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The Cheyenne Mountain boys' basketball team made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. A large part to their success has been senior forward Cayden Cooper.
Cooper is second on the team in scoring and he leads his team in blocks, rebounds, and steals. His efforts helped the Red-Tailed Hawks win 17 regular season games this year after the program had only two wins in the year prior.
"It's been really fun," said Cooper. "That's just what I wanted to do this year is win. I feel like as we win more games, my confidence grows, and I feel like it's at an all time high right now."
But the last couple of years were just as bad for Cooper as it was for the Cheyenne Mountain's basketball team.
Cooper started his high school career on the C-Team, then went on to play junior varsity as a sophomore. Unfortunately, he was only able to play in five games before being sidelined the remainder of the season due to a hip injury.
After being cleared and heading to tryouts for his junior year, Cooper had high hopes and expectations, but things took another wrong turn.
"I made it to the second day of tryouts and then after that, I couldn't play anymore," said Cooper. "It hurt too bad. Some cartilage fell off my knee and I had to have surgery on it. I wasn't too happy. I started not to talk to anyone and just focused on my school work."
Returning for his senior year, Cooper says that it was scary at first as he feared he would face another injury. But, he also says there was so much joy in being able to return to the court. His time away from basketball taught him a lot.
"I learned from everything," said Cooper. "From being out I learned... how to be stronger mentally and physically. I feel like that all built up to make me who I am today."
Cooper scored 23 points in the first round playoff win, six of those coming in overtime where the team only tallied eight points.
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About Athlete of the Week
News5 works to honor the high school Athlete of the Week throughout the school year in our Tuesday evening newscasts. We’re looking for that special teen who is working hard and playing right all while making parents and coaches proud.
Nominate your Athlete of the Week today! See our current and past athletes of the week, click here.
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