Bloomington North's Luke Lindeman quickly making a name for himself

When diners see a 7-footer walk through the restaurant door in Bloomington, one thing comes to mind.

The face at the top becomes familiar and eventually a fan of Indiana University basketball comes up. Luke Lindeman narrates the scene his father Todd inevitably has: "Every time we'd go out to eat, someone will say, 'You that IU basketball player under Knight?' Yeah, that's me. 'These your boys? They playing basketball?' Yep. Be coming up soon.'"

The first, Luke, has arrived and he's started to make a big splash this season for Bloomington North as a sturdy 6-foot-4 sophomore, a first-year starter with plenty of room to grow, both in his game and his frame. Everyone had to chip in a little more this season when forward Bril Kante was lost for the season due to injury and Lindeman has done his share, helping the Cougars repeat as regional champs.

"He's been a kid we've had to have on the offensive and defensive end to be able to win basketball games," North coach Jason Speer said. "He's become more comfortable taking on a bigger role in the offensive and defensive areas.

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"HIs instincts have always been there since he was a young kid, getting the ball to the right person, being able to rebound outside his area and a really, really good playmaker. So I think over the course of two years, we've seen that maturation process of stepping in that role of being a go-to guy for us."

Lindeman, who made it into just three games last year, is averaging 11.5 points (while shooting 50%) and 4.7 rebounds per game. He can score all over the floor, but has been best utilized inside the arc here recently. He's been shooting no more than three 3s each game in the last half of the season, but overall is making them at a 39% rate.

"Just having confidence helps a lot," Lindeman said. "Just do your part, pass the ball, score the ball, everything else will come right back to you."

Steeped in basketball

Not surprisingly, Lindeman has had a basketball in his hands since preschool, dribbling and shooting in the driveway and in more organized settings at the Y and then travel ball teams, usually playing up a year. Eventually he played at St. Charles and then Tri-North for middle school.

"Basketball just took over," he said. "It was fun."

Luke said he didn't move into the "tall" category until having a growth spurt between his eighth-grade and freshmen years. Along the way, dad pushed fundamentals and versatility. Luke isn't the pure center his dad was but learning the footwork and skills to score inside the paint was part of the training all the same.

"All of my inside game comes from him," Luke said. "We work on post moves all the time. He started me younger, I could only play basketball with my left hand for a while, so that really got my left hand stronger.

"He just works with me through left hand dribbling, post moves and free throws. He's really big on free throws. I miss those, it's not good.

Luke is shooting 73% at the line (48-of-66). For the record, his dad shot 60% at IU.

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But Luke got more than just basketball acumen from his folks.

"Luke has some really good coping skills because as a young player at the varsity level, you're going to have some good games and not so great games," Speer said. "So how are you able to cope with that? How are you able to bounce back and get back to work the next day?

"And when you have someone like that with the parents that Luke has, there’s nothing you can do about the game you just played, now, how can you get better each and every day? I’d say that’s certainly the voice of a parent that’s needed for a basketball player.”

He needed it as a freshman, tangling with the starting guards on a team that came 90 seconds away from playing for a state title.

"When I first got here, I was on JV and hopped into scrimmages, guarding all senior guards who all went to play college basketball," Lindeman said. "So it was a challenge."

Breakthrough season

Lindeman got off to a solid enough start to his sophomore season, then walked into the gym at Franklin on Dec. 17, the last game before a two-week break over the Christmas holidays. The Grizzly Cubs decided to leave the new guy open and Lindeman went 12-of-17, including three-of-four from the arc, for a career high 29 points in a 55-41 win.

But the curtain was really raised on his act on Jan. 6 when the Cougars went looking for their first road win over South since 2003. Lindeman looked unfazed by the moment, the opponent or the crowd, scoring 15 points in the first half. The Cougars lost Kante that night to injury in the third quarter but still hung on.

Lindeman finished with a game-high 20, making three of four free throws late. The first two gave North the lead with 55 seconds left. the last one was the capper with 1.8 seconds left on a 53-50 win. Lindeman was 6-of-7 and 3-of-4 on 3s in one of his many confidence-boosting performances.

“I think he’s had several different games, but I think the coming out party was against South," Speer said. "I mean to be able to step up in that sort of environment and take the shots that we needed. Not only taking but need to be made.

"Moving him around on defense to play some smaller guys. Moving him around the defense to play bigger guys. Those are things that he’s embraced."

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During North's two most recent wins, he's been one of the main catalysts in turning the tide in the third quarter. He had seven points and three rebounds against Center Grove and had nine and four against Columbus North.

In the fourth quarter against Center Grove, his offensive rebound allowed North to keep possession and ran the final 51 seconds off the clock to set up the game-winner. In similar fashion his want-to for an offensive rebound against the Bull Dogs led to Gavin Reed's 3 with 18 seconds left that got North within one.

In both games, he combined for 27 points and 16 boards.

"Just being able to get his hands on some of those balls at the end to get offensive rebounds, those are obviously intangibles," Speer said. "Throughout the tournament, third quarter against Center Grove, we were in trouble. Third quarter against Columbus North in regional, we were down and he steps up and gets to the bucket."

Chasing a dream

It's a role that's only going to grow as graduation hits the roster after the season, taking away a potential Indiana All-Star in JaQualon Roberts, and guards Reed and Dawan Daniels. This season, he's learned plenty about just how physical he needs to be around the basket, especially when more defensive attention comes his way next year.

"I'd say I got a lot more tougher," Lindeman said. "I was a little nervous and a little scared coming into the season. But I don't feel that anymore. I feel confident and strong going to the basket. It's just second nature now."

That confidence will take him a long way.

"Like any young player, you constantly tell them how much you care about them, how much confidence you have in them as a coaching staff, how much his teammate have in him," Speer said. "And that certainly helps any young player in this sport to help them gain that confidence.

"Basketball is a very hard sport. It's as much mental and physical, so to see his growth for us as coaches, his teammates, it's nice to see him embrace that confidence."

Lindeman hopes it leads to a college basketball career and he's decided he's going to put the work in to get that accomplished. One day, maybe, he'll walk into Buffalouie's, kids in tow and find a fan who sees a familiar face.

"When the season is over, I always found myself working out after school," Lindeman said. "I thought, 'Well, I guess this is what I'm doing. I might as well just give it my all. And I'm pretty good at it, so I'm going to keep playing.'"

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington North's Luke Lindeman quickly making a name for himself