Two seasons ago, in his sophomore year at Binghamton University, Chretien Lukusa helped the men’s basketball team win the America East Conference Championship, a feat accomplished by few. Last season, Lukusa helped the team overachieve in the regular season amidst the now-infamous off-court problems that led to the dismissal of a head coach and six players. He did not, however, get to defend that conference title from the year before.
‘We didn’t even get the chance to defend the championship,’ he said. ‘We still feel like we have a lot to prove. Everyone is together and playing with a chip on their shoulder.’
Helping a historically pedestrian team form a winning culture is one of the most respected successes in sports because it not only takes talent, it also encompasses having a win-at-all-costs attitude, an ability to be critical of the team as well as oneself and resolve in the face of problems and failures. Lukusa, a co-captain on the team, worked on many facets of his game over the summer in preparation for the upcoming season.
‘This offseason, I really didn’t go home at all,’ he said. ‘Kind of punished myself from last season. I felt bad. I didn’t have the year that I wanted to have.’
In 31 games last season, Lukusa was on the floor for more minutes than any other player (33.9 minutes per game, 1,050 minutes overall), a testament to both his endurance training and the coaching staff’s trust in him. He averaged 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game, and was one of the team’s better defenders and ball-handlers. With the departure of guard Dylan Talley in the offseason, Lukusa will need to play more point guard than he did last year. The Toronto native noted that improving his point guard play was a priority during the summer.
‘Now, I’m more aware of shot situations and time,’ he said. ‘Just really getting the people who need the ball who are better scorers, getting them the ball in places where they want it.’
Last year, according to Lukusa, he would force a play or a pass when he felt the team needed a score. He said he will have more patience this year when it comes to crucial situations.
While a point guard’s job is to get the ball to his scorers in favorable positions, the point guard must also be a threat to score himself. Last year, opponents could dare Lukusa to shoot the ball from long range, as he only shot 23.5 percent from 3-point distance and 34.3 percent overall. This allowed teams to help defensively on Lukusa’s teammates. With an improved jump shot, Lukusa is looking to provide more spacing for his teammates, as well as provide the team with another shot-creator. Through preseason workouts, his teammates have seen a difference.
‘Chretien has been shooting a lot better,’ said Mahamoud Jabbi, a graduate student forward.
Senior forward Greer Wright, the team’s leading scorer last year, might benefit the most from Lukusa’s shooting improvements. Teams won’t be able to focus on defending him as much, and he can make defenses pay by swinging the ball to Lukusa on the perimeter if he is double-teamed.
‘Our offense is more balanced now with Chretien shooting the ball really well,’ Wright said.
Lukusa confirmed his teammates’ observations.
‘I think my shot has progressed a lot,’ he said. ‘I could always be a stand-still shooter, but at the point guard spot, having the ball in your hand more, I have to work on my shot off the dribble. I’ve been working on it consistently during the offseason.’
An integral part of creating a winning culture in a collegiate sports program is aiding in the development of the younger players, the eventual replacements of the current leaders and stars. Jimmy Gray, a sophomore guard on the BU team, credits Lukusa with helping him learn the point guard position in Binghamton’s offensive system.
‘I go to [Lukusa],’ Gray said. ‘He knows the spots in the offense. He has a lot of experience here.’
Lukusa said that he tried to lead the multitude of personalities the team had last year. He was critical of himself, saying his leadership worked at certain points while at other points it did not. However, he said he learned new ways to approach his leadership role.
‘I know how to approach players differently or what to say to them,’ he said. ‘As coach said, you got to learn how to criticize a player aggressively, but at the same time pull him in to encourage him, so that’s something I’m trying to work on.’
According to Lukusa, the team is motivated by the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which predicted BU to finish seventh in the conference.
‘It’s familiar territory for us,’ he said. ‘Since the school went to Division I, we’ve always been picked near bottom of the conference. Every year we’ve surpassed expectations.’
Lukusa said he thinks BU has enough talent to make a legitimate run at the Conference Championship.
‘We have a lot of good pieces,’ he continued. ‘We’ve got our leading scorer back ‘ Greer. Moussa’s scoring, he’s shooting the hell out of the ball right now. Mahamoud’s game is ridiculous right now. We have a lot of talent on the team.’
The core of the team is made up mostly of seniors, including Lukusa, which means every chance on the court is one of their last.
‘The sense of urgency is definitely there,’ he said. ‘Just want to go out with no doubt, just working as hard as I can, and hopefully try to bring another championship here, and try to leave a legacy ‘ a continuing legacy with a winning program.’