‘Goode to be home’

Luke Goode and his grandfather, Bill Lentz, smile for a photo in the seats of Assembly Hall in 2012. Luke’s turned to the camera, smiling brightly with his braces glinting in the light, his red hair trimmed short.

Bill has his arm on Luke's shoulder, wearing a similar grin to his grandson while the two pose in their seats. They’re both wearing red, slightly darker than the shades of the NCAA National Champions banners behind them, three of which are visible.

In the fall of 2024, 12 years after that photo, Luke and Bill are back inside Assembly Hall — only this time under much different circumstances.

Luke now has his arm around his Bill, standing nearly a head’s length above his grandfather. His red hair is a bit longer than before, his braces are gone and he wears a white Indiana basketball jersey with the number 10 in the top right corner.

Bill is still wearing red, only this time his apparel reads “Goode to be home.” The two are pictured at center court following Luke’s first appearance in Hoosier Hysteria, an annual celebration for the beginning of a new Indiana basketball season in Bloomington.

But for Luke, the event also marked the start of a new career as a Hoosier, something years in the making.

•••

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Luke was born into a family of Hoosiers. His father, Craig Goode, played football for Indiana from 1994-96, and his uncle, Trent Green, played from 1990-92. Luke’s mother, Susan Goode, attended Indiana, as did his grandparents, two of his aunts and two uncles.

Luke willingly accepted his birthright of becoming a diehard Hoosier fan. His grandmother, Darcie Lentz, fondly remembered buying him candy stripes every year as he would outgrow them. His Christmas list always included Indiana gear, and if the family made the trip to Bloomington, he and his siblings would always get IU apparel.

Several times a season, Luke attended Indiana basketball games, often sporting his Hoosier merchandise and candy-striped pants. Bill and Darcie had two tickets that were

shared amongst the grandchildren, and Green also had two seats just behind the commentator’s table.

Luke adored his uncle’s location. During one game televised on ESPN, he managed to get on the broadcast, leaning over the rail and waving to the camera. Every chance Luke had to attend a game with those tickets, sitting with Green, he took it.

But for as much as Luke loved Indiana, his dedication to basketball was just as serious.

“He was just a basketball enthusiast,” Craig said. “Yes, he loved IU, that was his school, but he loved the game of basketball.”

Every night, Luke watched basketball, studying it. He tried to watch every Hoosier game he could, but even if they weren’t playing, he would watch another college matchup or the NBA, often while doing his homework.

The dedication to watching coincided with his dedication to playing. Darcie remembers arriving at the Goode household with Luke playing basketball in the driveway, astounded at his work ethic in less-than-ideal conditions.

“You’d think it’s too cold to be out there,” Darcie said. “No, no it’s not.” Not for Luke.

Second grade marked his first season of AAU basketball, playing for Team Teague. The Indianapolis-based team also contained fellow college basketball players, Purdue’s Caleb Furst and the University of Miami’s Jalen Blackmon, whose brothers, James Blackmon Jr. and Vijay Blackmon, played at Indiana.

Luke began to workout with Optimum Performance Sports Basketball, a program in Fort Wayne offering “necessary guidance, instruction and exposure” to kids of all ages. While training at OPS, he met Matt Roth, a former Indiana guard and one of Luke’s future mentors.

“I definitely wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him,” Goode said at Indiana basketball’s institutional media day Sept. 18. “I was able to grow up with him. He’s done nothing but great things for me.”

Roth’s four years at Indiana spanned from 2008-2012, and he finished with a career 3-point percentage 41.6%. When the workouts first began in middle school, Luke loved to shoot, and Roth helped elevate that part of his game.

But the workouts extended beyond simply shooting. Roth taught Luke the game of basketball, and later, he provided mentorship throughout the recruiting process. To Luke, Roth was fundamental to his basketball career.

“I’ll always appreciate Matt for all that he helped me with growing up,” Luke said.

•••

Luke took one dribble on the right wing, moving the ball from his left hand to his right. With only two steps, he rises to the rim and secures the dunk just before the oncoming defender could block him.

The whistle blows for a foul. Luke, wearing a white Homestead High School jersey with “Spartans” across the front, gets up off the hardwood, looking out to the crowd with a calm expression — one that seems like he’s been there before.

In a sense, he had.

Luke’s freshman year featured a big turning point in his career. Craig remembers a putback dunk during his days with Indy Heat, one which led to increased interest from colleges. At the time, the 6-foot-2, skinny freshman had never done a thing like that before, but only three years later, it was nothing special to him.

All the while, Luke’s success on the court was coinciding with his success on the football field. His 2,778 passing yards in his junior year in 2019 set the Homestead record, and Craig even believed he was a better football player than he was basketball player.

And yet, Luke’s desire for basketball never wavered. Craig recalls asking him if he would rather be a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft or play basketball overseas professionally, not in the NBA.

Without hesitation, Luke sided with basketball.

“I think we knew at that point,” Craig said about his son’s preferred sport. “He knew that basketball was where he wanted to be and where he was. That (was) what he was going to pursue at the next level.”

The first collegiate offer came from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Iowa, Northwestern and Butler University followed. In total, Luke received 10 offers from different schools, none of them named Indiana.

“It was a bummer, but we live that everything happens for a reason,” Craig said. “It was an awesome three years there (at Illinois). Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Ultimately, he chose Illinois and head coach Brad Underwood. Craig said the Fighting Illini showed “the most interest,” calling Luke nonstop. He also formed a tight bond with Stephen Gentry, an assistant coach at Illinois before he joined Gonzaga University in 2021.

As a member of the Fighting Ilini, Luke appeared in 76 games, an impressive feat considering he only played in 10 contests his sophomore year due to a foot injury. But after three years at Illinois, it was time for the Fort Wayne native to finally return to his home state.

•••

Almost instinctively, Luke runs to the left wing behind the 3-point line as junior forward Malik Reneau races up the court. He turns to look at the ball while positioning himself in his go-to spot on the perimeter, and in one motion after receiving the pass, he drills the transition triple.

As the crowd inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall erupts, Luke turns to the Hoosier bench, pointing his right index finger at his teammates. After the whistle blows to signal a timeout for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Luke walks to midcourt slowly, tensing his muscles and yelling with his eyes closed.

It was the moment Luke appeared to truly arrive at Indiana.

Before the basket Nov. 21, he had been 2 for 11 on 3-point attempts on the season. Only 12 days later, Luke would finish 5 for 7 from behind the arc in a destruction of Sam Houston State University.

Even on a career night, Luke was more appreciative of the white jersey with red letters spelling “Indiana” than any of his own personal achievements.

“To be able to wear the candy stripes and go play, it's a dream come true,” Luke said after the Sam Houston State victory Dec. 3. “I play as hard as I possibly can when I’m on the court to represent this program the way it should be represented.”

In a season filled with expectations, Luke is also representing one more person — an 11- year-old boy who screamed for the Hoosiers, joined his grandparents at basketball games and wore Indiana apparel all the time.

A boy who seemed destined to end up at Indiana playing basketball and, ultimately, did.

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