Oklahoma State University Athletics
John Lucas
October 25, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
National Player of the Year Candidate
All-America Candidate
Big 12 Player of the Year Candidate
All-Big 12 Candidate
One of three returning Wooden Award finalists, John Lucas appears poised to make a run at national Player of the Year honors. He was the Big 12 co-Player of the Year along with teammate Tony Allen, a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics, and will certainly vie for that award again. He’s extremely tough to defend on offense, having improved both his long-range shooting and passing ability over the course of last year. He’s small, which poses some problems on the defensive end of the court.
2003-04 (Junior): John was named a Wooden Award All-American, one of 10 players named as a finalist for the Player of the Year award. He was named second-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers’ Association, and third-team All-American according to both the Associated Press and ESPN.com. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Year by the Associated Press, the Daily Oklahoman and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, joining teammate Tony Allen as the Big 12 co-Players of the Year. John was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Rutherford Regional after sending the Cowboys to the Final Four with 6.9 seconds remaining against Saint Joseph’s. He was named first-team All-Big 12 by both the league coaches and the Associated Press, and was named to the all-improved squad, selected by writers who regularly cover the conference. He earned all-tournament honors at the Big 12 Tournament after averaging 20 points per game in OSU’s three victories. John was also named first-team All-District 12 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He finished second in the league to Kansas’ Aaron Miles in assists per game, averaging 4.5 per contest. John was also second in the league in free-throw shooting, connecting on 88.7 percent of his shots from the charity stripe. Only Iowa State’s Jake Sullivan shot a higher percentage at 93.3 percent. John was third in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio, averaging 2.43 assists for every miscue. He was fourth in the league in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.14 per contest. John was ninth in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage, connecting on 39.1 percent of his shots from long range. He was 11th in the league in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. John was third in the Big 12 in scoring for league games only, averaging 17.4 points per game against conference opponents. He was fourth in three-point percentage, connecting on 44-of-97 (45.4 percent) from long range versus league foes. He was second to Blair Wilson of Colorado for three-point field-goals made per game, averaging 2.75 in 16 league contests. John’s 527 points last season rank 18th on the school single-season scoring list, and his 158 assists rank eighth. His 88.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe ranks fourth, as does his 1,199 minutes played. He and Allen became just the third and fourth players in school history to record 500 points and 100 assists in a single season, joining Brooks Thompson (1993-94) and Maurice Baker (2000-01). John scored a career-high 30 points at Missouri on Feb. 24, making 10-of-17 shots from the floor, including 6-of-11 from long range. His 13 assists vs. SMU on Jan. 3 in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City were the most by a Big 12 player last season. Along with 11 points, it was his fourth-career double-figure assist game, and his second-career double-double in points and assists. He had previously scored 10 points and dished out 11 assists against Southeastern State on Dec. 16. He equaled his career best with six rebounds at Oklahoma on Feb. 16, and had a season-high three steals on five occasions.
2002-03 (Sophomore): John was named honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league coaches his sophomore season after averaging 13.3 points and 4.4 assists per game for the Baylor Bears. He ranked 22nd in the Big 12 in scoring, 13th in steals per game, sixth in assists per contest, and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio. John had four assists and just one turnover against Texas Tech in the Bears’ first-round loss at the Big 12 Tournament. He had seven dishes and no turnovers in 35 minutes at Texas A&M. He recorded his third-consecutive double-figure scoring game with 12 points vs. Colorado, a string which also included 16 points against Nebraska and 12 at Texas. He had six assists and two turnovers at Kansas State. John scored 20 points, his fourth 20 point game of the season, grabbed five rebounds and had six assists to just two turnovers vs. Oklahoma State in Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was his 12th-consecutive game scoring in double figures. He scored a season-high 24 points and also had six assists against Texas A&M in Waco, and scored 15 points and dished out five assists with just one turnover against Oklahoma. John had seven assists and just one turnover against North Texas, and dished out a season-high eight assists vs. Northwestern State. John started off his sophomore season with 21 points, six assists, four steals and just one turnover in 39 minutes vs. Alcorn State.
2001-02 (Freshman): A consensus member of Big 12 All-Freshman team following his true freshman season, John played in all 30 games, made 27 starts and led the squad in minutes played, averaging 33.5 minutes per game. He was second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) behind fellow freshman Lawrence Roberts, and led the team with 120 assists. John compiled the fifth-highest freshman scoring total (395 points) in Big 12 history. His 33.5 minutes per game was second-highest average for a freshman in Big 12 history. John finished 24th in Big 12 in scoring (13.9), ninth in assists (4.0), 14th in steals (1.4) and 11th in three pointers (2.0). His free-throw percentage of 79.4 was second on the team and the third-best percentage for a freshman in Big 12 history. John hit a career-high six treys (6-of-8) and totaled a season-high 10 assists in a 20-point performance over SMU, his first-career double-double. He was twice was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week, winning the award Dec. 10 after season highs of 27 points and 11 field goals in the win over North Texas. John was honored again on Jan. 7 after averaging 17.5 points in wins over Colorado State and Iowa State. He topped Big 12 freshmen in three-point field goals with 59, and finished 10th in the Big 12 in three-pointers made, averaging 1.97 per game. John scored 20-plus points three times, and finished with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.97 (116-to-59).
High School: John was a three-year starter and scoring phenom at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas. He played for coach Dave Hudek, and was rated as the No. 20 recruit in the state by Texas Hoops following his senior season. John was a member of the Recruiting USA Honorable Mention High School All-America Team after scoring more than 3,300 points in high school career. John averaged 30.3 points and led state of Texas in scoring average as a senior in 2000-01. He was named first-team All-State as a senior, and first-team All-District 17-5A as junior and senior. John played on the United States squad in the 2001 Pittsburgh Hoops Classic, and attended the NBA All-American High School Players Camp as prep junior and senior. He also averaged 11 assists per-game during senior season, and averaged 18.3 points and led Bellaire to the District 17-5A championship as junior in 1999-2000. John averaged 21 points and was named honorable mention All-District 17-5A as a sophomore in 1998-99. He was the MVP of the city championship freshman team with a 24-point scoring average in 1997-98. An accomplished tennis player, John was the District 17-5A singles champion as prep junior and was nationally ranked as a USTA Junior National player. John was a Texas Scholar, and member of Bellaire Student Association and Business Professionals of America.
Personal: Born Nov. 21, 1982, in Washington, D.C., John is the son of Debbie and John Lucas, Jr. His father was an All-American for the Maryland Terrapins in 1975 and 1976, was the first pick of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, and spent 14 years playing in the NBA for Houston, Golden State, Washington, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Seattle. He later coached in the NBA, and was a head coach for San Antonio (1992-94), Philadelphia (1994-96) and Cleveland (2001-03). John is majoring in business at Oklahoma State.
Career Highs
Points: 30 at Missouri (02/24/04)
Rebounds: 6 at Oklahoma (02/16/04); vs. UT-Pan American (12/22/01) *
Assists: 13 vs. SMU (01/03/04)
Steals: 4 on three occasions, last time, at SMU (12/21/02) *
Field Goals: 11 vs. North Texas (12/08/01) *
3-Pt FGs: 6 at Missouri (02/24/04); vs. SMU (11/27/01) *
Free Throws: 9 vs. Iowa State (03/12/04); at Texas A&M (02/03/04)
* at Baylor
