Luz, young Pirates endure rough start
Merrillville graduate Lux’s young team going through growing pains during rough start
M ERRILLVILLE — T.J. Lux has done a lot of winning in his basketball career. The third-year Merrillville boys basketball coach played on Pirates teams that went 17-7 (1994) and 27-2 (1995) his junior and senior years.
The 6-foot-9 forward was a four-time all-conference player at Northern Illinois University. He was a double-double machine in college, with 56 games of 10 or more points and rebounds. He also was NIU’s three-time MVP and all-time leading scorer (1,886) and rebounder (1,110).
Lux was an all-star during his six years playing pro basketball in France. He was the MVP of the French Cup Pro-Division playoffs in 2006.
So when Merrillville finished the first half of the season with a 1-9 record (now 2-10) after going 22-4 (2012) and 16-8 (2013) the last two seasons, Lux was hard-pressed to remember a time in his career when he had been through an eight-game losing streak.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said when asked if he had ever experienced such a stretch before this season. “But it’s only about me making sure I’m doing a good job for them. I’ve had my share of basketball successes and failures. This is part of the process.”
Merrillville lost seven of its first 10 games by 10 points or more, but that shouldn’t too much of a shock. The Pirates graduated 12 seniors from last year’s squad.
“We’re trying to create an identity and a certain set of rules, which we have to secure,” Lux said after last week’s 71-60 loss at Crown Point. “And we have to be successful at that to be able to win games in different fashions. It all starts with good man-to-man defense.
“I knew the challenge for this group of guys would be different than last year’s group of guys. For me, and what I believe about the game of basketball, I think there’s a ‘right’ way of teaching the fundamentals of what we’re trying to accomplish. Once we get there, everything will fall into place. But there’s a lot of teaching and a lot of learning that has to occur and that’s where we’re at. You certainly have be more fundamental in what you are teaching.”
Sometimes the head boys basketball coaching position isn’t a popularity magnet, but Lux is a favorite son in Merrillville. His father, Anthony Lux, has been the school superintendent for 20 years.
Lux is also a Crown Point guy. He runs the Evolutionary Personal Training facility in CP and coaches in the Crown Point Cal Ripken baseball league, where his sons compete. Lux says that makes Merrillville-CP games special.
“You know more people in the stands,” he said. “You know the parents of the kids. It’s more enjoyable. There’s a good give-and-take with the people as they come in. It’s fun.”
Lux says his young players have handled the struggles well, which could bode well for the future.
“We’ve got young guys who are going to be good players,” Lux said. “They’re already pretty good, but they’re going against guys who are bigger and stronger and they’ve got to learn how to combat that.
“The thing is, (the players) not getting down about being 1-9. I can certainly handle it. That’s not an issue. Coaches go through this all the time.”