Milwaukee Transfer Te’Jon Lucas Commits to BYU

BYU landed its first transfer this offseason as Milwaukee guard committed to BYU over other finalists Utah, DePaul, Nevada and New Mexico State.

“I love the success and the Plan coach has for me,” Lucas told me when I asked why he committed. “I’m excited to get to work for BYU and help win a WCC championship and deep run in the tournament.”

Lucas will be a sixth-year senior this season and have one year of eligibility remaining. He’s been one of the more versatile guards nationally the past two seasons at Milwaukee. Last season he averaged 14.9 points, 5.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 39% shooting from the field and 28% from deep. Lucas is a 6-foot-2 guard that has played primarily point guard.

According to KenPom he was top 50 in usage percentage and 21st in assist rate and his 5.8 assists were top 20 nationally. Lucas put up similar number the year prior where he also averaged over 14 points and 5 assists per game. Lucas was All-Horizon in both of his seasons at Milwaukee. He’s had three games the last two seasons where he’s scored over 30 points.

Prior to Milwaukee, Lucas played two seasons at Illinois where he started in 34 of his 60 games for the Illini and averaged 5.7 points and 3.2 assists as a sophomore while shooting 48%.

If Alex Barcello returns — and I think he will — then Lucas will replace Brandon Averette and start alongside AB in the backcourt. Lucas isn’t the same three-point shooter that Averette developed into, but he is a bigger guard that is less turnover prone and would give BYU a playmaking backcourt that can create points scoring and passing. Lucas wouldn’t be asked to do as much as he was at Milwaukee, so his efficiency will likely increase and he will be a very good playmaker.

DePaul was the early favorite since new assistant Paris Parham was one of Lucas’ assistant coaches at Milwaukee and Illinois. Ultimately, this came down to BYU recruiting him the hardest and offering him a clear role. BYU spoke with Lucas virtually everyday for the last few weeks and give him a chance to either replace Alex Barcello or start alongside him. Lucas wants to improve his three-point shooting and Mark Pope has shown the last two years that his system is very shooter friendly.

BYU still has one scholarship remaining and the top target is Both Gach, a 6-foot-6 Minnesota transfer that played at Utah prior and averaged double-digit points for the Utes.

You can watch highlights from Lucas below.