BSM Forward Lumpkin Makes Big Ten Choice

Sanjay Lumpkin, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound rising senior forward from , has committed to Northwestern. Lumpkin, who is considered one of the top players in the state in the Class of 2012, picked the Big Ten school on Friday over scholarship offers from Lehigh, Indiana State, Holy Cross, Richmond, American and Drake.

Lumpkin averaged 12.4 points per game this past season, leading the Red Knights to a 23-5 mark. He scored a season-best 34 points versus DeLaSalle in front of Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith. 

Unfortunately for Lumpkin, the Red Knights came up one game short of their second straight state tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed was , 62-60, in the section title game. Lumpkin was hampered by foul problems and scored just seven points.

Before starting a new season and looking to make up for that tough loss, Lumpkin sat down with St. Louis Park Patch to discuss his college choice and expectations for his senior year at BSM:

St. Louis Park Patch: What was the main reason you decided to make your college choice Friday?

Sanjay Lumpkin: After talking it over with my family, it was overall the best package. Close to home. Great basketball. Great academics. Get to play in the Big Ten. All of my family will get to see me play. I had a great relationship with all the coaches, (head) coach (Bill) Carmody and coach Taveras (Hardy). I’ve talked to them a lot and the fact that freshman Tre Demps really reached out to me on my last visit and he just made me feel comfortable.

St. Louis Park Patch: Does it feel like a weight off your shoulders?

Lumpkin: Absolutely. I’ll be able to enjoy my senior year and just have fun and try to lead my team to the state championship. That is my goal now. 

St. Louis Park Patch: Was it hard to call the other schools that were recruiting you to let them know that you were going to Northwestern?

Lumpkin: I called a couple of schools and just thanked them for recruiting me. I called everyone that helped me out and supported me along the way and gave them all my thanks.

St. Louis Park Patch: What was the reaction of your friends and family?

Lumpkin: Right away, people were (going) on Facebook and telling me congratulations and what a great school it is. It made me really appreciate how great of an achievement it is. It is just a new milestone in my life now.

St. Louis Park Patch: Have the coaches talked to you much about what your role will be at Northwestern?

Lumpkin: Just being a versatile player. Being able to come in and do multiple things. Guard all the positions. Have an impact when I come in there, and they told me I am their number one guy and they really want me to come. I just respected that and I respect them. I’m excited. 

St. Louis Park Patch: What things are you continuing to work on to improve yourself as a player?

Lumpkin: Just got to play strong. Be competitive. Just keep working hard. You’ve got to play your hardest every possession. Just working on strength and overall skill sets and competing.

St. Louis Park Patch: You are going to have a little different team this year at BSM with Kyle Washington going to a prep school, and losing Myles Barnes and Evan Battle to graduation. What are the expectations?

Lumpkin: We know that we can all play because we still have a great team. Right now, it is just working on our new roles. My new role is that I am going to play the “four” (power forward) this year, because that is just how it is going to be. We are just now meshing together. We’ve got new roles, so I think that it should be a fun year.

St. Louis Park Patch: You came up a little short in the postseason. Have you and your teammates talked about using that as a motivating factor to get where you want to be, back in the state tournament?

Lumpkin: Absolutely. Right after we lost, all the juniors and below got together and we had a little meeting and we just talked about how we never want to feel that feeling again, and what we are going to do to overcome that and make it further next year.