Annual HIT is another great event that was called off due to COVID-19

It has been a crazy time recently along the Hi-Line and a lot of sports have been halted due to the coronavirus concern. With the Montana High School Association working to contain and stop the spread of COVID-19, there are many sports at risk.

But it is not just the spring sports at mercy right now, as the Hi-Line Invitational Tournament has been canceled, as well. The tournament where the classes of Montana basketball come together and enjoy a nice after-season competition likely will not happen.

The HIT has been a big thing along the Hi-Line for many years and tournament head, and MSU-Northern head women's basketball coach Chris Mouat detailed the history of the HIT, which is hosted now every spring in the Armory Gymnasium.

"This was going to be the 34th year," Mouat said. "It was initially started in Malta by Babsie Bishop and Tom Storm. They wanted to do a high school all-star tournament for the kids. They allowed us to run it in Havre about 8 to 10 years ago, so with their blessing we've been doing it every year since. It has been a great thing for Montana high school basketball."

Northern was to host the 2020 HIT once again, with many great players taking the court once again. Last year's HIT tourney saw Kellen Detrick, Tommy Brown, Sadie Filius, Kyndall Keller, L'Tia Lawrence, Isaac Bell, Joelnell Momberg and Lillian Gopher participate. The winners of the 2019 HIT were the Class A boys, who beat the Class AA boys and the Class B girls who beat the Class C girls.

With how much of an exciting season it was for Hi-Line basketball in 2020, there is no doubt that this year's HIT would have been just as exciting. Hi-Line standouts were all over the court this year and many likely would have made the team, too. Now, the 2020 HIT tourney will fade away.

And the HIT tourney holds a lot of great bonuses for coaches and players, too. Coaches and players get to work with different teammates than they are used to on different levels, the classes all get to play each other and showcase their talents that made them standout throughout the season. The HIT is a special key for colleges, as well, as Mouat said.

"The biggest setback is recruiting," Mouat said. "It is an opportunity for a lot of college coaches to come up here and watch the kids play. Coaches want to see some kids that maybe they didn't know everything about and make sure they were going to offer. I think it's a lot of fun, also. Kids get to see that crossover between the different levels in Montana and that's awesome."

The HIT is an enjoyable event among the state, too. Fans get to see the athletes that shook up the courts every season, the coaches get to experience different players to coach for a tourney and the players especially enjoy the opportunity to get to team up with those they usually don't.

The players have a lot of opportunities waiting for them after the HIT tourney. On top of getting to play in an all-star game, those players will hopefully get to experience new techniques and coaching styles that can benefit them in the future, as well. For a weekend, Montana basketball fans and families can come together to watch the elite group of athletes play.

The HIT was also known to bring toether the best players from all over Montana and would have done so again this season, including many stars from Havre High and other parts of the Hi-Line.

Without a HIT tournament this year, as well as the Senior Classic in Billings also being canceled, there is an odd void that hits the communites and Mouat knows that the coaches and players look forward to it every year.

"I think it starts with the coaches," Mouat said. "The coaches really duke it out when they put their teams together. I think as the coaches recruit these teams; they say, 'hey, I want to go win the HIT.' That's a great thing for our classification in Montana, whether your Class AA, A, B or C. They want to win it. I think it's a matter of pride. If they can come in and win the thing, it means a lot."

Mouat mentioned how much MSU-Northern and the Frontier conference has benefitted from the hit, too.

"I think for Northern and other schools in the Frontier, we've got a lot of kids from this thing," Mouat added. "We've had kids come up and play that we've signed. That's been exciting for us. As an opportunity for kids, it's really awesome."

Now, the 2020 Hi-Line Invitational Tournament sits without teams, fans and fun with the coronavirus crisis causing concern among the state of Montana. Without the HIT, players do not get to experience the fun of the tourney, colleges have some more struggles with recruiting and overall, there is an empty space for many Hi-Line basketball fans.