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Provo High basketball coach Craig Drury in 2004.

FILE, Daily Herald

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Former Provo boys basketball coach Craig Drury, left, walks out onto the UCCU Center court with his wife, Robin, and family members before a ceremony inducting him into the UHSAA Circle of Fame on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Retiring Provo head coach Craig Drury shakes hands with the Logan basketball team after the Bulldogs lost to the Bobcats in a first-round 4A state basketball game at the Dee Event Center in Ogden on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. GRANT HINDSLEY, Daily Herald

GRANT HINDSLEY, Daily Herald

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It was truly apropos that Provo won the 4A boys state basketball title the same year as one of its greatest coaches will be inducted as a Distinguished High School Coach into the Gallery of Honor of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

Craig Drury, who led the Bulldog program to eight state titles and 546 wins, will receive this honor along with eight other individuals at the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation spring banquet on Monday April 6.

Over the years Drury has been reluctant to accept this honor but admitted this recognition is a way to also honor his former players and assistant coaches.

“I never won a state title without great players and great assistant coaches,” Drury said. He specifically singled out Keli Lobendahn, who coached alongside him for 21 seasons.

Drury’s legacy and impact on the Provo basketball program is immense. Several former players dot the current coaching staff including head coach Chris Collinsworth. And the Jedi Master of the hard courts is well pleased with Collinsworth and his staff.

“I am very proud of Chris (Collinsworth) and the job he is doing,” said Drury. “He’s doing it his way and doing it well.”

Collinsworth has truly embraced the hallmark of the Bulldog program which has now won 18 state titles, the most in state history. And that stamp is “Bulldog Defense” which might be best described as a match-up zone defense based on man-to-man principles that continues to confound the opposition as witnessed by Provo holding Hurricane to 42 points in the championship game easily won by the Bulldogs, 62-42.

“It’s all man-to-man with a lot of switching,” Collinsworth said. “Teams think you’re in man, then they think you’re in zone, and it’s hard for them to figure out. We definitely pride ourselves on our defense for sure.”

Collinsworth, in his third year as the head coach, hasn’t been afraid to lean on Drury.

“The guy has won eight state championships and he’s coached a lot of years,” said Collinsworth. “As a new coach, there are a lot of things I don’t see so being able to turn to him to get his insights and opinion on things has been valuable.”

The 2026 state title was Provo’s first since 2008. The 2010s and into the 2020s saw the entire athletic program of Provo High generally struggle but recent coaching hires in football, basketball to lean on former alumni have brought dividends. A good share of Collinsworth’s staff are former players in the program like Jake Chrisman, Corbin Mercer, Matt Lohner, Jordan Snarr and Curtis Porter. Kirk Chambers, who just stepped down as head football coach after leading the Bulldogs to their first semifinal appearance since 1999, also played on two championship hoop teams coached by Drury.

“It’s fun to see so many of my former players giving back,” Drury said. “I am proud of what I’m seeing.”

Drury commended Collinsworth schematics, which emphasizes the 3-point shot and going to the rim at the expense of mid-range shooting.

“Chris has made the adjustments to how the game is played today. He is putting his own stamp on things.”

But there is one consistent thing that Drury sees between the teams Collinsworth coaches versus the teams Drury once led.

“His kids play hard,” Drury related. “That’s one thing that I always felt we did when I coached. It’s not like we didn’t have talent but we weren’t always the most talented team on the floor. But we always played hard.”

Collinsworth related that when he played for Drury there were high expectations.

“We learned how to win,” Collinsworth said. “Winning mattered to Coach. He taught us the importance of it, how to do it and playing in three (state) championship games in four years was a good platform for my life.”

However, Drury has a slightly different take.

“Winning wasn’t as important as just wanting my players to learn the things to be successful. Not just on the court but in life. If they learned the things to be successful, wins and losses would take care of themselves,” said Drury.

Jake Chrisman, who also played for Drury earning a championship ring, had this to say about his former coach.

“There wasn’t a better example of determination and hard work,” Chrisman said. “He had us clicking on all cylinders. He worked us hard, he coached us hard. But above anything else, we knew that he loved us and wanted nothing but the best for us.”

As Drury served as a mentor for Collinsworth, Drury had his own in Jim Spencer, where Drury was an assistant coach on two of five state titles won by Spencer. Now Drury will join Spencer as a Distinguished High School Coach in the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Gallery of Honor, a recognition long overdue and certainly well deserved.

For more information about the April 6 banquet and to purchase tickets visit https://www.utahsportshalloffame.org/events/spring-honors-awards-banquet-online-registration-new/