Creighton assistant men's basketball coach Steve Lutz was recruiting in Kansas on Sunday when he got word that the Bluejays were among the eight teams that had been selected to play their NCAA tournament openers in San Antonio.
Most coaches are just happy to see their team make the tournament, so imagine how elated Lutz was when he learned Creighton would be traveling to his hometown to play at the AT&TCenter.
The Blue Jays (27-7) defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 76-66 on Friday afternoon in their NCAA opener. They now will face Baylor (25-11) at 6:45 p.m. Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
A San Antonio native, Lutz graduated from East Central High School in 1991 and played at Texas Lutheran for three seasons before starting his coaching career in 1995 as a graduate assistant at the University of the Incarnate Word.
You're just ecstatic to be playing in the NCAA tournament, Lutz, 41, said Thursday. But deep down inside, selfishly, I was thinking, 'Man, it sure would be nice to go to San Antonio and play in front of my family and friends.' To be able to come home and see your friends and have them excited for you and playing in front of them is one of the most special feelings in the world.
San Antonio, obviously, is very near and dear to my heart. I grew up here, I graduated from high school here, I met my wife here, I got married here. Obviously, the journey of college basketball has taken me away from here, but you never forget home and you never lose that special place in your heart for home.
Lutz is in his fourth season at Creighton, which is in Omaha, Neb. He also serves as the basketball program's recruiting coordinator.
Lutz, who played basketball under Stan Bonewitz at East Central and Jim Shuler at Texas Lutheran, invited Bonewitz to Creighton's workout Thursday at the Spurs' practice facility.
After my family, Coach Bonewitz was the first person I called after it was announced that we were going to be playing in San Antonio, Lutz said. It was great to see Coach Bonewitz again and have a chance to visit with him.
Doubleheader scheduled at AT&T Center on Sunday
Coach Bonewitz?
It will always be Coach Bonewitz, Lutz said, chuckling. I wouldn't call him Stan if he told me to. Those people who are familiar with basketball in San Antonio all understand that Coach Bonewitz was a fabulous basketball coach. There's a reason that he's in the (San Antonio Sports) Hall of Fame.
But what people probably don't understand is what a terrific mentor and role model he was for all of us as we grew up. Coach Bonewitz was very demanding, yet he was very fair. He taught us as much about life as he did about basketball. Coach Bonewitz probably saved a lot of us from going down the wrong path.
Bonewitz, who coached at East Central for 24 seasons before retiring after the 2004-05 season, led the Hornets to the Class 5A state championship in 1995.
Lutz was a starting senior guard when East Central lost to Jay in the 1991 regional finals.
Steve loved basketball and was a good, solid player, Bonewitz said. He was very coachable. He was like a lot of our players. He liked to get to the gym early and he liked to stay late. Those kind of players always have a chance of getting better and help the program get better.
Steve definitely absorbed things. He wasn't the kind of player you needed to repeat things to. He picked up things pretty quickly. He always had his head up and looked you in the face.
Four second-round games were played Friday at the AT&T Center, with the winners advancing to a third-round doubleheader on Sunday for berths in the Sweet 16.
Lutz will have personal cheering section at AT&T Center
Creighton is led by national player of the year candidate Doug McDermott, a senior forward who is the nation's leading scorer. McDermott, the son of Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott, averages 26.9 points and 7.0 rebounds and is shooting 45.4 percent from the 3-point line.
Baylor, seeded No. 6 in the West Region, beat Nebraska 74-60 in the first of four games Friday at the AT&T Center.
North Carolina defeated Providence 79-77 and Iowa State rolled past North Carolina Central 93-75 laterin the day.
Iowa State, 27-7 and seeded No. 3 in the East Region, plays No. 6 North Carolina (24-9) at 4:45 p.m. Sundayin the other third-round game.
Providence beat Creighton 65-58 in the Big East Tournament final last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, but the Bluejays still were able to secure a No. 3 seed. It is Creighton's highest seed since the NCAA started seeding all the tournament teams in 1979.
Not surprisingly, Lutz will have his own cheering section of family and friends at the AT&T Center on Sunday. His mother, Patricia, four sisters and one brother still live in San Antonio.
My family has always been very supportive throughout my career, Lutz said. My wife (Shannon) has been great, too. I really want to thank her for all the support she gives me.
Lutz credits his mother and late father, Leroy, who died in January 2012, for instilling the values and work ethic that have served him well throughout his coaching career.
My father worked for the phone company for 46 years and never called in sick, Lutz said. He was a hard-working, dedicated man who loved his family, and my mother raised six children.
Lutz coached with Kaspar for 10 seasons
Lutz was a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word for two seasons before he became a full-time assistant coach in 1997, when Pete Peterson left Danny Kaspar's staff to take the head-coaching job at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Lutz left UIW in 1999 to take an assistant coach's job at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan., but went to Stephen F. Austin a year later when Kaspar was hired as the Lumberjacks' head coach. The two worked together at SFA for six seasons before Lutz resigned in 2006 to join Matt Doherty's staff at SMU.
Four seasons later, McDermott hired Lutz at Creighton. It's been quite a journey for Lutz, who was paid $2,000 to be a graduate assistant at UIW that first season 19 years ago.
Lutz recounted a story about the first day he and another young assistant reported to work for the first time. The first task Kaspar gave them was to paint the UIW locker room.
Coach Kaspar was not about the dollar, the glitz or the glamour, Lutz said. He's an ordinary person who shows up every single day and works extremely hard, and he never varies from that. He's a very dedicated, passionate and intense coach. Every day, he is who he is.
For guys who make it through his program, he respects and loves those kids so much that he will go to the ends of the Earth for them. Playing for Coach Bonewitz and Coach Shuler, and then working for Coach Kaspar provided me with the foundation that I needed for my coaching career.
Now head coach at Texas State, Kaspar spoke highly of his former assistant coach.
I'm happy that Steve has elevated himself to a prominent position in a prominent basketball program like Creighton, Kaspar said. Steve is a very hard worker. He's very enthusiastic. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and I'm very confident that he will be a head coach very soon at a Division I institution.
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
At AT&T Center
Friday's second-round games
West Regional
No. 6 Baylor (24-11) vs. No. 11 Nebraska (19-12), 11:40 a.m.
No. 3 Creighton (26-7) vs.No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette (23-11), 30 minutes after conclusion of Baylor-Nebraska game
East Regional
No. 6 North Carolina (23-9) vs. No. 11 Providence (23-11), 6:20 p.m.
No. 3 Iowa State (26-7) vs. No. 14 North Carolina Central (28-5), 30 minutes after conclusion ofNorth Carolina-Providence game
Sunday's third-round games
Baylor-Nebraska winner vs. Creighton-Louisiana-Lafayette winner, time TBD
North Carolina-Providencewinner vs. Iowa State-North Carolina Central winner, time TBD
