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There wasn’t time for much else the day I stopped by UW-La Crosse’s Mitchell Hall last November. UW-L men’s basketball coach Ken Koelbl had each player introduce
himself to me before practice.
Homan was one of several new faces, a sophomore guard who had transferred from NCAA Division I UW-Milwaukee. I figured we would get acquainted at some point.
This was not the way I wanted it to happen. Homan’s body was pulled from the Mississippi River on Monday. He had been missing since early Saturday morning, when he was reportedly seen at several downtown bars.
You think you already know the story because you’ve heard it too many times before. Homan, 21, is the eighth young man since 1997 to die in the river. Shock, sadness and anger likely are your initial emotions. But in time you forget and life goes on.
However, life never will be the same for Koelbl, or for Homan’s teammates.
They liked him instantly. He was a down-to-earth kid who had a knack for making people smile. It didn’t matter if it was in practice or in the locker room before a big game. Koelbl said with a smile that Homan could pop off a one-liner with the best of them.
Chris Ask, Billy Kegler and Joe Werner — three of his teammates — always will remember his lighter side. Ask, one of Homan’s roommates, said Homan was one of the messiest people he’d ever met, but he couldn’t stay mad at him. Kegler, an admitted chatterbox, said Homan would tell him, “Less is more.” This was coming from someone who also liked to talk a lot.
Homan averaged only 12.2 minutes and 3.7 points a game off the bench, but at times his play spoke volumes.
I still remember his game-tying 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in UW-L’s 72-70 WIAC Tournament semifinal loss at UW-Whitewater. I swear he was in neighboring Jefferson County when he shot the ball. Ask said with a chuckle that Homan would have launched the ball from halfcourt if he thought he could make it.
Koelbl expected great things out of Homan this season. He had been working with his dad, Jerry, who played for Marquette University in the 1970s. He wanted to assume more of a leadership role. Kegler would have gladly followed him
anywhere.
“His personality was contagious,” Kegler said.
I’m sure some of the estimated 200-plus people who attended Monday night’s candlelight vigil for Homan at the Hoeschler Clock Tower never knew him. They came to support his family and friends. They tried to make some sense out of what had happened.
It’s unfortunate that most of us are learning about who Luke Homan was now. Luckily, the Eagles got to know just how special he was, and they’re not about to forget that.
“We’ll always have Luke on our minds. He’ll always be there with us,” Werner said. “We know that he’s in a better place now, looking down on us.”
Kirk Bey can be reached at (608) 791-8414, or at kbey@lacrossetribune.com
