Austin Luke

{{short description|American basketball player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Austin Luke

| image =

| number =

| position = Point guard

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lb = 200

| league = Bosnian League
ABA League 2

| team = Bosna

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|10|27}}

| birth_place = Rowlett, Texas

| nationality = American

| high_school = Rowlett (Rowlett, Texas)

| college = Belmont (2014–2018)

| draft_year = 2018

| career_start = 2018

| years1 = 2018

| team1 = VEF Rīga

| years2 = 2018–2019

| team2 = Kirchheim Knights

| years3 = 2019–2020

| team3 = Melilla

| years4 = 2020–2021

| team4 = Yoast United

| years5 = 2021–2022

| team5 = Donar

| years6 = 2022–2023

| team6 = Helios Suns

| years7 = 2023

| team7 = Heroes Den Bosch

| years8 = 2023

| team8 = FMP

| years9 = 2024

| team9 = Cedevita Junior

| years10 = 2024

| team10 = Sutjeska

| years11 = 2025–present

| team11 = Bosna

| highlights = * Dutch Cup winner (2022)

}}

Austin Luke (born October 27, 1994) is an American basketball player for Bosna Visit Sarajevo of the Bosnian League and the ABA League 2. He primarily plays as point guard.

College career

Luke played four years of college basketball for Belmont. He was named to the All-OVC First Team twice, in 2017 and 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Austin-Luke/Summary/57445|title=Austin Luke Player Profile|website=basketball.realgm.com}} As a senior, Luke averaged 9.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game.{{cite web |title=VEF RIGA ADDS AUSTIN LUKE AND OSKARS ERNSTEINS TO THE TEAM |url=https://www.vefriga.com/en/news/news/vef-riga-adds-austin-luke-and-oskars-ernsteins-to-the-team-2436 |website=VEF Riga |accessdate=August 30, 2020 |date=July 27, 2018}}

Professional career

In July 2018, Luke started his professional career in Latvia, signing with VEF Rīga.{{cite news |last1=Boclair |first1=David |title=Another Belmont player signs a pro contract |url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/area-colleges/blog/21015364/another-belmont-player-signs-a-pro-contract |accessdate=August 30, 2020 |work=Nashville Post |date=July 27, 2018}} He was released after 6 games. He later signed with VfL Kirchheim Knights in the German ProA.

In the 2019–20 season, Luke played for Club Melilla Baloncesto in the Spanish LEB Oro.{{cite news |title=Belmont's Austin Luke heading to Spain |url=https://herald-citizen.com/stories/belmonts-austin-luke-heading-to-spain,36372 |accessdate=August 30, 2020 |work=Herald-Citizen |date=August 3, 2019}}

On August 17, 2020, Luke signed with Basketball Community Gelderland of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL).{{Cite web|url=https://basketballcommunitygelderland.nl/2020/08/17/austin-luke-versterkt-het-dbl-team-van-basketball-community-gelderland/|publisher=Basketball Community Gelderland|title=Austin Luke versterkt het DBL team van Basketball Community Gelderland|date=August 17, 2020}} The team later changed its name to Yoast United. Luke averaged 16.2 points and a league-high 9.6 assists over the regular season.

On April 30, 2021, Luke sent Yoast United to the final of the 2021 DBL Cup after an impressive performance against Landstede Hammers. In the semi-final, he recorded 52 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, including 10 three-point field goals.{{cite news |title=Yoast United naar de finale |url=https://www.dutchbasketballleague.nl/nieuws/yoast-united-naar-de-finale/?&WHurl=%2Fmatch%2F1878436%2Fboxscore%3F |access-date=1 May 2021 |work=Dutch Basketball League |language=nl}} As a result, the seventh-ranked team Yoast reached the cup final in its debut season.

On June 4, 2021, Luke signed a one-year contract with Donar in the DBL.{{cite news |last1=Brink |first1=Adriaan van den |title=Donar contracteert Austin Luke |url=https://www.donar.nl/nieuws/donar-contracteert-austin-luke/ |access-date=6 June 2021 |work=Donar |language=nl}} On May 20, 2022, he won the Dutch Basketball Cup with Donar, leading the team with team-highs of 15 points and 8 assists in the final.{{cite news |title=Donar is na het winnen van een zinderende finale tegen Heroes voor de zevende maal bekerkampioen geworden. |url=https://www.basketball.nl/nieuwsoverzicht/donar-pakt-basketball-cup-een-zinderende-finale-tegen-heroes-den-bosch/ |access-date=22 March 2022 |work=Basketball.nl |date=20 March 2022 |language=nl}} On June 8, Luke scored a team-high 31 points in a decisive 101–100 semifinal win over Heroes Den Bosch to bring Donar to its first ever BNXT finals.{{Cite web |title=Donar na winnende thriller in Den Bosch naar finale BNXT-League |url=https://www.gic.nl/sport/donar-na-winnende-thriller-in-den-bosch-naar-finale-bnxt-league |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.gic.nl |language=nl}}

On December 28, 2024, Luke signed a contract with Bosna Visit Sarajevo in the Bosnian League.{{cite web |title=Bosna angažovala najboljeg asistenta dosadašnjeg dijela sezone u ABA dva ligi |url=https://www.klix.ba/sport/kosarka/bosna-angazovala-najboljeg-asistenta-dosadasnjeg-dijela-sezone-u-aba-dva-ligi/241228057 |website=Klix.ba |access-date=28 December 2024 |language=bs}}

References

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