John Lucas: back from the brink of disaster; former alcoholic and cocaine addict rebounds as a winning NBA coach - profile of San Antonio Spurs basketball coach

Ebony, June, 1993 by Douglas C. Lyons

Former alcoholic and cocaine addict rebounds as a winning NBA coach

EIGHT minutes into the game, and John Lucas has seen enough bad play to call his second time out. As the San Antonio Spurs' coach, he is quick to talk about building a person's character. But as the Chicago Bulls begin to blow out his team, he finds that his own character is being tested--again.

The Bulls bolt to a 21-point lead before Lucas' roundball miracle begins to happen. Using a "big" line up of taller players, the Spurs force the game into overtime and a 107-102 victory.

"Tonight was a great win for us," he says. "I don't know if we've turned it around, but it was a great win for us tonight. It's like recovery--day-to-day."

Sounding more like a therapist than a basketball coach, Lucas often uses the words "recovery" and "day-to-day." They come from the heart. Professional sports have many athletes recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, but John Harding Lucas Jr. is one of the few to be given the authority of a head coach.

"Miraculous" may be about the best way to describe Lucas, who at 39 has gone from alcoholic and cocaine addiction to basketball's most recognized counselor-coach. A proven winner, he has turned the NBA on its ears as player and coach, but his biggest contribution to the game extends far beyond assists, points and league won-loss records.

Lucas has literally saved lives.

Since 1986, he has operated the Houston-based John H. Lucas Enterprises, a substance-abuse recovery program for athletes that includes two treatment centers, a physical fitness program, and an after-care program that provides counselors in cities with NBA and NFL teams. He is also the owner-coach of the Miami Tropics, a U.S. Basketball League team designed to give recovering addicts a chance to resume their athletic careers.

Lucas always seems to be thinking about life's personal struggles, whether it's a recovering player readjusting to life in the league, or the coach himself dealing with his ever-present bald spot.

"People don't understand the significance of the human frailties in life," he says. "They talk about addictions, but what they mean is a living problem, something about someone's life that is unacceptable to them. It's like me having to accept that I'm going bald. If I don't accept it and deal with it, I could possibly get drunk again."

Athlete, entrepreneur, motivator of men--Lucas caught the eye of Spurs officials who were desperately seeking a coach to turn around the fortunes of their troubled team. "He has leadership ability, and we needed an infusion of energy and leadership," says Bob Bass, the Spurs' vice president of basketball operations. "The biggest surprise about John is what he did with our offense and defense. He threw out [the plays] that we had and reinvigorated the team. I don't believe many ex-players can coach, but John is special. That's all. He's just special."

Since taking over the Spurs in 1992, the team has won 24 of 27 games at one stretch, including a franchise best 10 in a row. The spurt was good enough to move the team from 10th place in the league's Western Conference to playoff contention. Blunt and always energetic, Lucas patrols the sidelines in a hyperactive style that reminds many of TV's George Jefferson. He is involved in every game, knowing when to push or lay off his players.

"No one knew what to expect when he arrived," says David Robinson, the team's franchise player. "It was a shock to all of us that he was chosen. A Black coach in San Antonio? Everyone respected him for his knowledge of the game, but no one knew what he was going to do. But he's become a friend and a father-figure to all of us."

Avery Johnson, the team's diminutive starting point guard, concurs. "John is a real positive coach," he says. Here's a game [Chicago] where I'm playing awful, and he's encouraging me. He even put me back in at the end of the game. That's what coaching is all about. He's not your typical NBA coach."

Taking a page from his recovery, he put his players on notice that they would be responsible for their team's success. Initially, that meant grueling practices and workouts to whip the players into better physical shape. But Lucas soon began some unorthodox practices that still have the coaching fraternity scratching their collective heads.

He has put team leaders Robinson, Johnson, Dale Ellis and Sean Elliot in charge of setting fines, travel schedules and the starting lineups. He has often turned over the huddles to his players, letting them talk strategies during their timeouts during games while their coach stood nearby just out of earshot.

"I've been trying to build character," Lucas says, once again sounding more counselor than coach. "I've attacked their basketball character, not them personally. If we can build quality character, we can build good men. If we build some good men with quality character, then we'll win games because they will want to win for themselves.

His tactics aren't necessarily the stuff of coaching manuals, and some critics have labeled Lucas' unorthodox style as ineffectual in the face of nagging injuries and subsequent losses. Nevertheless, the coach clearly has the support of his staff and players who have flourished under Lucas' techniques.