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He wants to be close to home

Trent Lockett couldn’t be thousands of miles away while his mother battled cancer for the second time.

By transferring to Marquette, he could continue playing basketball, take the next step in his studies and live only a few hours away from his family’s home near Minneapolis.

It was the right thing to do.

“My dad died when I was 3,” says the Golden Eagles guard. “She had a newborn baby, and I was 3 years old when she lost the love of her life. So she’s been through ... I can’t even imagine.”

Near the end of his junior year at Arizona State University, Lockett learned his mom, Judy, had lymphoma. She survived a bout with breast cancer when Lockett was in high school. He decided to transfer, hoping to find a college closer to home.

And because Lockett earned his undergraduate degree at ASU — he went to summer school and took 21 credits per semester as a junior — he was eligible to play right away instead of sitting out a season under NCAA rules. Lockett chose Marquette, citing his comfort with the personality of men’s basketball Head Coach Buzz Williams and also with his new teammates’ effort-driven approach to the game.

“They have good players, but they win more games than not because they’re going to outwork you,” Lockett says. “And I think I’m living that.”Lockett’s mother retired after receiving her diagnosis and now catches as many of her kids’ games as possible. Lockett’s younger sister, Taylor, plays volleyball for Duquesne University.

“She was like, ‘I’m planning to live until I’m 100, and realistically, that’s probably not going to happen. So I’m going to enjoy my time while my kids are in college and go see their games,’” Lockett says of his mom.

Lockett, meanwhile, is taking classes toward a master’s degree in sports leadership in the College of Professional Studies.

“I’m very thankful for my decision unfolding the way it did, and I’m very happy with where I’m at,” he says. — CJ