GMU Men's Basketball: Luke Hancock

By Connect2Mason Reporter Damien Sordelett.

DANVILLE – Luke Hancock was slacking off his defender, looking to trap a Guilford Tech ball handler in the back court. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward made a break on the ball, stripped it and went the other way, finishing with a two-handed flush.

When George Mason basketball coach Jim Larranaga recruited Hancock, a strong defensive philosophy was probably something that was stressed to the young swingman.

It must have worked. Larranaga and the rest of the staff made a good impression on Hancock, as he has verbally committed to play at Mason starting in 2009 and will sign his letter of intent later this month.

Hancock finished Monday night with five points and four steals for Hargrave Military Academy’s post grad basketball team, as the Tigers won their season opener 95-75 over Guilford Technical Community College at George Washington High School in Danville.

“It came down to really three schools - Toledo, George Mason, Bradley and Belmont - well, four schools, and I just really bonded with the coaches. I love coach Larranaga,” Hancock said. “I went down to Mason Madness, I went and played with the guys, saw the arena, saw where I’m going to be staying - you know, everything just really fit. It seems like a place where I can see myself in the next four years.”

The numbers from Monday night’s game don’t do justice for the Hidden Valley High School grad, as the Hargrave rotation is deep with talent. Three kids have committed to UMass, Indiana and Florida, respectively, plus there are a few more that still have time to make a decision before the deadline to sign.

Despite the limited amount of time that Hancock got, his current coach is more than pleased with what the Roanoke native brings to the team.

“Luke Hancock came to Hargrave and he’s been everything we expected and more,” Hargrave post grad coach Kevin Keatts said. “He’s does everything for us, he’s kind of [an] utility guy. We can play him 1 through 4 because of his length. He can shoot the ball, put the ball on the deck, get to the hole. I’m excited because he’s going to a very good coach that’s going to continue to coach him the right way. He’s going to have a great career.”

As Hancock put it, the selling point about George Mason is that it is George Mason, the only mid-major team to advance to a Final Four and a team that plays in arguably strongest mid-major conference, the CAA.

With the CAA getting that much stronger, Hancock already has in mind things that he will be working on in his one year at Hargrave. With Larranaga going to the small lineup last year with Darryl Monroe on the pine, it’s a possibility that Hancock could see some time at power forward, like he did Monday night and probably will this season.

“I feel like I need to get stronger because I usually get matched up on a (power forward) somehow and got to be able to defend, got to be able to rebound,” Hancock said. “Then, being able to shoot it deep, being able to knock down shots consistently is what coach Larranaga wants me to do.”

Nothing like hitting it on the head. Hancock is lengthy like most of the Hargrave players, using quickness and solid defense to create the offense. The extra bulk will help in the long run against the grinding and banging post players take during the rigors of a season. But, his role in college will be determined when he walks through the doors of the Patriot Center as a Patriot.

“I think coach Larranaga is going to use him in a variety of ways. Coach Larranaga’s got a great scramble half-court defense that he’ll be able to play,” Keatts said. “Certainly, Luke will be able to shoot the ball for them, which I think is one of the reasons they recruited him because of his length and his ability to put the ball in the hole.”

Damien Sordelett is a sports writer for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at dsordelett@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7998.