FOND DU LAC – This was not how Luke Loewe envisioned the final season of his prep boys basketball career starting out.
Loewe, a senior on the Fond du Lac boys basketball team, had recently transferred from Ripon High School after posting three standout seasons with the Tigers.
The ink on his national letter of intent to play NCAA Division I men’s basketball at the College of William & Mary had barely dried.
Then a split second nearly ended everything.
A fateful night
On the night of Friday, Nov. 18, Loewe was driving to a teammate’s house when he reached the intersection of Hwy. 23 and Esterbrook Road just west of Fond du Lac.
Unsure of whether to continue going straight on Esterbrook or to turn onto the highway, Loewe remembers trying to cross. Then, nothing. Waking up for a brief moment in a helicopter bound for Thedacare Regional Medical Center in Neenah, Loewe had just been involved in a serious car crash in which his truck had been T-boned by a vehicle heading west on Hwy. 23. With little to no memory of the accident itself or the immediate hours afterward, Loewe finally began to process what had happened from his hospital bed much later that night.
“After the accident, I remember waking up a couple times and going back out,” Loewe said. “I woke up in the hospital bed and at first, I was kind of confused. I was still pretty out of it, but I had a lot of family and a lot of support around. … It’s kind of hard to remember when I realized what had happened, but I think it was when I was awake for more than a couple seconds.”
Fond du Lac boys basketball coach Mark Ziebell can still remember the moment he found out about Loewe’s accident. “I was in bed at about 10 p.m. and one my assistants came pounding on my door in Neenah,” Ziebell said. “(Assistant coach) Steve Jorgensen stopped over and he was almost in shock. He said ‘Coach, it’s Luke and he’s really in trouble. They’re airlifting him.’ I had him repeat the story to me about three or four times. I was able to jump in a car and drive to the hospital and spend a little bit of time with the family and be there for support. It was really a scary time.”
After a four-day stay at the hospital, Loewe returned home with a sore right shoulder, a bruised right lung and a skull fracture behind his right ear. Serious injuries no doubt, but basically the best-case scenario when considering the incident Loewe had just been involved with. If Loewe’s truck had been struck from the opposite direction, on the driver’s side instead of the passenger’s side, he probably wouldn’t be alive. If Loewe hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt, he probably wouldn’t be alive. But he was alive. And that meant he needed to play basketball.
Road to recovery
With the regular season beginning for the Cardinals just 11 days after Loewe’s car crash, there was basically no way the star point guard would be available to start. His skull fracture needed to heal. He had to pass concussion protocol. Some doctors were pessimistic about him playing much, if at all, this year. Some were more hopeful.
But never did Loewe waver in his determination to get back on the court. “I was pretty patient with myself,” Loewe said. “I kind of felt out how my body felt and I didn’t try to push anything, but I was really blessed and it was a miracle with how fast I healed. I give a lot of credit to God for that, just because it was amazing that I was even alive and that I healed that fast.”
Doctors told Loewe that the minimum amount of time he’d have to miss would be four weeks. That was assuming everything went well with his recovery. His skull healed remarkably fast. He passed his concussion test. He passed his exertion test.
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, Loewe was officially cleared to play. The following Tuesday, in a road game at Neenah, Loewe finally made his Cardinals debut, just over one month after his crash.
“The feeling was really amazing to be able to just be out there,” Loewe said. “When I was out, I realized how much I missed it and how much I wished I could be on the court. I didn’t take anything for granted. I was just glad to be out there and playing. … It was just pretty special to be out there.”
All the while during his recovery, Loewe received unconditional support from his teammates, coaches and much of the community, something that motivated him even further in his comeback. “I have to give credit to this team and the coaching staff for how they’ve handled it,” Loewe said. “They’ve allowed me to come back and fit in. They supported me a lot. All the coaches came and visited me in the hospital, which meant a lot, and so did my teammates. I’m really thankful for that.”
Return to the court
Since Loewe’s return, Fond du Lac has been red-hot. Sitting a disappointing 1-3 going into the game at Neenah, the Cardinals have won five of their last six games and are now 6-4. Although the team as a whole has been playing better during that period, there’s no denying Loewe’s impact on Fond du Lac.
In their first four games, the Cardinals averaged 64.5 points on offense. In the past six, 71.3. For his part, Loewe is averaging 15.0 points per game, leading the team in scoring average, and even more than that, has made Fond du Lac a much more cohesive and dynamic offense.
Part of what made Loewe an all-state player in his time at Ripon wasn’t simply his ability to score, though he averaged 19.4 ppg as a junior, 18.6 ppg as a sophomore and 14.6 ppg as a freshman.
It’s not the only factor that made him such an attractive recruit at William & Mary, for which he signed his letter of intent just a week prior to his crash. Loewe is simply a playmaker, on offense and defense. He can score, sure, but he’s also an excellent passer, a great defender and a hard worker.
“He makes a tremendous difference,” Ziebell said. “When he was able to be around us again, I thought that made a huge impact with the guys. Just his presence uplifts everybody, from the players to the coaches to the whole program. It’s the type of person that he is. He raises the level for everybody. “On the basketball court, he obviously brings a lot. He’s a dynamic scorer, very good defender, hard-working kid, very good leader. In every facet of the game, he’s going to improve you.”
