began almost two months after its original set start date began in early April, and was shortened from the usual schedule to just 50 games per team.
Springfield
The 2014 AAU season was the second season of the "Twin Towers" pairing of prime Charlie Dawes prior to knee surgery and brother Chandler Dawes. The Dawes twins had been the best players on the team the seasn prior, and before the 2013 AAU Season, Head Coach Will Jenkins recruited the twins to play for his sqaud, and they proved to be a force. In 2013 Springfield won 56 games, but were elimated in the second round by Salt Lake City.
In the 2014 season, Springfield recovered from a 6-8 start to the season to win 31 of their last 36 games. Springfield qualified for the National Tournament at the top seed in the Midwest and tied Salt Lake City for the AAU's best regular season record (37-13).
After defeating Minnesota in four games, Springfield recorded back-to-back sweeps in the second round and the National Semi-Finals, defeating Compton and Portland. The victory over Portland gave Springfield their first-ever trip to the AAU National Championship.
Result
Springfield won the AAU National Title 4 games to 1. Springfield forward Chandler Dawes was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. With 47 seconds to go in Game 5. Brooks Bahr hit the game-winner. New York scored 39 points in the second half. However, New York couldn't hit their final jumpers in the last half-minute of the game that could have affected the outcome. Chandler Dawes scored 32 points and nine rebounds in the decisive Game 5 while averaging 29 points and fourteen rebounds with 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks in the National Championship Round.
Aftermath
In 2015, Springfield became the first AAU National Champions since Boston in 2000 to fail to win a second consecutive title. Springfield won 53 games in the 2015 season, but were severely limited by Carter Bryant's early season injury and Chandler Dawes's late season knee-injury, Springfield were eliminated in the first round of the AAU National Playoffs by Phoenix. The team went on to win National Championships in 2018, 2020 and 2022.