On guard for each other
Jan. 27, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
University of Regina Cougars guards Jeff Lukomski and Paul Schubach are complementary -- and complimentary -- basketball players.
Schubach, 22, is the starting point guard and, as such, is the Cougars' level-headed floor general. Lukomski, also 22, is the starting shooting guard and is Regina's main long-range triggerman.
Their differences on the floor make for a good combination. The same goes for their demeanours.
"He's the loud guy within our group," Schubach, an engineering student, said Tuesday before the Cougars practised at the U of R's Physical Activity Centre. "If you look at us as a group, he's the one who's going to stand out as the loud one and the real energy guy."
"He's more quiet and laidback, where I wear my emotions on my sleeve a little more," confirmed Lukomski, who's studying kinesiology. "I can bring that edge out of him and he can calm me down when I need to be calmed down."
The duo's mutual admiration society started in the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League when Schubach was at Balfour Collegiate and Lukomski was at O'Neill High School.
"Obviously, he was a good player," Schubach recalled of his days facing the former Titans sharpshooter. "He was a good shooter, a solid player and a guy you needed to look out for on the other team."
"He was a good player," Lukomski noted of the ex-Redmen star. "I always thought he was a well-rounded player. He could do a little of everything -- rebound, pass, shoot, play defence. He was very humble, too. He'd help you up off the floor."
What's that all about? No animosity toward a bitter high school rival? The worst thing either could say about the other had to do with age.
"He thought I was older than he was," Schubach said. "He thought it was weird when we started playing on the same team. That's how little we knew about each other."
The two first became teammates on Saskatchewan's under-15 team and their partnership continued on the provincial under-17 squad. That helped forge their friendship.
"You'd pretty much spend the whole summer with those guys (on the provincial team)," Schubach said. "We built our relationship through the summer and during the school year (in high school). We always hung out with each other on weekends."
Neither man remembers talking to the other about their plans after high school, but Lukomski believes one's decision to join the Cougars may have played a part in the other's choice.
Schubach came off the bench for the Cougars as a rookie in the 2005-06 campaign, but Lukomski redshirted that season. The following season, Schubach was Regina's starting point guard and Lukomski was the Canada West rookie-of-the-year and a member of the CIS all-rookie team.
They've been running mates ever since.
As a result of their time together, Lukomski and Schubach have developed a kind of unspoken awareness of the other on the court.
"I know whenever I'm running the floor that he's going to spot up somewhere and be open for a three," said Schubach, who's averaging 12.6 points per game this season while shooting 44 per cent (21-for-48) from three-point territory.
"I know I've always got that outlet if things don't work out for me going to the basket."
"There's something there (in terms of chemistry), but we still have something missing," added Lukomski, who's averaging 12.9 points per game this season while hitting on 34 per cent of his three-point attempts (35 of 104). "We've yet to really win or accomplish anything big.
"He's in his last year and I'm in my second-last. We've got to accomplish something. We want to be able to say, 'We did this,' and have something to show for all the hard work. We have the memories, but a piece of hardware would be nice."