Lone Peak High School has practically obliterated all but one opponent its played this season. The team is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps.com. Now, its top seniors and coach have been highlighted by Sports Illustrated.

Nick Emery and Eric Mika, both committed to play college basketball at BYU, have been instrumental in Lone Peak's one-loss record and current MaxPreps.com No. 1 ranking.

The site released a video Thursday profiling the athletes with interviews of the players along with teammate T.J. Haws and coach Quincy Lewis.

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"With Nick, he just competes," Lewis told SI.com. "Obviously he's a really talented guy, but there are a lot of talented players ... but his ability to have effort every single day and to really, really compete is what makes him special.

"Erik's physicality allows him to maybe step in next year and be able to play at a division one level right now.

"These guys are 3.8-3.9 GPA guys, so they get it done in the classroom. Guys who are smart enough to take care of themselves and behave the right way off the court, I think they'll be more mentally ready to play in games on the court. I think they'll be more consistent individuals and iI think that translates into basketball as well."

Both Mika and Emery told SI.com they started playing basketball at a very young age.

"I started playing basketball when I was two or three years old," Emery said. "My parents got me a little tyke hoop, and that's really what got me started."

"I started playing basketball in fourth grade," Mika said. "My dad, my uncles always played every summer when we got together, so (I) think that's probably what sparked it."

In addition to learning the game as very young boys, both Mika and Emery said they share the love of one thing above all else: winning.

"I'm a team guy," Emery said. "I don't care about the records. I don't care about anything else. I love playing with my teammates, getting to know the guys. I love the feel of winning. That's the greatest feeling in the world."

"I love winning, to be honest. I love hard work and the satisfaction of the hard work paying off."

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SI.com also selected Lewis as its coach of the week and produced a minute-long feature just about him and his program.

"One thing we've said here for 10 years is, 'Hey, we're OK with going out there and getting beat if somebody's better than us. But let's put ourselves out there. We'll never know unless we go play, and that's only going to help us get better and know what we need to do to get better,'" Lewis told SI.com. "That's been the process ... stop being afraid to go see who we are.

"Overall I want to be positive with my guys, and I want to have a high expectation level for what we do, and I expect them to meet that."

Landon Hemsley is the sports content manager for DeseretNews.com. Email: lhemsley@deseretnews.com. Twitter: @EarlOfHemsley

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