Colton Collages - Senior Season

Getting good pictures of basketball games is a challenge! The action, the low light, the distance ... I'm always busy behind a video camera for live highlights anyway. I can't even express the joy I felt when I found out that a professional photographer had been contracted to cover a majority of the games (Nicci Dean Photography). Because of this, we have priceless pictures from Colton's senior season. 

The season opener was an intro to the team, with the boys divided up and playing against each other. Sophomore girls faced JV girls in the 1st quarter, Sophomore boys challenged the JV boys in the second. Girls again, Varsity (pulling a couple up to get 10 players) for the 3rd, then (who I was excited to see) the Boys Varsity. Black and Blue.  This game was played on Friday, November 17, 2023.

 

Pictures from the first game  (WJ vs Davis) 11/21/2023

Game #4 (West Jordan vs Mountain Ridge)  Tuesday, December 8, 2023

Game #8 (WJ vs CHHS) Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Game #9 (WJ vs Riverton) December 28, 2023

Game #15/Region Game #4 (WJ vs Granger) Friday, January 12, 2024

Game #17/Region Game #6 (WJ vs Taylorsville) Friday, January 19, 2024

Game #18/Region Game #7 (WJ vs Cyprus) Friday, January 26, 2024

Game #20/Region Game #9 (WJ vs Hunter) Friday, February 2, 2024

Game #21/Region Game #10 (WJ vs Granger) Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Game #22/Region Game #11 (WJ vs Kearns) Friday, February 9, 2024

This was also the Senior Night celebration, and the game that guaranteed the Region win.

While I captured almost all the games on video, and the highlights are fun to watch, there's something special about photos. I'm so grateful for these pictures! There were occasionally other professional photographs at the games, and there were some pictures available for a price (MaxPrepsPictures). I bought a couple, but didn't feel like I needed to grab as many as I had all these ones already. 

Nicci Dean Photography also covered the team photos/pictures for the program ...

Check out Cal's collages from his senior/Varsity year.

Colton ~ Senior Night

 In every high school player's life ... there's a senior night. It's usually the last home game on the region schedule. For Colton, it was February 9, 2024. While everyone had hit games throughout the season, we hadn't had EVERYONE at a single game ... except for senior night. It was great to have all the family out to support Colton. 

Parents had been asked to create a posterboard showcasing the student athlete.  Prepping the pictures, reliving all the games and teams ... it was a walk down memory lane for sure! It was fun to see all the different pictures of the boys through the years.  You can see Colton's board HERE, and I'll make another post with all the boy's boards.

While the start of the season had been a little rough, as 2023 changed to 2024, and Region play began ... the boys couldn't have asked for a better way to remember their senior year. Undefeated in region, a fact that was cinched on senior night (even with one game left to play). It was quite the celebration!

There was the traditional walk with the parents and a little write up of the boy's plans. 

The cutting of the net - Undefeated. Region champs! 

Colton set a new assists record at the school. 

Leis. Photos. Smiles. Celebration. 

Go Jags!

West Jordan Jags Seniors - 2024

Each family of a senior was given a tri-fold board to showcase their  player.

I'm the queen of photo collages, to that's the route I took.

It was fun to take a walk down memory lane!

You can see a closer look on the family blog.

Colton's Senior Showcase.

Also, check out more pictures from Senior Night/Region Champs ♥

Here's a look at the posters for the other players ...

Cal (and Colton) and the Tville Men's League 2023

Cal and Company have continued to play ball when and where they can. They found a fairly competitive men's league at the Taylorsville Rec Center, so that has been the go-to for games. Colton can't play during the high school season, but filled in during the summer. Cal even got Keaton out once!   

This year the Taylorsville Men's League replaced the curtain between courts from a white sheet to a bright red divider. Makes for a distinct backdrop for all the T-ville Rec Center games.  And the team name, Ben & Jerry's? The two boys (left, front and back) are Jared and Ben. Also pictured are Cal, Colton, Charlie, Trevor and Austin.

I attended one game in the first tournament of the year. Busy season, with Colton's Junior year in full swing. I never got around to making a highlight video from it ... but maybe I'll still get to it! I was able to snag the stats, and got a couple pictures. Cal had got a pretty good floor burn on his knee, and I took a picture of it after the game. A few days later (while Cal was off on a work job at Bear Lake) that knee swelled up something terrible and Cal couldn't walk on it at all. 

The Ben and Jerry's started off the year claiming the championship!

It wouldn't be their only one!

