He’s Such a Big Shot

When the game is on the line, Oklahoma State’s opponents know just where to find the ball. But stopping John Lucas III from putting it in the basket remains the hard part.

The point guard who hit the three-pointer that sent the Cowboys to the Final Four a season ago is up to his old tricks again this year. While his shots aren’t always the dramatic, game-winning variety, Lucas remains the spark that has the sixth-ranked Cowboys continuing to win.

Entering the weekend, the 5-foot-11 senior led the Cowboys with 21.8 points per game. He’s shooting 42 percent from three-point range and has made two-thirds of his shots from inside the arc.

Late in tight games, the ball almost always seems to be in Lucas’ hands -- and his shots often go in.

Against Arkansas-Little Rock, Lucas drilled three three-pointers in a minute and 15 seconds to turn a two-point lead into a comfortable nine-point edge that the Cowboys never gave up. Four days later, it was another three-pointer by Lucas that set off a 9-0 run to help the Pokes close out Sam Houston State.

Sam Houston Coach Bob Marlin said he told his team before the game that it needed to stop Lucas from hitting the big shots that get Oklahoma State going. It didn’t work.

“He’s such a smart player. If you try taking it out of his hands, he’s very clever,” said SMU Coach Jimmy Tubbs, whose team allowed 24 points by Lucas in a 76-57 OSU win last week. “He’ll come off screens and picks. He’s got the whole package, the physical talent and the mental makeup.”

Lucas says he’s not looking for the spotlight. He’d just as soon pass to an open teammate and let another guy make the big shot. When the opportunity presents itself, though, Lucas doesn’t hesitate.

“I don’t like being in the situation, but when the situation comes, I like stepping up to the challenge,” he says.

Lucas traces his knack for performing in crunch time to his days as a kid playing on the driveway, or on a miniature basketball hoop inside the house. Like so many kids, Lucas counted down the final few imaginary ticks before launching a last-second shot. About half the time, he says, the shot went in.

Lucas says the shot against top-seeded St. Joseph’s that put Oklahoma State into the Final Four last season remains the biggest shot -- so far -- of his career.

“That was a big shot, but even if I didn’t hit it, I’m always going to be comfortable on the court,” he says. “I have a lot of confidence in myself.

“My father always told me, ‘You miss some and you make some.’ It’s a matter of you getting up and trying again and not falling away from the challenge again when it comes back your way.”

Lucas’ father is John Lucas Jr., the former NBA player and coach. Lucas says he talks to his father every day. Many times it’s about basketball, but sometimes it’s not.

“He’s always there,” Lucas says. “Every time I get frustrated a little bit, I always call him. He’s the first person I call.”

And while Lucas frequently turns to his father, he says he’s got the “best of both worlds” by having Eddie Sutton as his coach.

“You can always take something from everybody,” Lucas says. “You can’t think you’re bigger than anybody else. I listen to everybody. When they tell me something, it’s going to help my game out. Even if I think it won’t, somehow it will.”

But he also makes sure to give back. On a team with seven seniors, Lucas says he’s most comfortable as the one who tells teammates to “lift your head up.”

“That’s the kind of leader I like to be,” he says. “I can take criticism well. It motivates me to prove it wrong. Some players can’t. So I’m always like, ‘Man, don’t worry about that. Just make sure you do it next time.”’

Lucas says that aspect of his personality only developed after he arrived at Oklahoma State before last season. At Baylor, Lucas says he was quiet and only hung out with two teammates -- Lawrence Roberts and Kenny Taylor. All three transferred last season after Baylor’s Patrick Dennehy was shot to death and teammate Carlton Dotson was charged with killing him.

Since arriving at Oklahoma State, Lucas says he’s felt more like his teammates are family.

“When you think of something as a family, you never want to let your family members down,” Lucas says. “I don’t want to let my teammates down because they’re my family. That’s why I take a lot of pride in whatever I do.”

The Cowboys play No. 3 Syracuse in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York, then return home to play Alabama-Birmingham -- which reached the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 last season -- on Friday in Stillwater.

“I love challenges. I love it with a passion,” he says. “It makes you play even harder than what you’re used to playing because you don’t want to fail. You want to win so bad. A lot of my teammates are like that.

“That’s what makes this team so special.”