Former Purdue assistant coach Steve Lutz thriving as a head coach

INDIANAPOLIS — At places like Creighton and Purdue, the NCAA Tournament isn’t quite a birthrite, but it’s a reasonable expectation, every single year.

At lower levels, like Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and to a lesser extent Western Kentucky, it’s the pinnacle.

Steve Lutz, in his first few seasons as a head coach, has had a knack for bringing his teams to said pinnacle.

The former Boilermaker assistant coach has Western Kentucky here in Indianapolis, to meet No. 2-seeded Marquette, after his Hilltoppers won the Conference USA Tournament; his two teams at Corpus Christi each earned their league’s single bid the two seasons prior. This is WKU’s first NCAA Tournament trip since 2013.

“The pressure is certainly different,” Lutz said Thursday during Western Kentucky’s shoot-around at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “I’m still driven by the same things — winning the league, winning the league tournament, getting to NCAAs — but it is a harder path, for sure. I’m not saying you’re managing lower expectations but you’re managing different expectations. It’s just part of being in the leagues you’re in.

“But when it all comes together, it’s fantastic.”

During his years at Purdue (2017-2021), Lutz played a role in the Boilermaker program evolving into the powerhouse it’s become; prior, he did the same at Creighton under Greg McDermott from 2010-2017.

He moved to Purdue largely to position himself for that first head coaching opportunity, which came in ’21 in his native Texas.

“When Matt Painter puts you in charge of the defense every day, for every game, it’s like being a head coach,” Lutz said. “It’s only one side of the basketball, but it’s like being a head coach. You have to know what the heck you’re going to do in practice every day, how you’re going to go about it and figure out a way to get those guys to a point where when they go in the game, they know what’s going on and can function.

“It’s different when you do it at other schools and you have the (scouting report) every third game. When you have it every day, it’s a totally different mindset and a different level of responsibility. You have to think like a head coach.”

Lutz became a head coach just as the job basically completely changed with the advent of the transfer portal and NIL’s impact on it, a combination that can be predatory for low- and mid-major schools.

“I’ve certainly adapted,” said Lutz, a dogged recruiter in his time at Purdue. “I just don’t know that I have the clear-cut answers, because at this level, if the Power 5 schools want to come in and take your players and pay them a lot of money, there’s nothing you can do about it. With that being said, you’re just constantly battling, trying to maintain a roster and build a roster, and have the right guys in the room.

Like all coaches at all levels, Lutz has had to build through the portal, both with players moving up and those moving down. His current Hilltopper roster includes former players from Purdue, Indiana, Georgia Tech and Ketucky.

The trick lies in where it exists for everybody: Getting the right people and players.

“Ultimately, still the most important thing,” Lutz said, “having the right guys, guys who want to win and are willing to put their individual goals behind the team’s goals.”