Spirit Penn-Cook helps Volcano Vista boys to fifth state crown

ALBUQUERQUE

Five and counting.

On Saturday night, the Albuquerque Volcano Vista boys basketball team hit another milestone by claiming the program’s fifth consecutive state crown at the Class 5A level. The Hawks (26-5) defeated district rival Rio Rancho Cleveland 66-52 for its latest title at The Pit in Albuquerque.

“I’m super proud of them,” Volcano Vista coach Greg Brown said of his team. “Unbelievable seniors. We have five of them … Total reflection mode right now, I don’t know what happened in that game.

“I think we made some shots; I think David (Lunn) got a dunk and we hit some 3s. But, man, these dudes are special.”

The Hawks were led by Lunn as the junior superstar hit 8-of-10 shots for 23 points including a perfect 7 of 7 at the free throw line. Volcano also received 15 points and 10 rebounds from senior post Eli Covell and nine points from senior guard Spirit Penn-Cook, who is Brown’s top defensive stopper.

In Saturday’s championship game, Penn-Cook drew the defensive assignment of guarding Cleveland senior guard Remy Albrecht, who finished with a game-best 28 points.

“Shout out to Spirit Cook for being our defensive guy all year,” Brown said. “He had to guard guys like Remy; he had to guard some posts for us.”

Penn-Cook, who is Diné, Omaha, Muscogee Creek, and Pawnee, said guarding Albrecht was a tough assignment.

“Remy is a great player and there’s not a lot you can do against him, but, you know, I had to try my best,” he said.

The Volcano Vista coach says Penn-Cook has been with the program for four years, and he’s a multi-sport athlete. In the fall, he was team’s quarterback, but Penn-Cook sustained an injury early in the football season.

“He couldn’t compete in football the way he wanted to because of his injury,” Brown said. “In our basketball program, he was always kind of been our backup guy. He played a lot of JV, and with this being his senior year, it was his time to be a main guy for us.”

Brown highlighted Penn-Cook’s physical and mental attributes, while adding that he’s a team player.

“He’s very athletic and he’s very smart,” Brown said. “He has a lot of toughness to him and so his role fit us perfectly defensively because he had to guard their best player, Remy, and I thought he did just an awesome job.”

Offensively, Penn-Cook was Volcano Vista’s third, fourth option in scoring, which was headed by Lunn and senior Finley Fitak, the Hawks’ 3-point threat.

“He could score more for us, but he knows his role and he’s a good teammate,” Brown said of Penn-Cook. “He understands that we have pieces to this puzzle with some really good scorers.

“Fin Fitak is a good 3-pointer and so you might see Spirit pass up a 3-pointer to give it to him,” he added. “David Lunn is a really good driver and so is Spirit. But Spirit might give up his drive so that we get David Lunn’s drive. He’s a team first guy, and he’s always been that way.”

Penn-Cook says he didn’t mind playing a secondary role on the offensive end behind Lunn and Fitak. In fact, he relished it, knowing that he was helping his team.

“It’s an honor, you know, playing for my coaches and my teammates at Volcano Vista,” he said. “Wearing this uniform means so much to me. The coaches put a lot of trust in me, and they trust me in those big moments. It’s great to be playing with these guys.”

After playing strictly JV for one season, Penn-Cook played on the JV and varsity teams his sophomore and junior year, so he’s been a part of three state championship teams.

“Definitely this year,” Penn-Cook said when asked which state title run was the most meaningful. “I had a bigger role this year, so I had to contribute more to the team.”

Penn-Cook is the youngest of five siblings, and his parents are Nezbah Penn and Samuel Cook. His dad grew up in Pawnee, Oklahoma and was a track athlete while his mother played basketball for two seasons at Navajo Academy (now Navajo Prep) and one season at Kirtland Central.

“We’re super proud of him,” Penn said. “I’m so proud of the person he actually has become. He’s worked very hard for this all his years. He’s always wanted to be in there and, you know, just make everybody proud. And he’s really done it tonight. I’m so proud of him.”

According to his mom, Penn-Cook has a few offers in basketball at Highlands University and Northern New Mexico College. The senior also has drawn some interest from Colorado State University-Pueblo for football.

Penn-Cook said he appreciates the family support he’s received over the years. A handful were present during Volcano Vista’s championship win on Saturday night.

“I have a lot of family out there and they’re always supporting me, watching me on TV and stuff like that,” Penn-Cook said. “All my family is from up north in Farmington, and they’re always watching me, so I appreciate their support.”

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