By Don Ketchum

The boys’ basketball team from Thatcher High almost made it.

The Eagles nearly won the 11^th state championship in the school’s history but fell to Phoenix Westwind Prep in the 2011 Class 2A title game.

So what happens when you get so close but don’t get the prize? You vow to work that much harder.

That’s what coach Chris Cook and his players have been doing this summer, especially with their participation in the Best In Basketball Summer Invitational that wrapped up on Saturday (July 2) at Mesa Red Mountain.

Cook’s team played against mostly big schools and finished 2-2 in the round-robin tournament.

Thatcher defeated Class 5A Division I Phoenix Desert Vista and Mesilla Valley Christian of Las Cruces, N.M., and lost to 5A-I Chandler Hamilton and 5A-I Mesa Desert Ridge.

In the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s new realignment, Thatcher will be in Division III, Section II. Westwind is moving to a higher division and is in a state of uncertainty after its coach departed for a new school in California and some of the nomadic players from last season’s Westwind team apparently are set to join him.

That leaves Thatcher to dodge the slings and arrows of many of the state’s private Christian schools as well as match up with some talented Native American teams from northern Arizona.

That is fine with Cook. He has many of his players returning from last season and says, “We have depth at every position.’’

It’s a simple, old-fashioned approach – small-town boys doing what they do best, playing the game for the love of the game and playing it well.

“We don’t get transfers,’’ Cook said, tongue in cheek. “We just have one junior high. We have a bunch of kids who have been playing together since the fifth grade. They all know each other.’’

In terms of attendance, Thatcher is at the lower end of Division III, with a student body of about 400. Thatcher has won 10 state titles (the last in 1995) and finished runner-up 10 times (the last in 2011).

The Eagles played in two other summer tournaments, its own and one at Lakeside Blue Ridge, and came into the Best In Basketball event with no fear.

“We have been competitive here for the last two years,’’ Cook said. “Even though next year’s state tournament is a long way away, this gives us those state tournament-type situations that you don’t always get during the regular season. If you come up in those situations without having played in something like this, it’s almost too late. So this is a good gauge for our kids.’’

Among Thatcher’s top players are guards Mitchel Goodman and Eric Angle and forward Ethan Bryce. And watch out for post player Nick Orr. He was about 6-foot-4 as a sophomore last season, but now looks to be closer to 6-9. Cook said Orr has gained a lot of maturity.

So as the calendar flips into July, Cook said he has to sit back “and turn the players over to football.’’

But before long, if the heavens are willing and the creek doesn’t rise, this group will be back together, running up and down the floor, having fun and winning.