SHALLOWATER — When discussing goals with his team, Shallowater boys basketball coach Jay Lusk doesn't like to talk about the end. In part, it's an effort to stay focused on the present.
This season, it was also a way to avoid thinking about the last game coaching his son.
Cooper Lusk has been around his dad and Mustangs basketball since he was an elementary-school kid dribbling a ball off to the side of practice. As a player, he saved his best for last.
Cooper closed his four-year varsity career at Shallowater leading the team within one game of the state tournament. It wasn't the ultimate storybook ending, but it was one Jay Lusk will never forget.
"That was a hard night," Jay Lusk said of the region final loss. "But, really, the next morning I think it hit me as a dad where, that was it. I'm just very blessed that I got to do it, because there's a lot of people in this world that they hadn't got to go through that experience.
"There's ups and downs in everything, but I wouldn't trade any of it in the world because it was one of the best things in my life."
Cooper's standout season earned him Lubbock A-J boys basketball player of the year. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged a team-high 21.4 points to go with 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Shallowater reached the Region I-3A final, before the loss closed its season at 32-3.
So ended a run that included four trips to the regional tournament.
"I'm glad that we won a lot of games. I think we did good," Cooper said. "I love my team. We all got along really well. We really didn't argue or anything. … I think that was the best part, because whenever you're around your friends it makes it that much better."
Many of the seniors had played together since Little Dribblers The cohesion, along with continued development, played into the success. Cooper said he focused on improving his physicality in order to guard any position.
He also showed the ability to score from the outside or with penetration, pairing with Super Team member Hayden Buckley to create one of the best offensive duos in the area.
Cooper's development should come as no surprise. He's been getting tips from his dad since the start. Cooper said Jay Lusk taught him "everything I know."
Jay Lusk said he was probably harder on Cooper as a freshman and sophomore than he should have been, but the two adjusted. Cooper looks back fondly on the hard coaching, and he said Jay's longtime familiarity with the players allowed everyone to take the coaching as well.
"He was hard on me too, but it made it that much better," Cooper said. "I had to work my butt off. He knew all my friends, and they knew him. … We were very much a family together."
Cooper's future plans aren't solidified yet, but his time at Shallowater is winding down. It will be the first child's graduation for Jay Lusk, who also has a sophomore daughter. It will take some recalibration next season without Cooper on the team, but for now Jay is focused on their remaining time in the same building.
"As a parent, you just want to spend as much time with them as possible," Lusk said. "… We'll be a little sad, but we're happy for him. He's growing up, and he's a great kid. We're wanting to see what big things happen in his life."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Boys basketball player of the year: Shallowater's Cooper Lusk ends with his best
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