By Deborah Waddel

You know you are something great when your teammates describe you as a ‘hard worker.’ Those were the words Alhaji Mohammed, Jr. used to describe fellow senior Luke Whitehead. Indeed, Whitehead is a hard worker, coming to Louisville as a freshman under the wings of Denny Crum and striving to be a four-year senior as part of Rick Pitino”s four-for-four graduation plan.

Whitehead came to U of L in his father”s shadow. Eddie Whitehead was a Cardinal from 1963-66, playing for Coach Bernard ‘Peck’ Hickman. For Luke, Louisville was always present in his life, even though he grew up in California.

‘My dad, he raised me as a Louisville fan. As a young kid I used to watch all the great teams Louisville had in the past,’ said Whitehead. ‘My first sleep-away camp, I came here when I was 11 or so when Denny Crum was here.’ For Luke, choosing Louisville ‘is the best choice I could have made. Being recruited here was a dream come true.’

Whitehead came here as the last recruiting class of Denny Crum and said, ‘I”m so happy that I got to learn from Coach Crum on his last year.’ Under Crum, Luke was a 13-game starter and the team”s number six scorer and rebounder.

Compared to Pitino, Crum”s emphasis was more on the playing of the game. ‘Coach Pitino is a little more on the physical conditioning of the game,’ he said. In fact, that physical conditioning was something Whitehead had to get accustomed to, but now it”s old news.

‘It”s a major factor, and I knew that at the beginning, but now I”m used to it.’ As for the new guys, Luke sees their struggles. ‘(For) some of the new guys, it”s going to be real hard as practice gets going,’ he said, ‘but they all show a lot of heart, so they”re going to be all right.’

In case you were wondering, there is no off-season for the team. ‘If you take an off-season in the summer, you”re going to be hurting in the preseason conditioning,’ Whitehead explained. ‘You have to have your body in top shape to play for Coach Pitino.’

On the court the past three years, Luke hasn”t been a strong statistical leader. He”s more of a well-rounded quality player who shines in all categories. Coach Pitino sees the improvement that Whitehead has made, as well as the contributions he presents to the team and to the program.

‘Luke is a much improved shooter. He has the most game experience of anyone out there and we”ll rely on him heavily,’ he said during the team”s media day.

In Luke”s opinion, being a senior this year gives him the obligation to step up and show what he”s learned over the years. He also wants to help the new guys learn just as much.

‘You help the new guys coming in and show them the ropes, and I”m looking forward to that,’ he said. ‘I want to be someone on the team who can help them if they have some problems. Basically, be like a big brother to some of the younger guys.’

The team clearly sees how great Luke is and have shown their appreciation for him. In a team vote, Whitehead was elected to serve as team captain this year, along with sophomores Taquan Dean and Francisco Garcia.

This year, the Cards will play without star forward Ellis Myles, who was injured late last season with a ruptured patella tendon. To compensate for that loss, Luke feels a total team effort is needed.

‘It”s not a problem, [but] we are going to deal with it as a team,’ he explained. ‘Everybody”s got to crash the boards. It can”t just be the four and the five, it”s got to be one through five. We”re all going to help each other in different areas, and we”re all going to be all right.’