Here is the 2018 All-Ultimate Hoops Team. These five players are not selected based on the parameters the NBA sets. Meaning, this is a position-less team that focuses on players that are dedicated to Ultimate Hoops and were one of the best players in their respective regions. This is also not a team that is put together solely based on stats, although they obviously help. Participation, stats, championships and performances on the national stage were all considered. Here’s who made the cut.

Jordan Cannon – Las Vegas

Jordan Cannon (second from the left) after winning the Summerlin Open League

Cannon had four successful seasons in the Summerlin Open League in 2018. He is one of the key contributors to BTE, who have often played second fiddle to the Villains in Summerlin. After losing to the Villains in the winter championship and the spring semifinals, Cannon helped lead BTE to back-to-back open championships in the summer and fall seasons. He put together monster seasons on those championship runs. In the summer he had a split of 28.3/7.4/8.3 while shooting 65 percent from the field. He followed that up with a legendary fall, putting up a split of 30.8/8.9/9.5 while shooting 74 percent.

Cannon also had a successful run at the Las Vegas National Tournament, helping the hometown Rudedogs get to the quarterfinals despite going up against a tough schedule that featured Rec City and Ball So Hard. Cannon scored 14 points per game on 53 percent shooting while also leading his team in assists (3.3) and steals (3.3) per game.

Adam Hoven – Minnesota

There are not many players across UH nation that play as much as Hoven does. In 2018, Hoven played in 113 Ultimate Hoops games, spanning three different leagues and two national tournaments. His inclusion into this team is not a participation trophy, however, as Hoven consistently ranks near the top of the PPR leaders in Bloomington South and Fridley. The main reason he gets selected for this team is the five championships he won across three leagues.

Let’s start with the Fridley Rec Plus League, where Hoven got to the championship game in all four seasons and walked away with a banner in the winter. In Fridley this year, Hoven had a split of 23/11.8/5.7 while shooting at a clip of 52/43/80.

In the Bloomington South Rec League, Hoven was a part of a mini-dynasty with the Hornets, as they had a three-peat to start 2018, winning the rec championship in the winter, spring and summer. When the Hornets did not put a team together for the fall season, Hoven formed the Aardvarks, who got to the semifinals in a 10-team league. Hoven’s averaged 17.6/10.9/5.8 while shooting 51/42/66 in Bloomington South.

Arguably his most impressive title came in the Dream League, where Hoven led the Griffins to the 2018 title over the favored Pilots. Hoven averaged 13.4 points and a league-leading 13.9 rebounds to get the Griffins their first-ever Dream League championship.

Finally, Hoven played in both the Las Vegas and New York national tournaments this year, but it was in Vegas where he was given a chance to shine. While Rec City just missed out on a quarterfinal berth, it was not due to a lack of production from Hoven. He averaged 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting at a clip of 52/43/86.

Michael Kouser – Philadelphia

Screen Shot 2019-01-02 at 2.37.26 PM.png

There were plenty of impressive statistical seasons in 2018, but there may not have been a more impressive combined 2018 statistical line than Kouser’s. His headshot was routinely seen on the national PPR leaders page on the front of our league’s website, getting as high as third on the list in the spring and fall season. If you combine all four 2018 seasons Kouser played in the Mount Laurel Draft League, here are his averages: 31.7 points, 20.2 rebounds (4.8 on the offensive end) while shooting 58 percent from the field.

These weren’t just empty stats for Kouser, as he finished 2018 with a 24-2 record in games he played. That includes a trip to the championship game in the winter and summer seasons, and a championship banner hanging from the winter season. Kouser helped lead Death Row Records to an 11-0 winter season and a championship win. In the championship game, a 71-69 victory over the Wet Bandits, Kouser had a double-double of 36 points and 16 rebounds to cap off an undefeated season.

Adam Bickerstaff – Arizona

Bickerstaff has played in 190 Ultimate Hoops games in his career, putting him 10 short of becoming eligible to be nominated for the UH Hall of Fame. There’s no guarantee Bickerstaff will be a first-ballot inductee this year, but he immensely helped his case in 2018. Bickerstaff had his best year in his UH career in 2018, racking up five championships across four different leagues.

Let’s start with the Las Vegas National Tournament, where Bickerstaff’s Ball So Hard won their fourth straight championship. Bickerstaff has constructed the most dominant team in Ultimate Hoops history, and they were able to add another national title with ease this past May, winning their 21st straight game when they took down the Vegas Ballers in the championship game. Bickerstaff also had his best tournament statistically, as he put up a career-high in points (9.7), rebounds (2.3), assists (3.7) and steals (1.3) all while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 53 percent from deep.

He added a championship in the Tempe Open League in the spring with Ball So Hard and his first-ever veterans championship, which he won in Gilbert in the fall with Ball So Hard Vet. In the vet fall season, he had a split of 26.4/7.2/7.4 and shot at a 52/49/82 rate.

The most impressive feat of Bickerstaff’s year was his success in the Gilbert Draft League. Winning the Arizona State Draft Tournament is arguably the hardest championship to win in all of Ultimate Hoops, and Bickerstaff won it in back-to-back seasons with his running mate Christian Bower. They were able to win the summer and fall draft championships, a trophy that no other player has won twice, let alone back-to-back. If you combine those two championship seasons, Bickerstaff averaged 21.4/5.4/6.5 and shot at a split of 50/46/87.

Christian Bower – Arizona

Two of Bickerstaff’s championships would not have been possible without Bower, so it would’ve felt wrong to keep him off the team. Bower had success in every league or tournament he played in this year, but he was at his best running alongside Bickerstaff in the draft league. Bower averaged a double-double in each of those championship seasons, averaging 26.1 points and 10.1 assists in the summer and 32.8 points and 12.2 assists in the fall.

Bower also played in the Las Vegas National Tournament, and while his stats don’t jump off the page (8/2.8/4.3), he helped lead Private Lessons to a 3-0 record in pool play while playing two games with only five players.

Bower had success in the Tempe Open League, playing three seasons this year. He averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 assists per game while shooting 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep.

2017 All-Ultimate Hoops Team

Steve Bertrand – Arizona

Michael Cox – Laguna

Adam Hoven – Minnesota

Michael Mastro – New York

Chase Skinkis – Las Vegas