Whatever the culture may be at Cooper High School, it has come with a lot of success.
From the boys basketball program to the girls, the Jaguars are at the pinnacle of the 9th Region, each winning region titles in the same season for the first time since 2012 when Boone County accomplished the double.
On Tuesday night, it was the boys taking down Lloyd Memorial 53-38 in the 9th Region championship at Truist Arena.
Amid all the noise surrounding the program regarding the status of coach Tim Sullivan’s future with the team, the Jaguars blocked it all out and took on every obstacle with flying colors over the last month of the season and into the postseason.
“I’m at a loss of words because of how they’ve come together,” Sullivan said. “The way that they have just continued to stay focused on what we’re trying to do and continue trusting one another and continuing to just pour their hearts into the program.”
Sullivan was reportedly told in a meeting on January 21 with Principal Michael Wilson that his contract will not be renewed for next year due to not addressing the culture of the program with urgency and he resign after the season. Sullivan stated after the game that he and Wilson haven’t spoken since, but he has had a meeting with Boone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hauswald.
The team didn’t become aware of the matter until a few weeks later and decided to make it a rallying point.
“We’re just playing with the chip on our shoulder,” Jaguars senior Isaac Brown said. “I mean, ultimately, what’s going to happen is going to happen, so we’re just trying to play and understanding that this might be our last ride, so let’s do it the right way and every single day take advantage of it. We’re just playing hard for ourselves and playing hard for Coach Sully, because we got a lot of seniors and we have a lot of underclassmen that want to experience these things.”
And rally they did. Since Jan. 14 in a win over Lloyd Memorial, the Jaguars are 18-1 and finished off the year a perfect 15-0 in region play. They did so with unselfishness and proved they are more than co-9th Region Player of the Year Andy Johnson. When Johnson was held scoreless in the second half Tuesday night, others like Jaidan and Roman Combs, Isaac Brown and Chris Rodriguez stepped up to the plate as they turned a 28-17 halftime lead all the way to a 21-point second half advantage.
“I was told I didn’t score in the second half and I don’t really care,” Johnson said. “I saw they were jumping ball screens and doubling so I knew I needed to make my teammates better. I knew they had to make shots for me and they trust me and I trust them so much. I’ll ride or die with all of them and trust is the biggest thing on this team.”
Johnson would finish with 10 points. They were led by Roman Combs’ double-double of 13 points and 10 assists. Chris Rodriguez added 11 points, Jaidan Combs with 10 points and the difficult task of trying to stop Lloyd’s EJ Walker.
“My job was to let him score as least as possible,” Jaidan Combs said. “I just wanted to be a pest in the paint because he’s obviously bigger and stronger than me. I knew what I needed to do, I’m not scared of anybody and knew my teammates had my back.”
A 12-0 start out of the gate certainly helped, facing a Juggernauts team that was playing in their first region championship game since 1996. This was the Jags third straight region final appearance.
“That definitely helped,” Sullivan said. “Watching our kids go to school, when we loaded the bus, I could tell our kids were loose, but when it came time when they got here, they were locked in. This group doesn’t have to get real flashy with things, They trust each other, trust the system. I can’t say it’s easy to coach them, but it’s fun as hell to coach them.”
Lloyd was able to gain their bearings and get within 19-14 in the second quarter, but they’d get no closer the rest of the night as they went into halftime trailing 28-17.
Cooper was determined to seal the deal, Lloyd unable to get any closer as Cooper opened the second half on a 7-0 run and Lloyd never got any closer than 14.
After coming up short to Newport in the title game the prior two seasons, it’s their second region title in program history, also taking home the crown in 2017.
“People don’t realize how hard it is to coach and how hard it is to win a region, and how much harder it is to win a ninth region,” Sullivan said. “To win a ninth region, you have to have a lot of luck. You got to have some health, but you better have a really, really tight knit group. And not only is our group tight, but our community is tight and our family is very tight. The word family is not used as just a punch line in our program. It is part of who we are. It’s the way we live every day and the way that we play for one another.”
About the culture?
“It’s the way you pick up trash in the locker room, it’s the way that you carry yourself to class. It’s the way that you look everybody in the eye when you’re talking,” Sullivan said. “It’s everything that we do, from cleaning up the bench after the games to loving one another. There’s nothing better than seeing a picture where one of our guys is on the ground and the other four guys are trying to help him off the ground. The way that we love our family, the way that our kids pray together, I just It blows my mind. That’s the kids, it’s a culture in our program, but it’s the kids and they lead by example. Our culture is pretty strong.”
As for Lloyd, it puts an end to a storybook season in which they finished 26-7 and won 92 games over the last four seasons. It also puts an end to a storybook high school career for EJ Walker, the program’s all-time leading scorer and most decorated player in program history. Walker departs with seven other seniors and a class that’s one of the winningest to ever step foot on campus. Walker departs with Carter Bresser, Elijah Collins, Tyler Copeland, Duncan Crenshaw, Jaxon Fann, Jayden Humphrey and Isaiah Sebastian.
“This class is unlike any other,” Juggernauts coach Mike Walker said. “They are more than just players. A son, his friends/best friends have become like sons to me. I will do anything for these guys. I’d do anything to have one more go at it with them. Been through the ups and downs together, but have a lot of winning with these guys. Records broken, making history, it’s bigger than basketball here. It’s heartbreaking to lose that. They’ve left a stamp and set the bar high for the following classes. They changed the culture of Lloyd.”
Junior Anthony Blaackar led the Juggs with 14 points, Isiah Golsby adding eight and EJ Walker with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Mike Walker guided a complete turnaround for the program over the last five years. Prior to his arrival, the Juggernauts hadn’t won a region tournament game since 2012 and made just one appearance since that time in 2017. Since Walker took over the program in 2020, Lloyd has won 99 games with four straight region tournament appearances and at least one victory in those region tournaments over that span. It also came with three straight district championships in the last three seasons.
PHOTO SLIDESHOW: Cooper-Lloyd 9th Region championship (provided by Charles Bolton)
JAGUARS 53, JUGGERNAUTS 38
LLOYD MEMORIAL — 4-13-7-14 — 38
COOPER — 14-14-10-15 — 53
Scoring
Lloyd (38) — Blaackar 14, Golsby 8, Walker 7, Sebastian 5, Humphrey 2, Crenshaw 2
Cooper (53) — R. Combs 13, Rodriguez 11, Johnson 10, J. Combs 10, Brown 5, Knuckles 2, Sullivan 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Lloyd 16/51, Cooper 21/44
3-Pointers: Lloyd 2/14, Cooper 4/13
Free Throws: Lloyd 4/6, Cooper 7/8
Rebounds: Lloyd 28, Cooper 31
Assists: Lloyd 6, Cooper 10
Turnovers: Lloyd 4, Cooper 7
Steals: Lloyd 4, Cooper 3
Blocked Shots: Lloyd 4, Cooper 6
Fouls: Lloyd 8, Cooper 7
Records: Lloyd Memorial 26-7, Cooper 23-5