I went to several games over the summer season, a few into fall ...

• May 17, 2023 https://youtu.be/frDTDb4tpgo
• July 19, 2023 https://youtu.be/ZwhPdxWiarQ
• August 2, 2023 Semi-Finals https://youtu.be/nMOFJBbspOE
• August 2, 2023 Championship (Blue Shirts above) https://youtu.be/dLos0B-YEn8
• September 20, 2023 https://youtu.be/SiikPr4rJKc
• October 4, 2023 https://youtu.be/h1XxUW7Ve9I
• November 8, 2023 Semi-Finals https://youtu.be/u10u6l70WpE
• November 8, 2023 Championship https://youtu.be/0sS26PmyCaQ

This championship game finished up right before high school basketball started up for Colton. Another injury (elbow to the eye) for Cal. Pictured here, Jared, Colton, Stockton, Charlie, Cal, Big D and Austin. Ben was busy with school this session. 

Coach Cal and Crew ...

Staying busy with basketball!

Colton ~ Top50

For a few years now, a Utah Top50 Elite League was set-up for high school basketball. This is an invitation only league (you can apply to request an invite) and the top boys from across the state are selected and put onto teams to compete together at a higher level. It's a great way for the boys to get some additional coaching and play, and to get to know other players personally. 

Colton was happy to get an invite this year, and get in a little pre-season play and exposure.

... a list of the teams.

Interesting to see the spread between schools and across the state.

Some boys traveled FAR for games.

This was close - at the SLCC campus. 

Final games played downtown at the Delta Center!

One thing ... 10 players, SIX teams ... that doesn't = 50 

I think originally it was just 50, but the demand is so high they allowed a few more.

Colton has gotten a bit used to being "the best" on his teams, the core player ... here? Not quite as much. When you bring in the best of the best, it's harder to stand out. The Coaches didn't really know the players, just going off a glance and stats ... Colton didn't even start the first few games, spent more time on the bench than is usual for him. But then he started getting more playing time, more opportunities in game. One memorable moment was hitting a half-court buzzer beater.  You can see the team highlight reels in a TOP50 playlist of all six games. There are #mycoltonclips of all six games too. These games were played in September and October 2023. 

Buzzer Beater!

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A post shared by BlackhamBall (@blackhamball)

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyRPKMhPS-Q/

... unfortunately Colton's Lightening wasn't able to get a win during this tournament. Several close games. These teams were stacked with the best players! KSL streamed all the TOP50 games, and even though I was there in person, I would listen to the stream on my headphones (which could be a bit strange, as the timing was off by 30-60 seconds). I like to hear the commentary, especially when it's compliments about my kid. Fun to "get to know" the other boys a little, and then to recognize them later on in the season as they played for their high school teams. 

 

Wolves ... The End

 

Colton first played with Coach Phil, his son Gage, and buddy Collin when Colton was in 3rd grade (2015) ... he joined the Wolves in 2016. It's been eight years of practices and games and hanging out. Many boys on the team came and went, but the CORE FOUR were there the whole time.  Gage and Collin (and the rest of the team) were a year older than Colton, so 2023 was the year those boys graduated. There's not really league play for pre-college kids. At this point, it's either college ball or local men's leagues. 

There were two final tournaments ... one in March and one in May. 

In March, the boys played four games in a tournament at Summit Academy in Draper. I didn't make it Friday night, but I went to the two games on Saturday. These games felt a little like the NBA "Allstar" games ... not too serious/competitive. Lots of three pointers and attempted dunks. Not a lot of defense. Just the boys having fun. I made highlight reels of these two games.

Game #3       Game #4 

Colton had 47 points that final game!

We thought that WAS the end, but then one more tournament came up. 

This was held in Bountiful, which is a little out of my zone, even if I'm not driving myself. But, as these were the LAST games, and Colton could Uber me there, I was planning on attending and getting video. Unfortunately on Friday, May 26 I was struck with some sort of vertigo and couldn't get out of bed for days. I was SO sad to miss these games ... especially when they ended up winning the championship (picture at the top). I was grateful to get a photo, and happy the boys went out on top! 

Confections for Cash ...

Tis the season ...

 https://wefund4u.com/fundraiser/23westjord/email/503219/

Colton ~ Varsity (Junior Year)

Colton (#5) is a junior, starting Varsity for the West Jordan Jaguars (check the WJ Youtube for live streams of home games). Game highlights are uploaded to the BlackhamBall YouTube playlist - check that out HERE. Follow the BlackhamBall Instagram for #mycoltonclips and new photos. BlackhamBall has a Facebook page as well. Stats can be seen on the DeseretNews and MaxPreps websites.

