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Lehi senior Cooper Lewis goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Herriman at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis, left, poses for photos with his father, head coach Quincy Lewis, after winning the 6A boys basketball state championship at the Huntsman Center on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis launches a 3-pointer against Corner Canyon during the 6A boys basketball state title game at the Huntsman Center on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis gathers himself for a shot against Corner Canyon during the 6A boys basketball state championship game at the Huntsman Center on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi senior Cooper Lewis shoots a 3-pointer during the 6A semifinal game against Herriman at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis (1) drives by American Fork's Jax Clark during a Region 3 boys basketball game on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis rises up for a jumper against American Fork in a Region 3 boys basketball game on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Lehi's Cooper Lewis, right, goes in for a layup against Riverton in a 6A boys basketball quarterfinal game at the Huntsman Center on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Teammates of Lehi’s Cooper Lewis have given him a nickname: “Robo,” as in “robot.”

It’s a testament to his relentless and consistent effort on and off the basketball floor, and it’s one of many reasons the senior guard is the Daily Herald’s 2024 Utah Valley Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“He’s so wired, I feel like he’s always in the gym,” Lehi senior forward Grayson Brousseau said. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s just ‘go, go, go’ and never misses a workout. He’s remarkable, that’s the only word I can say.”

Lewis led the state in scoring, averaging 27.3 points per game while shooting 48% from the field. He made 110 3-pointers, which also led the state, converting at a 38% clip. The Pioneers rode Lewis’s scoring and leadership all the way to the 6A state title.

He scored 40 points or more three times this season, including a 47-point outburst against American Fork on January 12. In the state finals, Lewis scored 30 points and made five 3-pointers.

The way his teammates talk about him, Lewis is clearly more than just a high-scoring shooting guard.

Senior guard Bryson Bromley has known Lewis nearly since birth. Bromley’s father, Reed, has been coaching with Lewis’s father, Quincy, for years, both at Lone Peak and now at Lehi. At the team banquet this spring there was a picture of Bryson and Cooper holding up a Lone Peak championship trophy when they were five years old.

They got the chance to do the same as teammates at Lehi, beating Corner Canyon 78-67  for the 6A title on March 1 at the Huntsman Center.

“Cooper’s hard work and determination, you know that every single game his going to have your back,” Bryson Bromley said. “He’s certainly gotten more attention this year. It’s all about how much work he puts in. Sometimes after practice, I’m dying but he wants to get another workout in. He sums up everything about what it takes to be a good basketball player. He does what it takes to win.”

It would be understandable if some of the Pioneers were jealous of Lewis’s success and accolades, but Brousseau said that isn’t the case.

“Cooper is unlike any other player,” he said. “It’s not like he just came on the scene gifted with all of these abilities. He’s the hardest working kid at Lehi, if not the whole state. No one outworked him this year. He’s spent so much time in the gym. When you have a teammate doing that, it’s really easy to root for them and be happy for them when they do great things.

“We knew he was our guy to take the shots and do most of the scoring, but we’ve seen the hard work and dedication he puts in. We knew he was our guy. And as good as he is at basketball, that’s nothing compared to how good of a person and teammate he’s been for us.”

Brousseau and Cooper Lewis have been friends since they were eight years old, playing basketball as well as baseball together.

“He’s one of my closest friends,” Brousseau said. “It wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows for Cooper. When he was a freshman, he wasn’t a phenom. He stuck with it and put in the hard work, trusting the process and good things came his way. He’s the perfect teammate. He really has earned everything he has. There’s been nothing given to him.”

Quincy Lewis has now won more state championships (nine) than any coach in Utah high school history. Both Quincy and Cooper basically grew up in gyms. Quincy played for his father, Tim, at Timpview and won a pair of state titles. Cooper was a constant presence at Lone Peak (where his father won seven of his state titles) and later at BYU where Quincy was an assistant coach.

“He was at a lot of practices,” Quincy Lewis said. “He could see what he wanted to become. One of his best dribble moves is something we took from (former BYU All-American) Kyle Collinsworth. Cooper was in fifth or sixth grade and Kyle showed him this pull-back crossover move after practice one day. Cooper used it in the state championship game last month.”

“I got to see Cooper continually add to his game and progress, from mid-range shooting to adding a little bit of wiggle to his game to be able to get to places off the dribble. There was year after year of putting in time to get better. From a dad’s perspective, it was pretty cool to see him getting up at 5:30 in the morning, then go to school and after a two-hour workout go to an open gym. I know how hard he has worked to get this.”

Quincy Lewis said Cooper didn’t play in a single AAU game in that past 1 1/2 years, allowing for him to work on his individual skills.

“You improve the most when the ball is in your hands,” Quincy Lewis said. “When the ball is in your hands most is in individual work: One-on-one, then two-on-two then five-on-five. Very few kids will do that.”

Off the court, Cooper Lewis has discovered a passion for golf and hits the links with friends two or three times a week in the offseason. He also loves to hunt and fish, going out to Panguitch where his grandfather, Tim Lewis, lives.

“That’s a great place for me to get out and unwind a little bit,” Cooper Lewis said.

He originally committed to play at College of Southern Idaho but a terrific senior year has opened up some other opportunities at the next level. Quincy Lewis said a dozen Division I coaches contact his son every week. Cooper Lewis said he wants to make a decision in May or June.

Winning the state title, he said, was the culmination of everything falling into place for he and his teammates.

“We had a couple of tough losses in region where our defense wasn’t what it was supposed to be,” Cooper Lewis said. “After those games we made adjustments and came back better. Going into state, we were playing as well as anybody. As a team we were so united and together, nobody was going to break us apart.”

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