NORMAL, Ill. -- Missouri State men's basketball coach Paul Lusk was one of 78 individuals inducted into the Illinois Basketall Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on April 30 at the Illinois State Student Center in Normal.
Lusk, who was a standout at Trenton Wesclin High School before going onto to a college career at Iowa and later Southern Illinois, was one of 33 former players inducted. Other notable inductees in the 2011 class were Mike Krzyzewski, currently the head coach at Duke, Chicago Bulls' standout Mickey Johnson and Harlem Globetrotters Jim Chengary and Pam Gant.
"This was such an honor for me to be included in this class," Lusk said. "It was an outstanding event, and I am humbled to have been a part of it."
Other categories honored at the ceremony, which was sponsored by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, included outstanding coaches (7), career coaches (7), media (6), officials (12), contributors (13) and standout teams (4).
Lusk's collegiate playing career began in 1990-91 at Iowa before he found a home at SIU under coach Rich Herrin. He helped guide the Salukis to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1993-95), earning All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team honors in 1993-94. His 15.2 scoring average as a junior set the stage for an equally-impressive senior campaign in which he earned a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete and All-Tournament teams. He finished his career in Carbondale with 1,031 career points.
Lusk played professionally both in the United States and in Argentina after his collegiate playing days, earning two different invitations to the Phoenix Suns' training camp.
The 39-year-old is a native of New Baden, Ill., and spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue before being announced as MSU's 17th head basketball coach on April 1. He helped guide Purdue to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with a collective 129-45 ledger during that span.
Missouri State's new sideline boss replaced Cuonzo Martin, who resigned on March 27 to accept the top post at Tennessee. Lusk returns eight lettermen from the 2010-11 Missouri Valley Conference championship team that was 26-9 and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
