Ohio State football will have another all-time great from the Buckeye basketball program be the victory bell ringer this weekend.
NBA Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas will ring the victory bell before kickoff against the Bruins. It’s the same weekend that Lucas’ statue outside the Schottenstein Center will be unveiled. The day after the football game against UCLA, Lucas will be back at Value City Arena to dot the “i” on the basketball court at halftime of Ohio State’s game against Notre Dame.
It will be a busy weekend for Lucas, but he is grateful for the recognition he’s getting from the university.
“It’s an unbelievable honor,” Lucas told BSB in September after it was announced he would be getting a statue. “I shouldn’t think about it. It might be the biggest honor I’ve ever gotten in my life. I understand certain things have happened (for me), but this is very, very rare to have this happen.”
Lucas played at Ohio State for three seasons, sitting his freshman year since first-year players weren’t allowed to play at the time. In those three seasons, he became the all-time leading scorer for the Buckeyes with 1,990 points. Since then, he has been passed by Dennis Hopson and Herb Williams, but he still holds the rebounding record with 1,411 boards (17.2 per game).
Lucas said that he and his family are looking forward to the weekend the Buckeyes have planned for him.
“Obviously, I’m anticipating it. You don’t know what it’s actually going to be like until it occurs, but I know it will be an awesome feeling,” Lucas said. “I know that my wife and I and all of our family will be very, very excited about the ceremony. Whatever takes place, we’re looking very intently toward it.”
