Lewis-Palmer boys basketball focused on 2022-23 season after title run

Nine months removed from their 4A state championship victory, Lewis-Palmer is on the hunt for another state championship. After completing the season with just one loss, being undefeated in league play, and winning their last 17 games in a row on route to the title, Coach Bill Benton and his program are ready to do it again, but you won’t hear them talking about last year’s group.

“When you go through a special year like that, you get some time during the summer to reflect on it… you try to make sure it’s real,” Benton said. “But very quickly when school starts, it flips over, and as competitors, you try to go do it again.”

After graduating seniors Cameron Lowe and Brady Jones, who combined for 69-points in last year’s final four and championship games, the Rangers are expecting younger players to step up, but it’s not about replacing spots on the courts or even replacing stat lines.

“There’s not going to be another Cam, there’s not going to be another Brady,” Benton said of his seniors that finished their careers as champions. “This is a different makeup (this season), we’ve got to have guys replace that voice and their leadership, but it doesn’t become an onus to say, ‘You now have to be the next Cam.’”

Benton wants his players to simply be themselves on the court and play their own game, not the game of the players who came before them. He doesn’t want to hand out roles, but rather have players find them, buy into them, and have the process occur naturally over the course of the season. Benton is pleased to have six players returning from the championship campaign who know how to handle the big moments, combined with young talent who can step in when needed.

Lewis-Palmer’s season is already out to an impressive start with two marquee wins over 6A schools Chaparral and Ponderosa. Benton said stacking the schedule with tough opponents before winter break was by design so he can identify his team’s strengths and weaknesses before the stakes get larger down the stretch.

“If we’re going to have weaknesses exposed, let’s have them exposed early and have a chance to work on them,” said Benton. “The start of the season is the best time to figure out what you need to work on. Neither one of us, Chap or us, won or lost a state championship that night, but I think both of us walked away with things we need to get better at and have to improve.”

The Rangers could not have picked a better opening-night game than they did on November 29^th against Chaparral, who consistently makes appearances at the Denver Coliseum in March. Down by seven in the fourth quarter, Lewis-Palmer had to mount a comeback that was led by senior Eli Robinson who led the team with 14 points, and Cohen Edmondson who finished with 11 points.

“We really don’t have nights off,” Benton said of his schedule this season with a bit of a chuckle. “We were pretty intentional in getting top teams and we’re going to get tested… it is a grueling schedule.”

The Ranger will see Mead, Pueblo South in a state championship rematch, Vista Peak, and Overland, among other teams on their schedule this season, which will get them ready when the tournament rolls around. It’s not exactly a secret that any defending championship team, regardless of classification or sport, is after another championship and Lewis-Palmer is, but for their goals this season extend well beyond the court.

“The hope is that we walk out of this a tighter group than when we walked into it,” Benton said. “We are going able to handle adversity and handle success the same way, not get caught up in the moment, but always being present in the moment.”

Benton told CHSAANow that there is a “Mindset of excellence,” inside the walls of Lewis-Palmer that is embraced by all students, faculty, and staff. His team and supporters know what’s at stake this season and are ready for the fight.