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Given the impossible task of summarizing Nick Emery's career at Lone Peak, Quincy Lewis paused and delivered the same response as anyone who'd seen Emery own Utah high school basketball the last four years.

"As far as talking about success in a career, I don't know who you'd say had a better one," said Lewis, Lone Peak's coach. "Honestly, I don't know who you'd say."

Three consecutive rings along with being a top 10 scorer (eighth all time) in Utah high school hoops history, the all-time 3-point shooter (269 made 3s) and the consummate defender made Emery a player the state won't soon forget.

"I couldn't have done the things I was able to do without Nick," said Lone Peak senior center Eric Mika, who will play at BYU with Emery.

For a team wrought with expectation, Emery was the glue. He was the team's leader, and when the Knights needed a kick or boost of energy, more often than not it was No. 4 who provided it by draining a deep 3 or starting one of the archetypal Lone Peak fast breaks.

"The kid's got heart," ESPN.com scout Reggie Rankin said. "There are guys that have great size and skill that don't have the same ticker as Nick."

Emery's senior season was a bit different from his previous three.

He didn't average more than 20 points like he did during his sophomore and junior campaigns — he averaged more than 17 points per outing this season — and his 3-point makes were down, but that's the way he wanted to end his career.

After winning his third consecutive Class 5A state title against Alta in March, he said his lifelong dream was to step away from the high school ranks with a championship in hand, celebrating with his lifelong friends.

Mission accomplished.

Oh, and he also earned a national championship to go with his laundry list of career accolades as a Knight.

"I knew before this started that this was going to be a special team," he said after winning the state championship.

And he was the oil that kept the engine running and running and running. —