The 2018 National Championship was the championship round of the AAU's 2018 regular season, and the culmination of the National Tournament. The Illinois State champion Springfield played the New York State champion New Jersey for the title, with Springfield holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. Springfield defeated New Jersey to win the series 4-2 for their second National Title. Springfield forward Chandler Dawes was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. The series was broadcast on ESPN+ with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert announcing.
Background
The 2018 season had already started as a memorable one for Springfield, as it was the team's first season being sponsored by the State of Illinois. However, as this was one of the beginnings, it was also one of the endings. Springfield star Charlie Dawes suffered his final knee injury and was never the same MVP type player after his 2nd surgery on a torn muscle.
Over the past 2 seasons, injuries had slown down Charlie Dawes' productivity to the point where he missed 18 games in this season and was averaging much less than his 2013 MVP season. Nevertheless, Charlie's prescense in the middle of the paint contiuned to be a staple of the fantastic defense that Springfield is known to possess. Springfield had a very successful season, finishing 60-22, tying for the best record in the AAu that year.
The playoffs started off shaky for Springfield as they lost game 1 of the first-round series against Phoenix in overtime. However, they bounced back to take the series in 6 games.
The second round put Springfield face-to-face with the three-time defending champion Compton Magic. After splitting the first four games, Springfield eked out a win in Game 5. Springfield would eventually dispose of Compton in game 6, ending the Compton championship run.
The National Semi-Finals was a matchup of Springfield vs Dallas. Springfield once again started off slow, losing game 1 by three points, but took control of the series from there, taking the next three straight. After losing game 5 at home 103-91, Springfield came back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter, as Conor McCaffrey buried six 3-pointers in a row to take the series in six games with a 90-78 win over Dallas, advancing to their second AAU National Championship Series in organization history.
Series Summary
The National Championship was played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two home games were held at the team with home court advantage.
Game 4 of the series at Villanova University: a home game for New Jersey was a sellout.
Features
While the series recived the usual hype of the National Championship, it was not heavily anticipated due to the absence of Compton, who had won the three previous national titles. Springifeld did have a star in Chandler Dawes, but at the time he was criticized for being too boring compared to flashier players such as Emoni Bates and Mikey Williams.
The series largely centerd on the half-court offense and defense of each team, with only one team breaking 100 points in the series. New Jersey consistently double-teamed Chandler Dawes, often allowing him to find open teammates.
New Jersey guard Kevin Edmonds, second to Dawes in MVP voting during the 2018, was rumored to be leaving New Jersey and moving to Illinois for the 2019 season, leading to speculation that Springfield, would be a good fit for the Star in Edmonds, despite already having future AAU All-Star and All-American Conor McCaffrey on the roster, who was just playing his second full season as a member of Springfield.
Impact of the Series
Despite a great performance, particulary a barrage of three-pointers in the clinching game 6 Springfield win, Springfield swingman Braden Hausen would leave the team at the end of the season. It was clear that Springfield was headed in a new direction.
Chandler and Charlie Dawes were named Sportsboys of the Year by Sports Illustrated for 2018.
Aftermath
Despite the departures of Hausen and the loss of Charlie Dawes' MVP type play, Springfield still managed to win 57 games, aided by Chandler Dawes' strong play. However, they were ousted in six games by Compton, highlighted by Damian Allen's game-winner with 0.4 seconds left in game 5 of the National Quarterfinals. In the years following, Chandler Dawes has led Springfield to two more National Championships in 2020 and 2022.