Most young basketball players fantasize of someday playing in the Big Dance come March. Although it was Bradley guard Luqman Lundy’s dream, it wasn’t something he ever saw happening.
“I thought in high school, I would be lucky to even play Division I basketball,” Lundy said. “And if I did, it was probably going to be a low level team.”
Lundy’s dream of playing Division I basketball came true with Bradley, but he did not follow the traditional direct route from high school to Division I.
After high school, he didn’t know if he could continue his basketball career and options were limited. Lundy spent two years playing at Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa before transferring to Bradley for the 2017-2018 season.
“It wasn’t really a decision,” Lundy said. “It was the only option I had.”
After being a standout in his sophomore season, averaging 13.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 33 minutes a game; he drew Bradley’s attention.
“I didn’t know what Bradley was. I knew of the Missouri Valley Conference because of Wichita State and Illinois State,” Lundy said. “I didn’t know anything about Bradley until Coach [Mike] Bargen called me. We were on the phone at 10:30 at night for like an hour and 30 minutes.”
Lundy said part of what drew him to the Hilltop was the attention the men’s basketball team receives.
“I was impressed with there being no football team, so we would be the hottest ticket on campus,” Lundy said. “Even though I didn’t know about it, it seemed like a lot of people cared about Bradley.”
Lundy did not immediately find his role after he joined head coach Brian Wardle’s team. He played in 25 games, starting none, and averaged 5.5 minutes per contest. Not playing big minutes at a new school was nothing new for Lundy, but he did learn from the time on the bench.
He wanted to be on the floor, but he understood why he wasn’t.
“I knew that I needed to sit. I wasn’t ready to play,” Lundy said. “If I was going to get on the court, I wanted to be on the court for a reason and actually contribute. There were some rough days, but at the end of the day, I knew that when I was ready, I would get my opportunity.”
Lundy believed his time on the bench paid off this past season. He averaged 4 points, 1.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game and played 12 or more minutes in the team’s final 20 games.
His stat line improved, but according to Wardle, it was the guard’s intangible qualities that helped the team the most.
“He’s an energy giver every day,” Wardle said. “He was the same guy every day and that consistency shows maturity. He knew who he was and he knew who he wanted to be every day.”
Many may think Lundy would look back on the two successful seasons the team executed on the court, but Lundy said he will remember the off the court experiences even more.
“I will remember the time I spent with my teammates. We probably are never going to be together like this again,” Lundy said. “These memories you can’t get back. You are going to remember the bus rides and the locker room.”
Lundy is finished donning the red and white for Bradley, but he still hopes to put on another uniform someday.
“I want to continue to play,” Lundy said. “I want to try overseas and see what that’s like for a couple of years.”
