ST. GEORGE — Lincoln Stout, 10-year-old boy from Hurricane, took first place in his category at the national Jr. NBA Skills Challenge in New York.
The annual dribbling and shooting competition, sponsored by Verizon, attracted more than 66,000 participants from around the country.
Lincoln’s mother, LaRae Stout, said Lincoln first won the local competition in Hurricane, after which he also won the regional competition held in Farmington, Utah. That earned him an all-expenses-paid trip to New York for the national finals, which were held Wednesday.
Lincoln’s father Adam Stout accompanied his son on the trip. Lincoln is a student at Three Falls Elementary School.
Competing against the top winners from the seven other regions in the country, Lincoln Stout placed first in the boys 11 and under category, his mother said.
“The competition consisted of two one-minute drills of dribbling around stationary figures and then shooting from different spots with designated points,” she said. “After the minute was up, you got to shoot a free throw. Your points were calculated and totaled from the two runs to decide the winner.”
Lincoln Stout and the other top Jr. NBA Skills Challenge finishers are attending the NBA draft in New York Thursday night, where Lincoln has already gotten to meet Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and other NBA players, along with top draft prospects and league officials.
LaRae Stout said her son has dreams of playing professional basketball when he gets older.
“He would love to play for the NBA someday, but doesn’t know about the traveling involved,” she said. “He tends to get carsick just going to a neighboring city, so he’s not too anxious to go places.
“He doesn’t think the big city life is for him, but the experience has been fun.”
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