I first met Shanique Lucas, sophomore Lady Bulldogs basketball player and exercise science major, during Welcome Week her freshman year. I was getting to know some of the girls on the basketball team. I asked her name and immediately fell in love with the way her name sounds. It rhymes with unique in my head, so I thought it was cool. I am not the best at remembering names but this was a hard name to forget.
Over the next two years, I would occasionally see Lucas around campus and say “hey,” but I never got the chance to get to know her personally until earlier this week. I already knew she was a killer basketball star, but there was so much more to uncover. During our time together, I learned that Shanique Lucas is truly unique.
As we sat down in Barefoots Joe on campus, she mentioned how she hadn’t spent much time there. Most college athletes don’t have time to hang out in a coffee shop during the day. They are constantly on the go, running from class to the gym to practice to studying.
Lucas was first introduced to basketball as a young girl while living in China. Like a lot of girls growing up, she started out playing with the boys. When her family moved to Thailand, she continued to play and ended up being pretty good. Good enough to contact college coaches.
Lucas did not intentionally seek out the Union University basketball program. The summer after her freshman year of high school she traveled to the states to gain more exposure by playing summer ball and be seen by college coaches. She sent a slew of emails to different schools with her highlight reels to get her name out there. Union just happened to be one of the schools. Luckily enough she caught Coach Mark Campbell’s eye.
“I’ve never gotten an email from an 8th grader that also had her dad as her coach,” said Mark Campbell, women’s basketball head coach. “She sent me a video, and I thought she looked pretty good. The video was good enough to where it stood out for an 8th grader. So we just kept in touch.”
Campbell mentioned how her recruiting process was very unique to others, given he could only communicate with Lucas’s coach, which happened to be her father.
“I can’t imagine an international player or an American player coming into our program and fitting in more smoothly than Shanique,” said Campbell.
Lucas’s sister Keisharna will be coming to Union next year to be on the women’s basketball team as well. Lucas is excited for her sister to come and be part of the Union community. Union’s size contributes to Lucas’s love of the community on campus.
“Union is just the right size to where there are enough people who know you and you know enough people to where you never really feel out of place,” said Lucas.
Lucas has had many accolades within the last two years at Union. She was named the Gulf South Conference (GSC) Freshman of the Week five times last season. She’s also been named GSC Player of the Week multiple times as well as the GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Most recently she was named GSC All-Academic.
“I lived in Thailand, but I had an American education. I took AP classes and came in with college credit,” said Lucas. “The transition from Thailand to America school-wise wasn’t a major transition for me. I’ve always taken pride in my school and my sports but have always made school a priority.”
There are many things Lucas loves about Union including basketball and academics, but one of the main things she mentioned is immensely she has grown in her faith through her teammates and coaches. She said she didn’t have much of a faith coming into Union, so growing closer with Christ has been one of her favorite things about being here.
“When I think of Shanique, I think of somebody who wants to be excellent in every area. There is not one more important area to her than whether it be spiritually growing, academically excelling at a high level, or the best basketball player, teammate, or friend,” said Campbell. “She is open, honest, vulnerable, plays hard, easy to coach, she asks questions, she is a learner, plus God has given her some exceptional abilities.”
