This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Andrew Blanchard remembers the first time he saw his group of freshmen when he took over the head coaching job at Copper Hills High.
He remembers Preston Sanchez and his ability to get to the rim and make plays off the dribble. He remembers Porter Hawkins, his size, his touch and nimble feet in the paint. Blanchard nodded approvingly.
He knew he had something with this group of freshmen.
"We thought they would be good, so we brought them up [to varsity] early," Blanchard said. "They wanted to work hard and they wanted to make a name for themselves. I couldn't be more proud of what they've accomplished. They've battled through adversity and they've had a great career."
Those wide-eyed freshmen matured through the years, and turned into the senior group that led Copper Hills back to Class 5A prominence, and the championship game on Saturday afternoon at the Huntsman Center.
There, they met a Bingham team that was too big, too strong, too athletic and had too much depth. That's why the Miners were able to pull away in the second half and coast to a 61-44 win. But that doesn't diminish what Blanchard's first full class accomplished. They made a prolonged run, and they defeated Lone Peak and star guard Frank Jackson. They put Copper Hills on the map.
"They became a group that everyone could be proud of," Blanchard said. "They represented their school well and their community well. They have nothing to be ashamed of. They were able to build a foundation that should last well into the future."
On Saturday, the Miners started four seniors point guard Trevor Hoffman and shooting guard Charlie Olsen next to Hawkins and Sanchez. Three of those guys have started for three years. Sanchez has been a four-year starter.
Those four, along with junior guard Stockton Shorts, formed a team that proved difficult for the remainder of the state to deal with. Defensively, they were tough, determined and dogged. They pressured opponents all over the floor and they rebounded better than their opposition.
Offensively, they moved the ball with aplomb. They were unselfish. Sanchez, Hoffman and Olsen were one of the best backcourts in the state. Hawkins was a beast in the paint.
So, even if they came up one victory short of a championship, it was a team that put a school and a community on the basketball map.