Here's the schedule ...

Many schools live stream the games. 

(BlackhamBall Facebook shares links when available)

Here's a peek at his best game this season - 37 points in one game!

... and here's a highlight reel of some of the best plays throughout the season. 

Cal ~ Men's League 2022

This will be backdated to 2022

Cal and crew (including the occasional Colton) continue playing the game ... ball is life! The guys tried out a Gene Fullmer league during the summer, but that was a mistake, as it was pretty much a rec league. These guys need at least semi-competitive ... so it was back to Taylorsville, where there are some teams that can at least give them a challenge. 

I didn't make it to all the games, but I went to a few.

Here's some highlights ... 

May 2022

https://youtu.be/nugmiSl_SYk?si=_ErqCuS9PDfAz4Ct

• July/Gene Fullmer https://youtu.be/jEX5UDv46SY?si=vu2BCGdli9PbugYw
• August/Tville Cal&Colton https://youtu.be/H-nExOCmrzE
• Dec/Tville https://youtu.be/xr8tt7LzPbM

Semi-Finals

https://youtu.be/rzD6uGDcLzQ?si=Rne86pgJaZ-FRJ5n

Championship

https://youtu.be/fR85fwj6CyU?si=e_sRpBsmrxG5WsDw

Colton ~ Spring/Summer/Fall 2022

 This will be backdated to October 2022 ...

As the high school season ended, the "off-season" starts up. The Wolves were getting back together for a final season, the West Jordan team had some games, a clinic, a carwash ...  and Colton got an invite to Metro, a club/college recruitment team. While it was a great opportunity, we didn't feel it was in the cards for Spring 2022 - but he will be playing with them next year after high school basketball ends.

The Wolves got new jerseys and started up with Thursday night practices. As all the Wolves except Colton will be seniors next year, they are playing in the Varsity division. They had some ball in Spring, Summer and Fall. For West Jordan there was some post-season play with the "new" Varsity squad, Colton (and Ethan/Carter) are playing up with the seniors. Colton got an invite (from Coach Sawyer) to step in on a St. George team (Ignite) playing JV (his age group) and then played way up, when Callahan's men's league team needed a sub. I didn't make it to all the games, but tried to hit the ones that were closer to home. Video links are posted where highlight reels were made. 

• March 18/19 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games) Highlights from one game HERE 
• April 1/2 Wolves at Jordan/Alta (Colton didn't play, PROM priority)
• April 11 ... West Jordan Basketball Banquet at the High School
• April 15/16 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games)
• April 27/28/29 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games) vs Premiere 
• April 28/29 Ignite at Riverbend/Sport City (5 games)
• May 3-7 West Jordan at Jordan for Shot Clock Tournament (5 games) Cottonwood, Wasatch, Highland, Judge, PleasantGrove
• May 13/14 Wolves at Heber (four games) Game 1, Game 3 
• May 15  Colton and Callahan Men's League (May@GeneFullmer, Aug@Tville)
• May 19/20/21 Wolves at Juan Diego (four games) vs Bandits
• May 27/28 Wolves at Sandy Expo Center (three games) vs Dubtown, BBA, Tigers 
• June 2-4 West Jordan at the Ute's Camp/Tourney
• June 6-10 West Jordan Team Camp
• June 16-18 West Jordan "Nets on Fire" St. George vs Cedar, Pineview, MountainView
• June 23-25 Wolves/RockyMountainShowcase at Sandy Expo (5 games) vs Force, Bandits, Fusion, Elite, JamOnIt
• July 1 Wolves/KMTC ~ Chile Challenge
• July 20-22 Wolves Las Vegas Tournament 
• September/October Wolves in Karl Malone Training Center Fall League vs Emery, Patriots, 10/08, 
• October 28/29 Halloween Tourney at Alta w/Wolves vs DNA, ClubCrossOver, MountainView

That wraps up the pre-season play ...

Cooper's Crew in 2022

Cooper's Crew in 2022 ... Dixon Davis, Jacob Earl, Ryan Van Lewen, Hunter Olchewsky, Bridger Magelby, Caleb Cox ... and Cooper Blackham (no #4, Mommy likes her boys to have "their" number!) Coach was Carter Davis, not much older than the boys.

