Lone Peak basketball coach Quincy Lewis reflects on historic season

HIGHLAND, Utah — Winning state championships and dominating a string of opponents is nothing new to Lone Peak (Highland, Utah). The Knights have built a tradition of success on the basketball court. Still, their winning tradition reached a whole new height during a magical 2012-13 season.

Lone Peak finished the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. The Knights posted a 26-1 record and won their third-consecutive Class 5A title in Utah. They have won a state title in Utah six out of the past nine seasons. En route to finishing No. 1 nationally, Lone Peak beat opponents by an average margin of 28.2 points per game.

Lone Peak head coach Quincy Lewis sat down with MaxPreps to reflect on a season where Lone Peak emerged as one of the best basketball teams in the nation:

MaxPreps: Did you sense that this season could turn out so well for your team?
Quincy Lewis: Based on what we have done the previous year in our state tournament, and then what we did in the summer, I felt like we had a chance at something like this. You never know that for sure, but I felt like we had the opportunity. That's one of the reasons why I scheduled the type of out-of-state schedule that I did.

MP: What did this group do in the summer that raised your expectations for the season?
QL: We played in three out-of-state tournaments in the summer with Under Armor — one in Philadelphia, one in Dallas and one in Milwaukee. We were good at each one of those and we didn't have our starting four man, Talon Shumway, for any of them. So we really looked at it and said, 'Gee, if we're one of the top AAU teams in each of these tournaments and we don't even have our starting four, what can we do next year?'

MP: What qualities did your team possess that made them live up to their potential?
QL: Teamwork and chemistry. Obviously, there's a lot of talent on the team and we couldn't accomplish what we did without that. But the thing that put us over the top is how well we worked together and just our overall teamwork.

MP: Tell me your thoughts on your big three of Eric Mika, Nick Emery and T.J. Haws. What were their personalities like and how did it impact the rest of the team?
QL: These kids grew up together. Nick and T.J. have been best friends since second grade. It really makes a difference. When you have talented guys like that, sometimes they start worrying about how many points they are getting. You never got that feeling between these three guys at all.

MP: What was the team's biggest strength from start to finish?
QL: Maybe one thing that people overlooked is our defense was consistent all year long. You could see the dunks and 3-point shots and that's what (the fans) are drawn to. But the defense was consistent all year long. The other thing about the group is that they were versatile. We could a lot of different things with the kids we had. We could handle a lot of different situations teams threw at us.

MP: Did it ever surprise you that Lone Peak dominated its competition so thoroughly during the season?
QL: I guess maybe the only thing I can say is we've had those types of scores in and out of the state. We only had one loss. Wesley Christian Academy played us close. But after that, I don't know if there was any games under 15 (points).

MP: Does it worry you as a coach that too much dominance will leave your team unprepared to handle close games?
QL: You don't wish for a lot of those close games. The best thing you can do is practice those types of situations in practice. Fortunately, (it was not a major concern) with the experience this team had. We've been through some tight, tough games in the past.

MP: Which moments were most memorable for you and your team this season?
QL: Certainly, winning the state championship is the best. I would say one of the (best) moments in the season would have to be the Wesley Christian Academy game in Milwaukee. I didn't feel like we were playing our best. We were down in that game and we came back and won it. That was a really a key game for us because we don't have a chance to be national champions unless we win that game.

MP: Haws is back for one more season in 2013-14. Do you have other promising players joining him who will be able to step in and contribute right away?
QL: We do. Obviously, you can't replace some of the guys we lost. A couple of them were four-year starters. But we have some kids that are playing JV. Our JV (team) didn't lose a game in region. A number of those kids got varsity time off the bench. Everybody just sees T.J., but I think they'll be surprised at the level we're at next year.

MP: What has been the response locally to have a Utah team draw so much national attention?
QL: Our community has really rallied behind us. Wherever we have gone in the state of Utah, it has been a sellout. It has just been a fun ride.

MP: What is the most unusual thing that has happened while doing so many national interviews?
QL: Probably the funniest moment is when I heard we were in "Seventeen Magazine" as the crush of the week. Our team was (selected). So we got a kick out of that.

MP: Did it make getting prom dates any easier for your players?
QL: (laughs) They were all okay getting dates on their own. But that was one of the funnier things that came through.

John Coon has covered prep sports in Utah since 2004. He previously worked as a sports reporter with the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. You can email him at john_coon@hotmail.com.