He was going to be all in or all out, likely no in between. University High (San Francisco) junior Lucas Lau was mighty close to being born dribbling a basketball, as his father Derek is the veteran head coach of the City College San Francisco women's hoops team and his mother Remi is also a basketball coach.
With such an environment, a child generally dives right in (sorry for the mixed sports metaphor) and finds a sporting love or eventually peels away to establish his own identity in another endeavor, sporting or not. Lau, however, is establishing a roundball identity of his own while shooting, dribbling, passing and winning basketball games with his high school squad and his Bay City Warriors AAU team.
Just finishing a season in which he averaged 22.9 points (the second most ever) and 6.2 assists (the second most ever) per contest, the 6-foot-1, 160 pound junior earned 151 free throw opportunities, the most in University history. "But I'm not looking to get fouled when I attack the rim." Lau shot 64%, 36% and 79% respectively, dunked four times during games and earned the honor of Bay Counties League Most Valuable Player.
On a team which graduated nine seniors after last season, it took a period of personal development and adjustment for all before the Red Devils began putting victories together, finishing 22-12 overall, 9-3 in BCL action. A trio of three-game winning streaks plus a positive five consecutive game run in February paved the way to the eventual successful team record. "We were young, with a whole new team. Initially, we didn't know our roles and had to form our team chemistry. But we won our league tournament on a roll."
Asked to detail his best basketball skills, Lau offered, "my IQ, which enables me to facilitate for my teammates. I developed that ability because of my parents and my uncles and being around basketball games my whole life. I started playing pre-kindergarten in an Asian league and then moved to AAU ball in third grade. I can shoot, run the offense, defend, take charges and I hustle."
The big NBA splash Jeremy Lin made starting in 2011 was also a highlight for Lau. Considering his age, learning about "Linsanity" came from reading about Lin rather than watching him in-person or on TV.
Another skill Lau demonstrates is "I'm definitely see myself as a leader." He is a co-captain at University High. "I lead by example and especially by being vocal on defense. Both impact how people see you. It's great when everyone comes together as a team."
He sees his eventual college position as "just like a guard" not denoting whether that be as a point or as a two backcourter.
"I want to thank my parents and family for providing me with the best platform to be better." Also, "(University High Head) Coach Randy (Bessolo) and assistants) Alex, Bill, Ben and Justin. Alex provides the film we study and also gets on us." Bessolo also heads the Bay City Warriors AAU team.