Cottonwood adjusting to life after Martineau
By Casey Root
Special to the Tribune
At one point or another, every sports team at every level must go through a period of rebuilding. On the
professional level, it can be 20 years before they have to start over. In high school, it's a little more frequent.
However, with longtime basketball coach Blair Martineau retiring after last season, the Cottonwood Colts
have undergone a major transformation from the team they had last year.
Martineau moved on along with the 12 seniors that graduated from his team, leaving a lot up in the air for this
year's team. Cottonwood settled on Dave McConnell as its new coach, after he spent last season as an
assistant under Martineau.
"I retired from teaching after 29 years," said McConnell. "I wanted to help out with Blair as an assistant last
year, and I got attached to the boys. I've been doing this for awhile and I'm still very passionate about it."
McConnell wasn't kidding. Before taking over Cottonwood in May, he had previously spent nine years as the
assistant coach for Jordan before being promoted to head coach for an additional five years. Before that, he
spent 15 years as an assistant at Alta. And before that he had two years at Provo, also as an assistant.
McConnell has been around the game for quite awhile, making him an experienced choice to lead
Cottonwood's inexperienced squad.
McConnell's first order of business was to take the team down to Dixie State College for a little team building.
He got his first good look at the team he had inherited and has been optimistic about the style they want to
play. Cottonwood's first game against Taylorsville reaffirmed how dangerous the Colts can be.
With time winding down, the Colts hit back to back three-pointers and had the final shot to win from senior
Tyson Reynolds, but Cottonwood came up a three-pointer short. Reynolds led the Colts with nine points and
two three-pointers.
"We were a little ragged and raw, but that was expected. We gave up too many inside shots and rebounds,
and . . . the free throws weren't good enough. But for our first game this year, nine out of ten players scored
and eight had three-pointers. That's how we're going to play; lots of threes because we don't have the height
to score otherwise. No one is really stepping up to be 'the guy,' but we've got a pretty strong team all the way
through," said McConnell.
Another challenge that McConnell has been presented with has been working with only half the team due to
the football team's success in November. Half of the team only had one practice together before the game
Taylorsville because of their involvement with the football team.
"It's been tough on them, I'll bet. They're going from the disappointment of [losing] the championship game
straight to practice the next day," said McConnell. "They've been coming along, though, working together and
coming together as a team now that we're all together."
The Colts still have a lot of work to do if they want to live up to McConnell's expectations, however. For the first
time in recent memory Cottonwood was unable to squeeze into the state tournament last year. McConnell has
set the bar high for his team, and he expects them to be in states this year.
"My challenge is to get them to states," said McConnell. "I don't mind putting in the extra time, whatever it takes
to get them there. Because once you get them there, you never know."
By Casey Root
Special to the Tribune
At one point or another, every sports team at every level must go through a period of rebuilding. On the
professional level, it can be 20 years before they have to start over. In high school, it's a little more frequent.
However, with longtime basketball coach Blair Martineau retiring after last season, the Cottonwood Colts
have undergone a major transformation from the team they had last year.
Martineau moved on along with the 12 seniors that graduated from his team, leaving a lot up in the air for this
year's team. Cottonwood settled on Dave McConnell as its new coach, after he spent last season as an
assistant under Martineau.
"I retired from teaching after 29 years," said McConnell. "I wanted to help out with Blair as an assistant last
year, and I got attached to the boys. I've been doing this for awhile and I'm still very passionate about it."
McConnell wasn't kidding. Before taking over Cottonwood in May, he had previously spent nine years as the
assistant coach for Jordan before being promoted to head coach for an additional five years. Before that, he
spent 15 years as an assistant at Alta. And before that he had two years at Provo, also as an assistant.
McConnell has been around the game for quite awhile, making him an experienced choice to lead
Cottonwood's inexperienced squad.
McConnell's first order of business was to take the team down to Dixie State College for a little team building.
He got his first good look at the team he had inherited and has been optimistic about the style they want to
play. Cottonwood's first game against Taylorsville reaffirmed how dangerous the Colts can be.
With time winding down, the Colts hit back to back three-pointers and had the final shot to win from senior
Tyson Reynolds, but Cottonwood came up a three-pointer short. Reynolds led the Colts with nine points and
two three-pointers.
"We were a little ragged and raw, but that was expected. We gave up too many inside shots and rebounds,
and . . . the free throws weren't good enough. But for our first game this year, nine out of ten players scored
and eight had three-pointers. That's how we're going to play; lots of threes because we don't have the height
to score otherwise. No one is really stepping up to be 'the guy,' but we've got a pretty strong team all the way
through," said McConnell.
Another challenge that McConnell has been presented with has been working with only half the team due to
the football team's success in November. Half of the team only had one practice together before the game
Taylorsville because of their involvement with the football team.
"It's been tough on them, I'll bet. They're going from the disappointment of [losing] the championship game
straight to practice the next day," said McConnell. "They've been coming along, though, working together and
coming together as a team now that we're all together."
The Colts still have a lot of work to do if they want to live up to McConnell's expectations, however. For the first
time in recent memory Cottonwood was unable to squeeze into the state tournament last year. McConnell has
set the bar high for his team, and he expects them to be in states this year.
"My challenge is to get them to states," said McConnell. "I don't mind putting in the extra time, whatever it takes
to get them there. Because once you get them there, you never know."
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| COTTONWOOD BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW |
