From a young age, BGSU women’s basketball assistant coach Maggie Lucas knew she wanted to be a part of the basketball world and make a difference.

She’s played at very high levels, battled through injuries and now has made an impact with the Falcons as a coach.

“I’ve known Maggie since she was a freshman in high school. I went to watch a game in Indianapolis—I think it was on court six in the Indiana Pacers practice facility, and I saw this skinny little girl with a headband, and she caught my eye,” BGSU women’s basketball head coach Fred Chmiel said. “There were a couple of them on that team that were really good, but her in particular, she was balling out.”

Now in her second season on Bowling Green’s coaching staff, Lucas has had quite the basketball career. She spent eight years as a professional player before transitioning to her current role as an assistant coach.

A native of Philadelphia, Lucas came to northwest Ohio for one reason: A chance to reunite with BGSU head coach Chmiel.

“I came because I wanted to work with Coach Fred. He was our guard and position coach and defensive coach at Penn State when I was there,” Lucas said. “I really credited him for turning me into a pro. He’s been my long-time mentor and just like [a] godfather of basketball to me.”

A relationship first established at Penn State, Chmiel and Lucas continued to keep in touch with Lucas’s future basketball endeavors.

“When she was having great moments, she called. When she was having bad moments, she called,” Chmiel said.

Eventually, that relationship turned into a coaching dynamic.

“It’s great to have her here because I feel like she’s family,” Chmiel said. “My kids think she’s Aunt Maggie. My wife thinks she’s one of our kids. She’s at the house; we hang out. It’s natural; it’s really natural. I’m glad she’s here.”

Lucas played collegiate basketball at Penn State from 2010 to 2014. During her four years with the Nittany Lions, she was named the 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and 2013 and 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year. She is also the only player in program history to tally over 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals, and is also the program’s second-leading scorer with 2,510 career points.

One of the most decorated Nittany Lions of all time, Lucas has nothing but gratitude for the Penn State program.

“When I first went, it was my first visit, my first big offer. What I loved about it and what I think it brought [was] the best out of me,” Lucas articulated. “Just drawing similarities to Bowling Green is that I was playing for something so much bigger than myself at Penn State, and that has always really driven me. I loved feeling part of a community.”

After her collegiate career, Lucas was selected 21st overall in the second round of the 2014 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury; a day that she and her family will never forget.

“It was a dream come true. I’ve always said I was going to play professional basketball, so to see it come to fruition was amazing,” Lucas said. “I was sitting in a restaurant, one of my dad’s restaurants, and we had it up on a projection screen, just me and my family. I think being with my family, the people who had seen me sacrifice the most for that moment, that was what was most special about it.”

Lucas spent four seasons in the WNBA, three with the Indiana Fever from 2014 to 2016, and split the 2018 season with the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings.

However, early in 2016, Lucas suffered a major knee injury that forced her to miss the remainder of the season and the entirety of 2017; a setback that she believes forced her out of the league.

“It’s a hard thing to go back to because my knee injuries took me out of the WNBA. But to then have to come back from back-to-back [injuries] really rebuilt me on my own; it just taught me a lot about perseverance and how strong I really was… It just gives you a different appreciation.”

There are lessons in everything in life, and the lessons learned for Lucas have translated to her coaching career.

“It’s awful to go through injury, but there’s definitely a bigger reason for it. I feel like, through my experiences, that I was fortunate enough to have played,” Lucas said. “I understand the injured player, I understand the star player, and I understand the last person off the bench who doesn’t get the game. I’ve played every role as a player. As bad as injuries were, they’re never fair; they’re never good timing. Some people are really lucky to play a long time without them, but most people aren’t.”

While nearly every player suffers an injury at some point in their career, some players are able to find the silver lining in a tough situation.

“I’m not special in any way for going through them. It sucks, but it makes you better, it makes you stronger, and I think it gives me a better perspective as a coach now.”

Going through those experiences has also shaped Lucas as a person.

One of her best traits is her willingness to help and serve others, especially when coaching college athletes.

“She’s got a sense of servitude, which is important,” Chmiel said. “That’s probably the most important trait; if you have a sense of servitude for these young student-athletes, you teach them, grow them, mold them, and teach them how to be not even great basketball players, but great people.”

Throughout her professional career, Lucas played in four different countries outside of the United States: France, China, Sweden and Italy. Experiencing different types of cultures, living styles and, of course, basketball.

“France is just, it’s an amazing country. There’s so much to do. There’s so much to see. The cuisine’s amazing; the people were great. China, just culturally, was amazing…You play in NBA-style arenas with tons of fans,” Lucas said. “Sweden was one of the best teams I played on. We won a championship that year, which was just, that makes everything a lot sweeter. [In] Italy, I lived in Sardinia, which is one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

Her experiences across the globe have shaped her views on life.

“When players tell me they’re thinking about playing overseas, I encourage it so much. There’s such a big world and so much to see,” Lucas said. “I’m lucky that basketball gave me those opportunities because there’s so much more to the world than just playing, but it can open up the world to you.”

While Lucas is still fairly new in the coaching game, she is determined to make an impact at BGSU. Winning championships is important, but coaching for something bigger than herself is even more important.

“I need purpose in whatever I do. And you know what? It’s great to see people, young players, and young women go out and experience success and experience growth in their confidence, not just on the court, but it takes them [to] just bigger things in their life,” Lucas said. “When it comes to basketball, I want to help players go further than I ever did.”