He has a passion for music and plays multiple instruments. An Instagram with shots akin to those taken by a photography aficionado. A Medium page to express his thoughts on life. To say rising junior forward Lucas Lueth has various interests would be an understatement \u2014 he represents the intersection of art and basketball.<\/p>\n
Hailing from Ames, Iowa, a college town where the Iowa State student body makes up nearly half the total population,\u00a0Lueth\u2019s path to Penn was as unconventional as they come. For starters, he only started taking basketball seriously in 10th grade, several years after most kids had already decided to commit to the sport. He also did not take the traditional route to playing Division I basketball, making a stop at the Junior College level before taking his talents to the Ivy League.<\/p>\n
Lueth transferred to Penn before the 2025-26 season after spending two years at Kirkwood Community College. In his second season there, he led his team to a National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national championship and was named the tournament\u2019s most valuable player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With transfers only making up a small part of the student body at Penn, the adjustment was hard at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to transfer and find your new group of people when everyone here has had two or three years to bond,\u201d Lueth said. \u201cSo it feels like you\u2019re kind of interrupting or putting yourself in a place that you weren\u2019t there originally because everyone was here when they were freshmen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n
Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n But being like everyone else just isn\u2019t what Lueth does. He doesn\u2019t conform, but rather creates. Whether it be the hustle plays he provides on the court or the music he makes with his guitar, Lueth is an artist.\u00a0His works tell a story.<\/p>\n Lueth developed an appreciation for the arts before anything.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ve always been into it a little bit here and there, but I\u2019ve kind of spread my reach,\u201d Lueth said.<\/p>\n Some of his earliest memories include playing the drums in front of his church at just six years old. The rising senior credits his upbringing as playing a big role in his love for music. Going to church with his family, singing, and dancing all contributed to this passion as he was growing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Lueth claims his parents didn\u2019t entirely emphasize the fine arts, he credits the culture they created by playing gospel songs in the house while he and his four younger siblings took to their Saturday chores for developing this love for music.<\/p>\n Today, Lueth plays the piano and drums, has taught himself to play the guitar, and hopes to master the viola and violin next.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI love music,\u201d Lueth said. \u201cI love listening. I love playing it. I love creating it, so music has basically always been there.\u201d<\/p>\n But music is just one of his creative interests. His love for photography and self-expression is perhaps best represented on his Instagram<\/a>. Being an artist, Lueth takes pride in the careful curation of the photos he posts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t want to post pictures of just random things,\u201d Lueth said. \u201cSo I wanted to make a story, and there\u2019s a storyline. If you go through some of the posts, there\u2019s a storyline. There\u2019s a theme \u2026 there\u2019s darker [and] there\u2019s lighter for a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n For the\u00a0six-foot-seven forward, his Instagram is a mood board that details his story while capturing his emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also expresses himself through a pen. The Ames, Iowa native has a zeal for writing as yet another form of self-expression. He has a diary he documents everything in, as well as a passion for poetry.<\/p>\n \u201cI just like writing. I like playing with words on the paper,\u201d Lueth said.<\/p>\n Lueth even created a Medium page<\/a> shortly after winning the Ivy League championship in March. He describes it as a way of educating people on his thoughts while reflecting on his own life.<\/p>\n