Patrick Lucas Hancock (born January 30, 1990) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

after transferring from

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. While at Louisville, he won the 2013 NCAA championship and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, becoming the first substitute to ever win the award (later vacated due to the 2015 University of Louisville basketball sex scandal, but then restored after Hancock settled a lawsuit with the NCAA). On September 30, 2019, the NCAA reinstated Luke Hancock's MOP status (without an *) in his individual capacity. This decision did not, however, change the status of the vacated 2013 Louisville Cardinals Division I Championship. He played professionally for

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

in 2014 before tearing a muscle in his calf, ending his career.

Early life

Hancock was born to William and Venicia Hancock. He has four brothers and one sister. Hancock attended Hidden Valley High School in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

, where he did not receive notice from college programs. He then went to

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private school, private, all-male, Military school, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Chr ...

for one year. As a high school basketball player, he was named All-State.

College career

Hancock was recruited to attend

George Mason Patriots men's basketball The George Mason Patriots men's basketball team represents George Mason University. The Patriots play at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, on the George Mason campus. George Mason is coached by Tony Skinn. The Patriots have appeared six ti ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Jim Larrañaga James Joseph Larrañaga Sr ( ; born October 2, 1949) is a former college basketball coach. He was most recently the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team from 2011 to 2024 when he retired. Before joining the ...

. He played for George Mason in his freshman and sophomore years. While at George Mason, he averaged 7.7 points per game as a freshman and 10.9 points as a sophomore. In his second season, he was named to the All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

third team. Larrañaga accepted the head coaching job at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

after the 2010–11 season, taking his entire coaching staff with him and leading Hancock to transfer. Hancock transferred to the

, which had hired his former Hargrave coach

Kevin Keatts Kevin Andre Keatts (born July 28, 1972) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at NC State Wolfpack men's basketball, North Carolina State University. Early life and playing career Keatts grew up as an on ...

as an assistant, and did not play in 2011–12 after transferring. Hancock was named the captain of the

Louisville Cardinals men's basketball The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville (U of L) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA cham ...

team before appearing in a game for the Cardinals. Hancock averaged 7.7 points per game playing for Louisville in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. In the

2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2012– ...

, he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He scored 20 points in the national semifinals against the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference (T ...

. In the title game against the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, the Cardinals trailed by 12 points late in the first half before Hancock scored 14 straight points for the team to cut the deficit to one by halftime. He finished the game five-for-five on three-point shooting, and Louisville won, 82–76. He became the first reserve player in tournament history to be named the MOP.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...

, Hancock joined the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

for the Orlando Summer League and the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 25, 2014, he signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. However, he was later waived by the Grizzlies on October 13, 2014. On November 4, 2014, Hancock signed with

of the

. He played in six games before tearing a muscle in his calf. The injury made him realize he needed to prepare for life after basketball, so he retired from the sport, studied to become a financial adviser, and eventually began working in Louisville, Kentucky for Lamkin Wealth Management.

After basketball

Hancock has continued his community involvement in Louisville, most notably with the nonprofit group Families for Effective

Autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

Treatment of Louisville (FEAT). He first became involved with the organization in 2014 while still attending Louisville. After returning from his brief professional career in Greece, he started organizing basketball camps for children on the autism spectrum. Hancock also served on FEAT's board of directors. Hancock married the former Kaelyn Gault in October 2019. In 2019, Hancock joined ESPN as a studio analyst for the

ACC Network ACC Network (ACCN) is an American multinational subscription-television channel owned and operated by ESPN Inc. Dedicated to coverage of the Atlantic Coast Conference, it was announced in July 2016 and launched on August 22, 2019. The channel ...

References

External links

Luke Hancock
at

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

Luke Hancock
– college basketball player statistics at

Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Luke 1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Greece Autism activists Basketball players from Roanoke, Virginia George Mason Patriots men's basketball players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Panionios B.C. players Small forwards American men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen