Men's Basketball
Lusk, Paul
Paul Lusk
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- paullusk@creighton.edu
- Phone:
- (402) 280-1795
Paul Lusk begins his third year as an assistant coach at Creighton this winter.
Lusk has received much of the credit for Creighton’s improved defense in recent seasons. The Bluejays allowed 74.1 points per game in 2017-18 and have lowered that figure each of the past two seasons, including 69.7 points per contest a year ago, the program’s best mark since 2014-15.
Against league foes, the Bluejay defense allowed 8.3 points per game less than in the initial encounter in 2018-19, and lowered the same scoring defense by 5.4 points the second time around league action in 2019-20.
The upgraded defense helped Creighton win the program’s first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, and helped him be named a top five assistant coach in the BIG EAST by Stadium.
Lusk arrived in Omaha after spending the previous seven seasons as a head coach at Missouri State, winning 105 games and advancing to the Arch Madness semifinals in both 2014 and 2017. His 2013-14 club went 20-13 and reached the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, while his 2017-18 team went 18-15.
Lusk coached 10 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selections, six All-MVC players, four All-Freshman Team picks, four members of the MVC All-Newcomer Team and two members of The Valley’s Most-Improved Team in seven seasons in Springfield. He also coached the 2016 and 2017 MVC Newcomers of the Year, as well as current Indiana Pacers forward Alize Johnson.
Lusk arrived at Missouri State after seven seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Purdue. During his tenure on the Purdue coaching staff, Lusk helped guide the Boilermakers to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with a collective 129-45 ledger during that span.
In 2010 he was named by FoxSports.com as one of the nation’s top 25 high-major assistant coaches. In April 2011, Lusk was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.
Before moving to Purdue, he spent one season on Matt Painter’s staff at Southern Illinois in 2003-04, a campaign that also culminated in an NCAA Tournament berth, a No. 15 national ranking and a 25-5 record.
Prior to that, he spent one season as head coach at the University of Dubuque. His head coaching debut came on the heels of three seasons at Division II Missouri Southern State in Joplin where he was an assistant. The Lions were 71-21 in that span (1999-2002) with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999-2000. His coaching career started with a one-year stint as an assistant at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.
The native of New Baden, Illinois, began his playing career at Iowa in 1990 where he spent two years before he found a home at Southern Illinois under coach Rich Herrin. He helped guide the Salukis to three straight NCAA Tournament trips (1993-95), earning All-MVC second-team honors in 1994 with a 15.2 scoring average as a junior. As a senior, he earned a spot on the Valley Scholar-Athlete and All-Tournament teams and finished his Saluki career with 1,031 points.
He went on to play professionally both in the United States and Argentina and earned two different invitations to the Phoenix Suns’ training camp.
A 1995 graduate of Southern Illinois, Lusk and his wife Melanie have a daughter, Maddie, and a son, Jack. The couple both earned their Masters of Science in Education from Missouri State in 2000.
The Paul Lusk File
Personal
• Wife - Melanie
• Children – Maddie and Jack
Collegiate Coaching Experience
• Creighton - Assistant Coach, 2018-Present
• Missouri State - Head Coach, 2011-18
• Purdue - Assistant/Associate Coach, 2004-11
• Southern Illinois - Assistant Coach, 2003-04
• Dubuque - Head Coach, 2002-03
• Missouri Southern State - Assistant Coach, 1999-2002
• Southwestern Illinois - Assistant Coach, 1998-99
Collegiate Playing Experience
• Iowa - Guard, 1990-92
• Southern Illinois - Guard, 1992-95
College Education
• Missouri State - M.S., Education, 2000
• Southern Illinois - B.S., Health Education, 1995
Lusk has received much of the credit for Creighton’s improved defense in recent seasons. The Bluejays allowed 74.1 points per game in 2017-18 and have lowered that figure each of the past two seasons, including 69.7 points per contest a year ago, the program’s best mark since 2014-15.
Against league foes, the Bluejay defense allowed 8.3 points per game less than in the initial encounter in 2018-19, and lowered the same scoring defense by 5.4 points the second time around league action in 2019-20.
The upgraded defense helped Creighton win the program’s first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, and helped him be named a top five assistant coach in the BIG EAST by Stadium.
Lusk arrived in Omaha after spending the previous seven seasons as a head coach at Missouri State, winning 105 games and advancing to the Arch Madness semifinals in both 2014 and 2017. His 2013-14 club went 20-13 and reached the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, while his 2017-18 team went 18-15.
Lusk coached 10 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selections, six All-MVC players, four All-Freshman Team picks, four members of the MVC All-Newcomer Team and two members of The Valley’s Most-Improved Team in seven seasons in Springfield. He also coached the 2016 and 2017 MVC Newcomers of the Year, as well as current Indiana Pacers forward Alize Johnson.
Lusk arrived at Missouri State after seven seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Purdue. During his tenure on the Purdue coaching staff, Lusk helped guide the Boilermakers to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with a collective 129-45 ledger during that span.
In 2010 he was named by FoxSports.com as one of the nation’s top 25 high-major assistant coaches. In April 2011, Lusk was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.
Before moving to Purdue, he spent one season on Matt Painter’s staff at Southern Illinois in 2003-04, a campaign that also culminated in an NCAA Tournament berth, a No. 15 national ranking and a 25-5 record.
Prior to that, he spent one season as head coach at the University of Dubuque. His head coaching debut came on the heels of three seasons at Division II Missouri Southern State in Joplin where he was an assistant. The Lions were 71-21 in that span (1999-2002) with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999-2000. His coaching career started with a one-year stint as an assistant at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.
The native of New Baden, Illinois, began his playing career at Iowa in 1990 where he spent two years before he found a home at Southern Illinois under coach Rich Herrin. He helped guide the Salukis to three straight NCAA Tournament trips (1993-95), earning All-MVC second-team honors in 1994 with a 15.2 scoring average as a junior. As a senior, he earned a spot on the Valley Scholar-Athlete and All-Tournament teams and finished his Saluki career with 1,031 points.
He went on to play professionally both in the United States and Argentina and earned two different invitations to the Phoenix Suns’ training camp.
A 1995 graduate of Southern Illinois, Lusk and his wife Melanie have a daughter, Maddie, and a son, Jack. The couple both earned their Masters of Science in Education from Missouri State in 2000.
The Paul Lusk File
Personal
• Wife - Melanie
• Children – Maddie and Jack
Collegiate Coaching Experience
• Creighton - Assistant Coach, 2018-Present
• Missouri State - Head Coach, 2011-18
• Purdue - Assistant/Associate Coach, 2004-11
• Southern Illinois - Assistant Coach, 2003-04
• Dubuque - Head Coach, 2002-03
• Missouri Southern State - Assistant Coach, 1999-2002
• Southwestern Illinois - Assistant Coach, 1998-99
Collegiate Playing Experience
• Iowa - Guard, 1990-92
• Southern Illinois - Guard, 1992-95
College Education
• Missouri State - M.S., Education, 2000
• Southern Illinois - B.S., Health Education, 1995
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