Led by an MVP performance from budding young superstar Sasha Vanderkecha, Springfield wins the series 4-1.
Springfield entered the 2024 season licking their wounds after perhaps the biggest collapse in AAU History, in which they squandered a last-minute lead to Miami in Game 6 of the AAU National Championship Series, before dropping Game 7 in another heartbreaker.
Rather than coddle his players, Springfield coach Will Jenkins challenged them on the first day of the 2024 training camp with a painful, in-depth video review of that Game 6 catastrophe. It was less about Xs and Os than throwing down the gauntlet for the marathon ahead.
"As the summer wore on," Jenkins explained. "I got angerier and angrier. I wanted to pull the guys back together ... and challenge them. I wanted to ask them, "When you get kicked in the gut, how will you respond?'"
In epic fashion.
Springfield didn't just bounce back, they enjoyed arguably their most satisfying season. They rode one of the most balanced rosters in AAU History - nine players averaged at least eight points and 19 minutes per game - to a league-high 62 wins, tied for the 2nd most in team annals at that point.
They looked great doing it, too, playing a gorgeous, free-flowing style that couldn't have been much different from the stodgy defensive juggernauts that won their first four championships.
The first round of the playoffs brought an expected challenge from Dallas, who pushed Springfield to seven games. They then topped longtime rivals Phoenix in another seven game series. In the National Semi-Finals they played Oklahoma City who knotted the series at 2-2 before Springfield advanced with consecutive victories to earn a rematch with Darik Queen and Miami. It was no contest.
Led by an MVP performance from budding young superstar Sasha Vanderkecha, Springfield demolished their opponent 4-1 with 19, 21 and 17-point victories over the last three games.
It wasn't enough to completely erase the agony of 2023. But that only made the ensuing triumph that much sweeter.
"Ir was a tough offseason, the whole winter in general. We all felt guilty," said veteran star Paul Hammond, who missed a clutch free throw to help facilitate Miami's Game 6 miracle in 2023. "But we worked hard. We fought every game in the regular season trying to get better to have the same opportunity again. We got to this spot, and we didn't let go."