2,241 Reasons to Watch Chris Hass
February 14, 2012
Chris Hass began his freshman basketball season with his sights set on breaking an MHSAA career record.
But if you’ve heard at all of the Pellston High standout, it’s probably not the record you’d think.
Hass is one of just 34 players in MHSAA history to score at least 2,000 points. Only nine players have scored more than his 2,241 points heading into Wednesday’s game against Bellaire.
That record he wanted to break? Career assists, of course. And Hass has a bunch of those too. But the 6-foot-5 senior clearly is known for scoring in bunches few in MHSAA history have equaled.
“For me, it wasn’t something where it was my goal. I definitely feel honored to play on a team that’s willing to give me an opportunity to do that,” Hass said. “I guess it’s a big deal in northern Michigan, getting our name out there. Pellston is a small school, and to hit 2,000 points, it’s starting to get Pellston on the map, which is what the community deserves.”
Hass earned one of this week’s MHSAA High 5s not just for the ridiculous numbers he’s put up this season and over the last four, but for how he’s led the Class D Hornets into at least a glimmer of the state spotlight.
Pellston is 14-1 and can avenge its lone loss tonight against Bellaire, which beat the Hornets 75-58 on Jan. 17. Bellaire is ranked No. 1 and Pellston No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press Class D state poll.
Hass has a history with Bellaire – he scored 26 points in the fourth quarter alone before fouling out in a loss last season to Eagles. That’s the fourth-most points scored in a quarter in MHSAA history – and just one of the many listings Hass has or will have in the record book after his high school career ends sometime next month.
This season, he’s averaging 30.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, six assists, 4.5 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game. He’s always been a strong ball-handler and continues to man the point despite an ability to play any position. He’s making 55 percent of his shots from the floor – including an incredible 52-percent success clip from 3-point range (he’s made 40 from beyond the arc).
“On nights when we really don’t need him to (score), he almost disappears into the background a little bit to get his teammates involved,” Cliff Hass said. “It’s really about the team, chemistry. He’s always one of the leaders trying to get chemistry (right). Does he love to have that 57-point night? That’s great, but he’s all about winning.”
So much so that Chris Hass almost committing to play next for Bethel College (Ind.), which has won seven NAIA national championships under its current coach, before settling on Bucknell after falling in love with the program and campus during a visit. There, Hass will join 2011 Petoskey graduate Cory Starkey on a team that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
"First and foremost, Chris is just a terrific scorer," said Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen in his program’s early-signing day press release. "He is an excellent shooter with great range, but he is also athletic and `bouncy' and can get to the rim. We expect that Chris will be able to give us a real explosive offensive presence from the perimeter."
Hass’ point total is exactly 600 short of the MHSAA record set by Mio’s Jay Smith from 1976-79. It’s unlikely Hass will break that record – he’d have to average 50 points a game through the MHSAA Final just to tie it – but being in the conversation is something special in itself.
Filling it up is nothing new in the Hass family. Older sister Stephanie Hass held the MHSAA girls scoring record with 2,732 points for a decade until Central Lake’s Jasmine Hines broke it last season. Hass, who played high school at Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian – and then at Saginaw Valley State University – finished with a career scoring average of 31.4 points per game, tops in the record book.
And she never took it easy on her little brother.
Chris Hass remembered once, when he was 8 or so, getting so angry during a game of one-on-one that he started throwing rocks at his sister. But he also watched and emulated how she worked to improve her game. And around 12 years old, he beat her one-on-one for the first time.
“I do see similarities in both, offensively; ball-handling was probably their number one attribute. It’s the first thing I really noticed,” said Cliff Hass, their father and also Pellston’s boys varsity coach. “(And) they both developed that mentality of being able to score at any time.
“I tell all the players I coach, if you touch the ball 94 feet away (from the basket), your first goal is to score from 94 feet away. Being in the mentality of looking to score, you put pressure on the defense, and they have to stop you. And they might need a second person to try to stop you. “
Chris echoes his dad’s philosophy. But he wanted to make sure people saw him as more than a scorer. At Harbor Light in sixth and seventh grade, he’d been mostly a distributor passing to Collin Hewitt, who now plays at Spring Arbor. But Hass switched to his dad’s school for ninth grade, and began switching roles as well.
He still tries to get as many assists as he can. But although Pellston has other scorers (senior Andy Hamlin tallied his 1,000th career point this season), Hass knows for the Hornets to continue this run – and get a chance to show what they can do against competition from further down state – he needs to keep putting up the points.
“When you say you’re from the Petoskey area, people have no idea where that is,” Hass said. “Knowing we finally maybe might get some respect, I’m definitely excited about it.”
TC Christian's Broderick Approaching Records, But Team Goals Top His List
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2025
If Reese Broderick falls short of the main goal this season, he may never forgive himself.
Rest assured he‘ll likely go easier on his Traverse City Christian basketball teammates.
