FSU's Loucks ready to bounce back from injury

Luke Loucks knew what he needed to do.

If he was ever going to be an impact player in the ACC, if he was going to be able to stay on the floor for long stretches of time, it was pretty simple.

The 6-foot-4 Florida State point guard was going to have to get quicker.

"I'm not the most athletic kid in the world, obviously," Loucks said.

"And you have a bunch of superior athletes up here. It's a whole different ball game."

During his freshman season, Loucks was a solid contributor for the 25-10 Seminoles.

He played in all 35 games and averaged 3.1 points, 2.1 assists in almost 17 minutes per game.

But, as he readily admits, his body wasn't anywhere near where it needed to be.

"The weight I was at was probably the weight I need to be, it was just the wrong weight," Loucks said.

So this offseason he began his mission.

First, though, he had to recover from a partial dislocation (subluxation) of the left elbow he suffered while driving to the basket in the Seminoles' overtime loss to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ironically, there was no foul called on the play.

Months later, when he's informed by a reporter that he just heard the referee's whistle, Loucks laughs.

"Yeah, a little late," he said. "That's all right. You win some, you lose some."

It took about two months for Loucks to fully recover from the injury.

In the meantime, while his elbow was healing, he began working with Florida State strength and conditioning coach Michael Bradley in an effort to improve his quickness.

Though Loucks was an efficient offensive player for the Seminoles last season, he struggled at times on defense.

"In the ACC, let me tell you, there are some guys that are really tough to guard," he said with a smile.

To gain the quickness that was going to help him on the defensive end, Bradley said the most important thing for Loucks was to add strength.

"Stronger muscle is going to be more powerful," Bradley said.

He also said the Clearwater native had to practice at game-speed every minute of every drill.

"If you do those things - get stronger, get leaner and practice at game speed - then you're going to be able to reach your genetic potential for quickness," Bradley said.

So has he reached his genetic potential?

"He's still a work in progress," Bradley said. "We all are. I think he feels really good where he's at.

He's leaner than he's ever been - at least since he was probably 14 or 15. And the biggest thing I see with him, he is quicker, but he's able to sustain that effort for a long time."

Loucks has lost about 10 pounds since March and is still in the process of replacing it with muscle.
With the Seminoles getting some pre-preseason practice this summer for their upcoming exhibition tour of Spain; Loucks said he has already been able to tell a difference.

"It's already started paying off," he said. "I don't get tired as much going through drills. Coach (Andy) Enfield has already told me I'm coming off the shooting drills a little faster. I feel a little quicker and like I'm in better shape."

Not that Loucks is ever going to be confused with Ty Lawson. No matter how hard he works, he's not going to be lightning going down the court.

And he knows that.

But he is going to be stronger, quicker and leaner. Which definitely won't hurt.

"You need to take any advantage you can get," Loucks said. "If it means losing five or 10 pounds. You have to do it."