By Dave Morrison
Wyoming East’s Cole Lambert took his worst moment on the basketball court and turned it into a high school career that ended as a first team all-stater and eventually a shot at the next level.
The Warriors point guard Friday signed his national letter of intent to attend Concord University where he will play basketball.
During his freshman season in 2021, eager to try to earn his spot on the Warriors varsity team, Lambert got that opportunity after excelling in junior varsity.
“In JV I was playing well, and I remember, it was a game at Westside, and after the game, I had played all well and (head) coach (Derek Brooks) told me, ‘Hey, get ready. You might get a couple of varsity minutes now, you’ve been playing well.”
He couldn’t have dreamed what would happen next.
During the Renegades trip to Shady Spring, which would later win its first state championship, he got that shot.
Assistant coach Herbie Brooks picked up the story.
“He was rattled,” Brooks said. “There was a point when he got the ball, the pressure was on him, and he threw it directly to the other team.”
It’s a tough spot for veterans (Shady has played in the last four Class AAA state championships, winning two), much less a first opportunity.
“It shocked me, I thought I had put a lot of time into basketball, I thought I was ready,” Lambert said recalling that game.
But he never let it get him down. Not that it didn’t bother him.
“It was a disaster,” Lambert said. “I was embarrassed by it. The day after I was still frustrated by it. But as a basketball you have to forget about it. Like a shot you miss, forget about it and move on.”
“He got thrown into the fire early,” Herbie Brooks said. “But he withstood it. He didn’t put his head down. He went to work every day after that, he was in the gym, he was in the weight room. You can look at his body now and the transformation he made in the last four years; you can also look at what he’s done on the court. He progressed and each year he’s gotten better and better. And he has been a pleasure and a joy for us to have, me (head coach) Derek and coach Brian (Mitchell), the last four years.”
His dubious debut did pay dividends down the road.
He blossomed into a first-team all-stater. And as it helped him to ascend to all-state status in high school he also can use it as he transitions to the next level. On Friday he took the next step and signed his national letter of intent to play basketball at Concord University during a ceremony in the school library Friday afternoon.
“Honestly facing (a defending state champion) gave me the feel of high school basketball. Coming from middle school to basketball it’s completely different,” Lambert said. “That was a good opportunity for me to see what I needed to do to get better and what it took to play at this level. I know (college) is going to be a lot different, obviously. It’s a lot faster. The three-point line is further back. But I feel like IQ-wise I’m ready.”
Lambert, a point guard who was a set up his teammates his first three seasons, switched roles into more of a scorer as a senior, tallying double figures 20 times. He had 22 double figure games coming into the season.
“I am a true pass-first point guard,” Lambert said. “But I want to show that I can score if I need to score.”
Lambert can shoot, illustrated by his 58 threes this season and 75 in his career, but according to head coach Derek Brooks said he is more of a traditional point guard who got there by hard work, a theme echoed in the Lambert story.
“We asked him to shoot the basketball (early in his career), but he wanted to facilitate first,” Brooks said. “This year he knew he had to be that scorer and he changed his role. That’s not the player he likes to be 100 percent per se, but he had to change that up for us to successful this year. I thought he did a good job of that, year in, year out of changing up his game to what we needed. I think that shows coaches at the next level that, ‘Hey, whatever you ask this kid he will find out how to do it and how to be successful at it.”
Brooks said that same work ethic will be a strong suit for Lambert at the next level, the same thing he used to initially earn his time and then watch it blossom into not just accolades on the court but earning a shot at college basketball.
“He’s meant everything, not only to me but the program, these younger guys watching him seeing the work ethic it takes to make it to the next level and be successful at this level,” Brooks said. “Cole put in the time, he worked on his craft, day-in, day-out. I don’t know if there were many days during his career here that he wasn’t in the gym or working on making himself a better basketball player. Hopefully these young guys have learned from it and see what it takes to be a high-level like Cole was at this level.”
Lambert averaged 11 points per game in 82 career games at Wyoming East (899 total points) and he had close to 400 assists.
The signing Friday was culmination of hard work, Lambert said, and he felt as he climbed the ladder it was that work that would pay off.
“I’ve always believed that I put in the work and if you put in the work you are going to get paid,” Lambert said.
He will join former teammate Garrett Mitchell on the Mountain Lions roster.
Lambert said he will majoring in physical therapy at Concord.
