Lucas Earns National Attention…
Submitted by Paul Mercier on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 22:21
During a week in which top ranked teams such as Connecticut tipped off against West Virginia; Duke sneaked out a win against Florida State; and Louisville outlasted Villanova by a measly point; Kalin Lucas stood above all to take home last week’s ESPN.com National Player of the Week honor.
Lucas, who put up 20 points against Ohio State and 22 against Kansas, has certainly been a welcomed sight for Spartan fans, and now has gained the eye of basketball analyst Andy Katz. Katz, who seems to usually have an affinity for Spartan hoops, even went as far as to say that if Lucas’s decision-making skills continue at their current pace, the Spartans have a good shot at landing in Detroit come March.
Lucas continued his superb sophomore season on Wednesday night when the Spartans took the floor against the Nittany Lions. Lucas hit for 15 points in his team high 33 minutes, going 8 for 10 at the free-throw line. Oh, and by the way, this all came while going head to head with possibly the Big Ten’s best point guard, Talor Battle.
Lucas’s effort hasn’t gone unnoticed by head coach Tom Izzo either. Izzo recently remarked in an interview that he loved to see hard work pay off, and Lucas has been working hard. Not to mention that one can’t help but notice that Tom has taken a strong liking to his point guard: often hugging or putting his arm around Lucas when he comes off the floor. This relationship seems eerily similar to that between Izzo and Mateen Cleaves; which, as history would show, could be a very good thing for Spartan Basketball fans.
All in all, Lucas is getting some much deserved attention. I’m not sure if he has what it takes to carry the team into Detroit just yet: to do so he’s going to need some help from his teammates. But, one thing’s for sure, Lucas is quickly becoming a budding star in a conference that is full of talented point guards.