Cooper played several seasons of Junior Jazz, but he really prefers just playing for fun, not anything competitive. Even rec ball would get a little stressful for him, and there was more than one season where he bowed out early.  Here's a peek (links to posts) at his previous basketball days...

• 8th Grade - 2018
• 7th Grade - 2017
• 6th Grade - 2016

• 4th Grade - 2014
• 4th Grade - 2013 (Fall Ball)
• 2012 Junior Jazz 
• 2011 Junior Jazz (First Season)

So it had been over three years since he'd played Junior Jazz with his buddies. Although he'd seen them, and even played some pickup ball here and there, Coop had transferred schools and didn't see his old crew that often. He had been asked, and said no, to playing Junior Jazz in recent years. I was pretty surprised when he said he was signing up for his senior year (does that make it Senior Jazz?)

They practiced at the Taylorsville Rec Center on Thursday nights at 5:30, which was a bit of a challenge to get to with his work (usually getting off a little after 5:00). Games were Saturdays at Hunter High School (one switched to Magna, Mom had him get a ride to that one as that drive is a bit out of her comfort zone). Mom did try to attend most of the other games, coming with camera in hand, just like the old days. Coop missed a couple of the games mid-season (skin issues/anxiety issues) and while he enjoyed practices, he would stress about the upcoming games. It was a bit of a relief when the season was over. Hopefully there will still be some pickup games in the future.

They won the game in the picture above (and video below) ...

https://youtu.be/_qJkCZg4QfA

They lost more than they won - but it's all about just having fun!

Here's two more highlight reels (February 26, 2022 & March 5, 2022). These were the two final games of the season and very similar in that the first half was rough, with the ball not going in the hoop. The boys managed to do a lot better in the second half of both games.

Colton ~ Sophomore Season

 

Colton had a great sophomore season with the West Jordan Jags. There was a solid senior presence, filling seven varsity spots. Several of these boys had been playing together since the 5th grade. Although Colton was a sophomore, he didn't play any sophomore games, but was saved for JV and Varsity.  As mentioned in the post about Freshman year, Coach Sawyer had left West Jordan (but he and the school will remain True Blue!) and Christian Wouden was named head coach.

Here's a link to the JV playlist (11 highlight videos). Because the HUDL hit the highlights of the varsity games, and while Colton got quite a bit of playing time, it wasn't as much as in the JV games, I didn't make as many varsity videos. I made a Colton Clips video of the Murray game, and one from the Holiday preseason (WJ vs WoodsX @ JuanDiego). There was an early game against Olympus (the team lost, but Colton did really well - nabbed some HUDL video as I hadn't been there in person) and then the super exciting Battle of the Belt rivalry game of WJ vs CHHS that KSL broadcast. The KSL stream with commentary is fun, but the various school streams were appreciated as family would often watch from home ... including Jen, after she knocked herself silly and wasn't able to get out for a month or so.

One of the parents was always taking pictures and got quite a few good shots.

The win against CHHS was HUGE!

... more team shots

While Covid continued, it didn't impact the season the way it had the previous year. There weren't limitations on tickets (although WJ and several other school would ONLY use digital purchases, no cash or credit card at entrance) and masks weren't required. We didn't have any games cancelled, and the social stuff (like team dinners, concessions) resumed.

... and a few photos from the team dinners.

We hosted serving homemade personal pizzas at the end of January. 

... Colton even made one of the pictures in the little local paper.

Basketball Cal in 2021

 

#2 is still playing ball. I wasn't really aware of it until one of the other mom's posted a picture on Instagram. I had to bug Cal for his schedule. They were playing at Taylorsville Rec Center, and I'm okay driving there.  It was fun to see him play again, and I knew most of the other guys as well. The team would shift up a bit from week to week as the guys couldn't make it some weeks and would get others to fill in. 

According to the schedule, they were the "Gobots". They started out with mix-and-match jerseys, some from the old CHHS days, others from elsewhere. During their first game, they were penalized a few points for "not-matching" (never heard of that, if they'd happened to be the home/white team, it wouldn't have been an issue) ... and then they lost that game ... by exactly those penalized points.  Stockton Short's mom was able to quickly rustle up a jersey order and get them some matching uniforms for the rest of the season.  

I made it to several games, and got some video ... here's highlights from one game.

They ended up in the championship game, but lost by two points ... still got a shirt though!

Callahan then played in some tournaments up in Lehi, at the Karl Malone Training Center (Colton has played there a lot). Often, several games in a weekend, or even in a day. 

