On the day she was born, Chicago’s “Shoeless” Joe Jackson got three hits.
Born August 21, 1919, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt now is 102, yet is still as sharp as baseball spikes. And as team chaplain for Loyola-Chicago, she knows that grit and integrity are integral. And so, after Loyola won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title on Sunday, I asked Sister Jean about top player Lucas Williamson.
“Sterling character,” she said Sunday from her wheelchair on the Enterprise Center court. “A team player. A leader. I think he’s going to be the mayor of Chicago some day.”
Williamson is one of those players whose stats are secondary. Sure, yes, in Sunday’s 64-58 win over Drake, Williamson had the most points (18) and rebounds (10) as any player in the game. But his primary contributions to winning are incalculable and beautiful.
His coach says sets the tone with his practice habits. His in-game, on-court communication is commanding. And, yet again, he won the award as the best defensive player in the conference.
And for the third time in Williamson’s five seasons, Loyola advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Incredible.
As a freshman, he contributed to the famous Final Four run. Last year, he was the top guard on Loyola’s Sweet Sixteen team. And this year, one wonders — and the mind wanders — about another run for the Ramblers, No. 25 in the NCAA Net Rankings.
“Hey, it’s March,” Williamson said. “My favorite month of the year!”
To win the automatic bid, Loyola had to do something it hadn’t done all season — beat Drake. The Ramblers had only five total losses but two were to their conference rivals from Iowa.
But there was Williamson on Sunday, scoring the first basket of the first half — and the second. There was Williamson, fiercely wrestling the ball from Drake’s Tucker DeVries, leading to a call of a jump ball. There was Williamson, reading rebounds like Rodman. There was Williamson, one of just two players on either team to play more than three minutes and not commit a turnover.
And, of course, there was the 18 and the 10.
In the biggest game of the year, he was his team’s biggest overall contributor.
Because that’s how he is in basically every game of the year.
“He plays 40 minutes, and he plays the same way all 40 minutes,” Loyola guard Braden Norris said. “One of the best teammates I’ve ever had. Great person, great player and he deserves everything he gets. … Just the ultimate competitor.”
Loyola coach Drew Valentine proclaimed that Lucas Williamson is “the standard.”
“On the court, off the court,” Valentine said. “Should have been player of the year in the league — whoops.”
If we’re ranking hardware, though, Williamson’s award for most outstanding player in the MVC tournament carries more weight, because that award generally goes to a guy going to the big dance.
And while this will be Williamson’s third NCAA Tournament, it’s the first with Valentine as the head coach. The coach-player relationship between Williamson and Valentine is fascinating. They seem to make each other better. And they both arrived to Loyola at the same time — Valentine was an assistant to Porter Moser, who took the job at Oklahoma last year. Oh, and they’re only seven years apart (the fifth-year senior is 23, while the coach is just 30).
“That’s my dog,” Valentine said of Williamson. “I can’t imagine this first year without him in this role … I can’t imagine coming here and being part of this program without Lucas.
“From Day One, summers he wouldn’t leave me alone about: ‘Coach, when can we get the gym?’ We just built up a bond, built up a connection — more than just basketball. Family, for real. … I can’t say enough great things about Lucas and he deserves everything he gets, because he’s so high character of a person. And he works his (backside) off.”
As Sunday’s game prolonged, the Loyola cheerleaders continually chanted: “L! U! C!” It was for Loyola! University! Chicago! But, it spelled out the nickname of their star player, who embodies the program. Luc is LUC. And his unselfish contributions have put Loyola on the proverbial map.
“Aher (Uguak) is from Canada, and he said didn’t know where Loyola was,” Williamson said of his teammate. “I’m from Chicago, and I didn’t know where Loyola was! But coming to the Loyola has been the best decision of my life. Hands down.”
Shortly after the trophy presentation, on the busy court before the net cutting, Uguak gave the hardware to a team employee to take away. Williamson spotted the transaction and swiftly grabbed the trophy for yet another steal.
“I want to hold onto it until I’ve got to give it up,” Williamson said.
