This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Did Quincy Lewis ever imagine standing on a makeshift basketball court inside the state's capitol building as the governor traded hoops with his Class 5A champions?
At this point, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if March 8 is "Lone Peak Basketball Day" in Utah. It doesn't matter that Lewis has done enough interviews with local and national media to last a lifetime.
All that matters is the result, and that's all that ever has mattered to Lewis, who has led the Lone Peak Knights to six state crowns in eight seasons.
"It's been a whirlwind," he said nearly five weeks after capping the most memorable high school basketball season in the state's history.
That's partly on him. He was the best coach in America — honored by MaxPreps.com two days after the site called the Knights national champions — and did so in his style. He also was named the Naismith national high school boys' basketball coach of the year.
He coached like crazy. His bark echoed. No matter the talents, no matter the stage, Lewis always provided perspective to his players. He leapt off the ground in anger in the fourth quarter of a game in which his team led by 40.
"I'm fortunate to coach these guys," he said, still speaking in present tense. "These guys were some really talented guys that had an unusual combination of being unselfish and having great chemistry, too. Certainly will miss this group."
The Knights won 26 games and lost one. They averaged nearly 25 points a game more than their opponents and had the ability to lock down defensively on any team in the nation.
"It's all him," said senior Talon Shumway after the Knights defeated Alta in early March.
That's hard to argue. Lewis is on the fast track to becoming one of the best high school basketball coaches in Utah history. His results are easy to gawk at, but his basketball savvy and respect for the sport got opposing fans cheering for his Knights.
Following each win, the Lone Peak student section sang to him, chanting "We love Quincy."
Hard not to at this point.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —