Constable: Suburbs paved path for WIU's star

Growing up in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Ashley Luke is Wisconsin through and through. She's got the folksy accent, loves her Green Bay Packers and knows plenty of folks who never have a good thing to say about Illinois. Luke's attitude toward the Land of Lincoln softened in part because of all the good times she enjoyed at the Libertyville Sports Complex.

As an elite high school basketball player for an exclusive Amateur Athletic Union club team, Luke and her Wisconsin Lakers teammates played in tournaments throughout Lake County, including many games at the Libertyville Sports Complex.

“I played there every summer,” remembers Luke, 21, whose play landed her in the Wisconsin Lakers Hall of Fame. “We had multiple tourneys there. We frequently played in Illinois, and I had a more positive feeling about Illinois than most people.”

Right back at you.

“She's a great story in college basketball right now,” gushes Tommy Bell, the athletic director at Western Illinois University, where Luke made history by becoming the school's, the conference's and the state's first basketball player to be named the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for NCAA Division 1. Previous academic players of the year include WNBA players Candace Parker, the Naperville star who led the University of Tennessee to two NCAA championships, Chicago Sky All-Star Elena Delle Donne, and Chiney Ogwumike, who led Stanford University to three Final Four appearances in the NCAA tournament.

“I feel incredibly honored to receive this award. It is great to bring this honor home to WIU,” Luke says. “I know this wouldn't have been possible without my amazing teammates, supporting fiancé, family, coaches, and most importantly, God.”

With Benet Academy graduate and Lisle native Frank Kaminsky leading the University of Wisconsin men's team and Chicago native Jahlil Okafor starring for Duke, it's only fair that Western lured Luke to Illinois.

“Ashley is the most decorated and accomplished athlete I have ever coached,” Western head coach JD Gravina said when Luke was named the academic player of the year. “For her to be recognized as the top student-athlete in the nation is a huge testament to her as a student, a basketball player, and a person.”

Luke began her college career at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where she redshirted her freshman year and didn't play. A coaching change and some scholarship issues led Luke to find a new school the summer before her sophomore year.

“When I came down to Macomb, it just clicked,” Luke says. “I'm a big believer in going with your gut and knowing God will put you where you belong.”

The 4½-hour drive delivered the suburban kid to a new, rural world, and a return to the court.

“It was definitely a transition coming back after not playing for a year,” Luke says.

The conference's Newcomer of the Year as a rookie, Luke was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Third Team her second season. Thrilled with the honor, a first for Western, Luke says her mom, Denise, always a big supporter, pushed her to do even better.

“OK, Mom. Can I get on the first team?” Luke remembers saying. She won the nation's top honor after leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged a double-double with 19.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, and is expected to finish her career as Western's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She does even better in the classroom, where she puts up a perfect 4.0.

“I've never gotten anything less than an A,” Luke says of her career at Western. “If I did, I'd probably cry.”

She graduated in 3½ years with a double major in political science and journalism. She's engaged to be married June 26, 2016, to Alec Smith, who is in the Air Force National Guard. Luke will play for Western next season while she works toward her master's degree in economics.

“I feel very fortunate for playing so many years,” says Luke, who started basketball when she was 4 and doesn't aspire to play professionally. “I really want to make an impact on the world. I want to move to Washington, D.C., and work in the State Department. But I don't think I'll ever stop playing (basketball) until the guys from the Y tell me I'm too old to play.”

She was Western's recipient of the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate award last fall, was the Summit League “Player of the Year” this season and continues to rack up academic and athletic awards.

“I try to keep the focus off me. I'm just trying to maintain my GPA and contribute on the court,” says Luke, whose season ended this month with a crushing loss in the league tournament. “That heartbreak was at the forefront of my mind.”

Her success in Illinois makes an impression in her home state, as a couple of Luke's old AAU teammates now play for Western.

“Ashley is a great ambassador,” says Patrick Osterman, Western's assistant athletic director. “We're trying to do our part to get out-of-state talent.”

You can take the girl out of Wisconsin and make her a success in Illinois. But Luke and her Western classmates never forget that she's from Wisconsin.

“It doesn't feel like it's that far south,” Luke says in her sweet north-of-the-border way. “But I get made fun of for my accent.”