Colton ~ Spring/Summer/Fall 2021

 

The official basketball season wrapped up in February, but there was NO downtime. Colton was playing again immediately, as his Wolves got back together, and he continued playing for West Jordan (Showtime during the Spring/Summer months).  Lots of practices and lots of games ... here's a little excerpt from my journal on Saturday, March 20th

FIVE games today (really six, but two were at the same time, so he missed one). The first was at 12:00 at the RedBarn ... and it was raining! The boys (Wolves) got beat pretty bad. Home for a bit then #5 and I headed out for his 4:00 game. Summit Academy High School ... first time at this location. Close to where I used to work with CK. That one started late, as there were no refs for a while. Not sure what happened there. Luckily it was okay, as we didn't have another game right after. The boys/Wolves won that, which meant another game at 6:00 at Sport City. We all just went straight there, no rush, but no time to do anything else. #5 had a 7:00 game with Showtime, which was going to be easy (based on previously playing that team) so we asked Coach Sawyer if he was okay with #5 being late, and he was fine with that - so #5 got to stay and play to the end, and it was close right up to the end, but the Wolves got the win. We then rushed to the 7:00 game, and they were doing fine. 20-5 when we arrived. Easy win. Then Showtime had a tough semi-final game at 9:00, and Wolves had a championship game at 9:00. We felt like we had to stay with Showtime, and Showtime got the win against Mountain Ridge. So we'll play again on Monday for the championship. The Wolves got the win, even without #5. Yea! Good basketball day, although long! #5's heel was hurting at the end.

So both the Wolves and Showtime won their respective championships in March (March Madness Tourney for the Wolves, State AAU/Freshman for Showtime).  Most of these games were local (Summit, Sport City, Jordan High) and I was there and filming ... I'm not sure why I don't have highlights from any of these games. I think I was still a bit behind on the high school season and was giving that priority. At the end of the month (March 26/27/28) the Wolves headed to St. George for a tournament there. 

April was busy with more practices and games for both teams as well as the end of year banquet for the Jags, saying farewell to the seniors and recapping the season. It was held at the school in the cafeteria. With Covid protocols still in place, there was no meal, just snacks.   Early in the Spring, we got the news that Coach Sawyer had accepted a position in St. George, so West Jordan was losing him as a coach. Coach Wouden took over coaching the remaining Showtime games, and he was named Head Coach at the school. Game play continued on for the next few months. West Jordan had a full varsity team for the next year, so it was only seniors playing varsity in these games. Colton played Soph and JV. 

The West Jordan team headed to St. George in June for the Crimson Cliffs Challenge (Colton wrote up his memories of that, see it HERE on the family blog). They'd had a car wash a little earlier to help raise funds for the trip. Thanks again to Berlin's for "adopting" Colton and getting him where he needed to be. The sad news about Coach Sawyer moving was eclipsed by tragedy, and there were several team gatherings in support of the family. 

In July, Colton and the Wolves went to Vegas for a tournament there. Colton hurt his shoulder in the first game and wasn't really able to play, but he still had fun and was glad he had gone. In the Fall, the Wolves had more tournaments, while West Jordan started up their basketball clinic, having the gym available for play and practice in prep for tryouts in November. Colton was going to school at 6 am to shoot, then staying after for the clinic, then often staying later for school activities. A few times I did a Little Caesar run to keep the boys fed.

Here's the hoop highlights I have from the "off-season" ...

• April 10 Wolves vs Bingham
• April 17 Wolves (at the Red Barn)
• May 8 Showtime (Soph) vs Bingham (Shotclock Tournament)
• May 15 Showtime (JV) vs Force) 
• May 18 Showtime (Soph) vs EM Flight
• May 18 Showtime (Soph) vs Olympus
• June 17 Wolves (Game #1 Big Mountain Jam)
• Aug 23 Wolves  (at Summit Academy)
• Oct 1 Wolves (West Coast Elite Game #1)
• Oct 1 Wolves (West Coast Elite Game #2)
• Oct 2 Wolves (West Coast Elite Game #3)

Covid was still a concern, but after a full year, it wasn't oppressive anymore. Most of the spectator limitations were lifted, but masks were still required at games. The vaccine was becoming available  and finally, the mask requirement was lifted. There weren't any big basketball impacts (no Covid cancellations like last year). The rapid-testing that had been required during the official school season were not required for the off-season. Ticket prices for spectators kept going up ... the October tournament had a $25 entry fee for the two-day event.