Broderick is the Sabres’ senior sharpshooter with defensive prowess. The most career 3-pointers in MHSAA history and the school’s scoring record could be his when the dust settles on this season.
But neither feat is at the top of his season goal list.
Broderick has his eyes set on helping his team win the school’s first boys basketball District championship. That outcome might also include a postseason win over the school’s biggest rival, Lake Leelanau St. Mary.
The Eagles ended Broderick’s freshman and sophomore seasons. They also ended his older brother Brock’s career in 2022 as the Brodericks were playing varsity together as a freshman and senior, respectively.
The older Broderick finished that season as the school’s all-time scoring leader, setting the bar at 1,528 career points.
The younger Broderick entered the 2025 calendar year with 284 career 3-point shots made is about to top the 1,300 career scoring mark. He connected on four 3-pointers in the first game of 2025 in a loss to Onekama. He had six the next time out in a win over Leland and finished this week with three more in a win at Bear Lake.
He is now at 297 career 3-pointers made, ranking him fifth in MHSAA history. Matt Kitchen, who starred for Mayville and Unionville-Sebewaing, owns the career mark of 340.
But hosting a District trophy is of far greater importance to Broderick. The Sabres are 9-2 on the season and collecting wins is their focus.
“I am already on the list, so that’s not too high of a priority and it’s an honor to be on the list,” said Broderick, who joined the 1,000-point club a year ago. “As a school, we haven’t won a District yet, so that’s definitely the big goal and after that just keep going."
Points from Broderick, a second-team all-state selection the past two seasons, are not counted on as much this winter.
“His points are probably 12 points per game — it could be 25, but we’re not worried about (that),” said Sabres coach Rene LaFreniere. “We’re got four guys that any one of them could be all-state selections if we made the push — with Reece being one of them — but at the end of the day, they want to win the District trophy. That’s their focus.’
LaFreniere, now in his fourth year at the school with an enrollment barely topping 100, has seen the Sabres rotate scoring leaders all season. Senior guard Austin Miller – who gets points in transition and is considered the team’s top defender – junior power forward Garret Schultz, and sophomore Asher Coates, a newcomer who can score but focuses on distributing the ball, have all had a few double-digit nights already this season.
Schultz led the Sabres in scoring in their win over Bear Lake with 18 points. Coates kicked in 17.
The team’s stingy defense though has been a bigger contributor to the Sabres’ success, noted LaFreniere. They held Bear Lake to just 32 points this week.
“We’re holding teams to 38-42 points per game,” LaFreniere said. “Right now defensively is what they’re more focused on.”
And while the Sabres play tough defense, Broderick draws the opponent’s best defender every time. It’s not really anything new though.
And while the Sabres are not focused on Broderick getting the career mark, they’ll take every 3-pointer he can muster. The offense relies on screen actions and inbound passes to get the 3-point opportunities.
“I get the ball, but it’s tough,” said Broderick, who missed two games due to illness this season. “I’ll take whatever I can get at the end of season.”
Broderick is rarely hesitant to take the shot whenever it presents itself on the court. He always takes a look at how the team is set for rebounding before making the shot decision.
“The thought is I want to shoot it every time,” he said with a little laugh. “Honestly, it’s just flow — whatever I am feeling.”
Mistakes and shortfalls are tolerated a lot more for teammates than by Broderick himself. “I am pretty easy going — hard on myself though,” he said. “But easy on others, I think.”
LaFreniere loves the intensity his quiet leader plays with at both ends of the court.
“He doesn’t say much,” LaFreniere said. “He’s definitely hard on himself, but most people don’t realize that Reece is one our better defenders on the floor. He likes to play defense. He understands the little nuances of the game.”
The Sabres have 11 games left during regular season. They’d love to ride some hot shooting and strong defense deep into the postseason. Suttons Bay will host the District, which also features Leland, Buckley and Frankfort in addition to St. Mary.
Traverse City Christian will try to take one game at a time, but is looking ahead to a rematch with the rival Eagles. Christian will host them Feb. 7, a part of their unwritten agreement to play each other twice during the regular season. In addition to each school gaining a quality local opponent, the need is greater as neither school currently competes in a league.
St. Mary won 36-27 in front of a large audience in December, as the Sabres shot as they often do in their rival’s gym.
“They got us up there at their place because historically we never shoot well in their gym, and I don’t know why,” LaFreniere said. “But the good side is they don’t shoot well in our gym either. We can’t wait to see.”
A full gymnasium is expected when the Eagles venture south to Traverse City.
“I think it’s a good rivalry – it’s healthy and it’s respectful, and we kind of feed off of it — it’s fun,” LaFreniere said. “When we go to their place it’s a packed house, and when they come to our place it’s a packed house.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Christian’s Reese Broderick is approaching the MHSAA record for career 3-pointers. (Middle) Broderick looks for an open dribbling lane this winter against Manton. (Below) Broderick gets up a shot last season against Bear Lake. (Top photo courtesy of Traverse City Christian High School. Action photos by TC Rick Sports Photography.)