By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
You need a “close-knit group” to win the 9th Region boys basketball championship. That’s what Cooper coach Tim Sullivan told reporters last week after his senior-led team claimed the region title for the first time in eight years.
The Jaguars’ fraternal culture will be tested on a bigger stage when they play in the “Sweet 16” boys state tournament at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Their first game will be against Henderson County at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Cooper (23-5) will be making its first appearance in the state tournament since 2017. The last time a Henderson County team got there was 1999.
Going into this year’s post-season playoffs, neither team was ranked among the top 15 in the final statewide media poll, but Sullivan doesn’t pay much attention to that.
“It’s not about rankings,” Sullivan said. “It’s not about what other teams are doing and whatnot. It’s about who we are and what we do. These kids right now have embraced that and that’s what’s special about them.”
Cooper’s four senior starters are Andy Johnson, Jaiden Combs, Isaac Brown and Chris Rodriguez. Combs’ younger brother, Roman, is a sophomore who completes the lineup that Sullivan will put on the court Thursday night.
None of them have been in the state basketball tournament before, but Brown and the Combs brothers played on the Cooper football team that made it to the Class 5A state championship game last December.
“Roman is my brother and it’s just a blessing that I got to play for a state championship with him in football and now I get to go to state with him in basketball,” Jaiden said.
Johnson is averaging 22.8 points per game. Roman is next in line in with a 10.4 average, followed by Brown (9.4), Jaiden (9.0) and Rodriguez (4.6). All five of them had at least one double-figure scoring game during the region tournament.
The Jaguars are averaging 62.5 points per game and shooting 49.6 percent from the field. At the other end of the court, they rank among the top defensive teams in the state tournament with a 51.1 average.
“If you want to play for Sully, you have to play defense,” Jaiden said of his coach. “That’s what our program’s about. That’s why I’m on the floor and I’m not going to complain about it.”
Henderson County also has four seniors and one sophomore in its starting lineup. Three of the seniors have double-figure scoring averages with combo guard Cooper Davenport leading the way at 14.3 points per game. He has made 82 3-point goals to account for 246 of his 430 total points.
The Colonels have done a good job on the defensive end as well, allowing just 48.2 points per game.
In the 2nd Region tournament semifinals, they knocked off defending state champion Lyon County, 59-54, in overtime and then topped Madisonville-North Hopkins, 52-34, in the title game.
There will likely be Cooper fans at the state tournament wearing t-shirts with “Sully” printed across the front to show their support for the coach.
Sullivan said the high school’s principal asked him in January to resign after this season. That’s been a motivating factor for the Jaguars, who have won 18 of their last 19 games.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Sullivan said when asked about his team’s perseverance after winning the region final. “The way they have come together and the way they have just continued to stay focused on what we’re trying to do, continued trusting one another and continuing to just pour their hearts into the program.”
Boys basketball state tournament at Rupp Arena
WEDNESDAY — LOWER BRACKET
Bowling Green (28-6) vs. Adair County (30-5), 11 a.m.
Louisville St. Xavier (31-2) vs. Jeffersontown (26-6), 1:30 p.m.
South Oldham (29-5) vs. Danville Christian (29-3), 6 p.m.
Ashland Blazer (23-7) vs. Calloway County (31-3), 8:30 p.m.
THURSDAY — LOWER BRACKET
North Laurel (22-10) vs. Breathitt County (24-8), 11 a.m.
Lawrence County (23-10) vs. Montgomery County (22-10), 1:30 p.m.
Great Crossing (31-4) vs. Daviess County (25-6), 6 p.m.
COOPER (23-5) vs. Henderson County (25-6), 8:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Upper bracket quarterfinals, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Lower bracket quarterfinals, 6 and 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Semifinal games, 11 a.m. and 1:30 pm.
Championship game, 7:30 p.m.