Craig Daily Press

Craig — Craig Middle School hosted a dance Friday and many seventh and eighth-graders were there.

Except for one.

Paul Laliberte was missing.

“I’m not going to the dance,” he said, smiling shyly. “We have a game Sunday, and I want to be focused.”

Such is the life for the 13-year-old basketball junkie.

For the past few weeks, Paul has been competing in the Hoop Shoot contest, an annual event sponsored by the Elk’s Lodge.

Kids from around the country shoot 25 free throws during the contest, 10 to start and 15 after a short break.

Winners advance through district, state, regional and ultimately a national round, where college scholarships are earned and a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., is set aside for the national champion.

Paul won the district tournament Feb. 16 in Rifle, an expected result for last year’s state champion.

“I was the state champ last year,” he said. “Then I placed third in the regionals. I really wanted to win it in my last year.”

In the state championship round Feb. 23 in Salida, all did not go as planned for the seventh-grader.

He finished fourth, making 19 of 25 shots.

“I just wasn’t hitting the shots,” he said. “My free throws just weren’t going in. I wasn’t getting any rolls.”

Paul was the first shooter in Salida, a spot in the rotation he said he didn’t like.

He said he gets “nervous” leading off.

“I like to go second or third,” he said. “Not first.”

It was the last time competing in the Hoop Shoot for Paul.

He said he wants to spend more time next year getting ready for his step into the world of high school basketball.

“The Hoop Shoot has helped me a lot,” he said. “In a game, if it’s crunch time and you need someone at the free-throw line, I’m the guy that can go hit the shots.”

He’s “had a lot of fun,” he said, staying in hotels and mingling with friends on the road.

He’s grateful to Elk’s Lodge member Frank Sadvar, who has helped him along the way, and to his father.

“My dad is the one that fetches all the balls for me,” he said.

Sadvar said he’s proud of how Laliberte performed under “the tough competition” and how he represented the Elk’s Lodge.

“Paul is a great competitor,” Sadvar said. “He didn’t win, but he held his head high afterward.”

The CMS basketball season ended in early December and the Hoop Shoot is now finished for Paul as well.

But, for the self proclaimed “combo guard,” basketball isn’t finished just yet.

As for Sunday’s game, “it’s a three-on-three in Grand Junction,” Paul said. “It’s a rough time. It will help me get more aggressive on the court.”

John Vandelinder can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 211, or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com.