AMHERST
It didn’t take the hyperbole long to find Luwane Pipkins.
UMass-Lowell coach Pat Duquette didn’t remember Pipkins’ name in the postgame press conference, but he was impressed enough to compare him to one of the best defensive guards ever in college basketball.
“Credit that freshman guard. He was very disruptive,” Duquette said. “I remember a guy who we played against at Providence, when I coached (as an assistant) at Boston College, named John Linehan. I haven’t seen a strong, small guard disrupt a game since back then. It wasn’t just one of our players. He switched onto all of our players and changed the nature of the game. He stole our guys’ confidence a little bit.”
Linehan is Division I’s all-time steals leader with 385.
Pipkins said to expect more of the same.
“Everybody gets rattled like that. I was bringing that dog from Chicago,” Pipkins said. “That’s what I did tonight. I knew I had to play full court, 100 feet. I guess they were getting rattled.”
Minuteman fans and national media have focused a lot of the preseason hype about UMass’ freshmen on the five-man signing class that arrived on campus this summer. It’s understandable and nothing the highly touted group has done has diminished that excitement.
Because Pipkins sat out last year, he’s flown under the radar a bit. But in UMass’ first game, he didn’t look rusty from the year off and didn’t look like a freshman.
After facing him for a few minutes, Lowell’s players started rushing on offense even when they didn’t have to. The threat of Pipkins was affecting the River Hawks’ offense even when he wasn’t near the play.
“He’s doing what I expected him to do. That’s what he brings to the table. He brings a toughness and a Chicago edge,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “That’s why I love him as a player.”
It seems that nobody can mention Pipkins without referencing his Windy City roots. His deep dish defense produced eight steals, giving him UMass’ single-game record in the category one game into his college career.
All excitement needs to come with the obvious caveat. This was Lowell. The River Hawks are expected to be a back-half America East team. For Pipkins to be a star, he’ll have to raise his game against Ole Miss, Temple and Harvard as well as the Atlantic 10.
But this was a good start. There was an element to his game he didn’t even show Friday. In the preseason he was one of, if not the best 3-point shooters on the Minutemen. But he was just 1-for-5 from behind the arc and 5-for-13 from the field en route to his 14 points. He played both guard spots and had three assists and one turnover.
“He played in the highest level of AAU basketball,” Kellogg said. “We’re happy to have him and hope that he can continue to play this way.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage