image source: News-Herald
Last week, the NCAA celebrated their 75th Anniversary All-Time March Madness Team. An awesome list of legends which include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton, Bill Bradley, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Michael Jordan, Danny Manning, Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West.
Last but not least is an Ohio State legend, Jerry Lucas. His former Buckeye teammates include Bobby Knight and John Havlicek. Most know Lucas had a successful pro career in the NBA with the Cincinnati Royals, San Francisco Warriors and New York Knicks. Unlike today, where most top-caliber college players leave school early to play in the NBA, this wasn't a career option Lucas thought was available to him.
But what many probably don't know - *of the 150+ schools that recruited him for an athletic scholarship, Lucas enrolled at Ohio State on an academic scholarship (at his insistence). He chose Ohio State because they were the only school to talk to him about academics first. In his 4 years at Ohio State, Lucas earned his bachelor's degree in 3. He spent his senior year of eligibility in post-graduate studies.
Jerry Lucas retired from the NBA in 1974. In 1996, Lucas was named one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players. Lucas is now a public speaker, educator and memory expert.
*source - Wikipedia
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