Luc Longley
Luc Longley Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics
Release: 11/25/2014
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Luc Longley 1987 – 1991
The big man in the center Lucien (Luc) Longley, an Australian native, was a dominant presence on the basketball court for the University of New Mexico. At a towering 7-foot-1, he was a powerful and extremely successful player for the Lobos.
Recruited out of Scotch College in Perth, Australia, by Lobo head coach Gary Colson, Longley quickly became one of the most memorable Lobos to ever take the floor at The Pit. When all was said and done with Longley’s eligibility, this NBA Veteran held UNM career records for rebounds (992) and blocks (336).
As a freshman, he played in but one game, missing the final contest of the season for the Australian Olympic trials. Longley went on to make the 1988 Australian Olympic team, his first of three Olympic Games. Named honorable mention All-America by the Sporting News in his sophomore season, Longley was beginning to really come in to his own as a player. Following a strong junior season, where he was a candidate for the John Wooden Award, college basketball’s top player. He was chosen as a member of the Australian National team and participated in the Goodwill Games and World Games. A potential lottery pick in the NBA draft that same summer, Longley opted to stay for his senior season at UNM where he averaged 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists a game. Not only was Longley the first and only lobo to record a triple – double in a game, he did it twice. He had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks against Hardon – Simmons on November 24, 1989 and 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists against Penn State on March 28, 1990. Longley was first team All Western Athletic Conference in his junior and senior seasons. With all of his records with the Lobos, Longely was nothing short of a superstar for UNM as well as a fan favorite.
Due to his outstanding play in the course of his college career, he went on to be the No. 7 pick in the 1991 NBA Draft by Minnesota, the highest pick ever for a Lobo. On top of that tremendous feat, Longley also represented Australia in the Barcelona Olympics that following year in 1992. With the Minnesota Timberwolves, he took part in two seasons as starting center for the organization and then was traded to the Chicago Bulls. With the Bulls, he went on to win three-straight NBA Championships from 1996 to 1998 with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman by his side as teammates. To this day, the 1996 Bulls hold the best NBA record of all time and the three championship teams are widely regarded as the some of the best in NBA history.
Like most successful collegiate and professional athletes, injuries do become apparent in the later years of playing and that was a bump in the road that Longley would soon face. After a trade to the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, Longley retired from the NBA in 2001. While injuries are almost unavoidable at time, the love for the game of basketball was something that Longley did not lose. His love for the game called him back to the court and now is joining Andrej Lemanis’s national men’s basketball coaching panel under the Boomers Australian Basketball Team. While earning one world championship as a Boomer himself, he hopes to mentor those who may follow in the footsteps of Longley’s success.
He epitomized the talent that every player ever dreamed of obtaining and the work ethic every coach ever dreamed of coaching. With the overseas favorite being so heavily recognized and loved in the states, Longley made a huge name for himself throughout his basketball career. He was a team player and embodied that in everything he did on the basketball court. He has been recognized for his outstanding career throughout the years by earning the Australian Institute of Sport “Best of the Best” in 2001, and becoming an inductee in the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2006 as well as the Sport Australia Hall of Fame 2009. Although we are not the first to acknowledge his accomplishments, we could not be more proud to call him a Lobo and welcome him to the UNM Athletic Hall of Honor.