Obviously, Loewe has still had to adjust to playing varsity basketball at full speed. Missing a month of practice and conditioning has put his body behind. But he’s getting closer and closer to feeling 100 percent. “At times when I was getting myself back into things, it was definitely difficult because of the stuff that had happened to my body,” he said. “I had lost a lot of muscle and the shape I was in. It was hard to get back into things, but I just had to take a step back and realize that I was lucky to even be alive. I couldn’t get too frustrated with myself. It was a process and it still is. I’ve just tried to take it day by day.”
With a couple months left in what’s looking like a promising senior season and a Division I college basketball career awaiting next year, Loewe isn’t taking anything for granted after almost having everything snatched away. “After the accident, my outlook on life was definitely changed because almost having it taken away from me helped me be more thankful for the little things in life,” Loewe said. “It definitely changed my point of view on how I look at things because I’m thankful that I’m still alive.”
Luke Loewe: ‘It’s a miracle I’m still alive’
FOND DU LAC – A black thread with a wooden cross and beads hung from Luke Loewe’s rear view mirror the night of Nov. 18. It hung there as his car slid into a ditch after being T-boned, too. Now, that cross has a new owner.
Loewe stopped by the Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue Department last week to give Troy Haase, fire protection division chief, the cross as a way of showing gratitude. While off-duty and heading out of town to hunt for the weekend, Haase came across Loewe’s crash scene and helped him until ambulances arrived. “We believe everything happens for a reason, and we were happy you were there,” Jeri Loewe, Luke’s mother, said through tears as they thanked Hasse.
Loewe, a senior and top player on the Fond du Lac High School boys basketball team, was headed to a teammate’s house that Friday night when he reached the intersection of State 23 and Esterbrook Road. He was uncertain whether to turn onto State 23 or keep heading north on Esterbrook.
“I looked for cars and basically don’t remember seeing any cars that were close enough and decided to go straight,” he said. Next thing he knew, he was in a helicopter being flown to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah. Shortly after the crash, Haase pulled over and went to Loewe’s car. He asked Loewe questions. Loewe slowly answered.
“I couldn’t do anything to give (Loewe) aid other than make him feel comfortable and try to keep him quiet and steady and relaxed, as much as you can be relaxed,” Haase said. Haase dialed 911, asked for two ambulances and stayed with Loewe, who had hit his head against the passenger side window, until help arrived. “It seemed like it took forever (for ambulances to get there),” Haase said. “It doesn’t take forever; it just takes a few minutes, but (it seemed so long) because you can’t do anything and because you see somebody in that pain and needing help and you can’t help him or help her without any equipment.”
Loewe received overwhelming support during his four-night hospital stay, his mother said — the family was scolded by nurses multiple times because of the large number of visitors. “His teammates and the community were really supportive of our family,” she said. “It was just a huge outpouring of support for (Luke).”
Loewe, the three-year starting point guard for the Ripon boys basketball team who transferred to Fond du Lac for his senior season, signed a national letter of intent to play NCAA Division I men’s basketball next year at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Emerging from the crash with a sore right shoulder, a bruised right lung and a skull fracture behind his right ear, Loewe is uncertain when he’ll be returning to the court. He’s currently rehabbing his shoulder and waiting on the skull fracture to heal. While he works toward recovery, Loewe is thankful he doesn’t have any more injuries that would prolong his return. Wearing a seat belt, he said, was crucial because if he hadn’t, he would have been thrown from the vehicle and probably wouldn’t have survived.
“It’s basically a miracle that I’m still alive,” he said. “I’m really thankful that Chief Haase was there to help me through it, because I don’t know what could have happened if he wasn’t there.”
Fond du Lac’s Luke Loewe signs with William & Mary
FOND DU LAC – The past three years saw Luke Loewe put on a show as the point guard for the Ripon boys basketball team.
This year, the 6-foot-4 senior will lace up his sneakers for Fond du Lac. The only question was where Loewe would be heading next year. Loewe made that official on Thursday evening in a ceremony at Fond du Lac High School, signing his national letter of intent to play NCAA Division I men’s basketball at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
“I’m definitely really blessed to have this opportunity,” Loewe said. “I just want to thank God first of all and my family, especially my parents and my brother and sister. Also my two grandparents, who have driven me around to places all over the country and have come to a lot of my games. It’s a great feeling to be able to sign with the Tribe and know I’ll have a family next year to be with. Having visited there, I already feel like a part of the program.”
“Obviously this is great for Luke and his family,” Fond du Lac boys basketball coach Mark Ziebell added. “I think any time you see a young man that’s doing things the right way both as an athlete and then off the court, it’s great to see what you preach in terms of hard work, dedication, commitment come all the way through full circle. For him and his family, it’s just a great opportunity.”
Loewe, a three-year starter at Ripon who was a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 3 all-state selection as a sophomore, transferred to Fond du Lac over the summer and is expected to play a large role for a Cardinals squad hoping to compete at the top of the Fox Valley Association.
William & Mary, which competes in the Colonial Athletic Association, has had three straight winning seasons and qualified for the National Invitation Tournament in 2015.
Loewe said the Tribe’s brand of basketball suits him well and that played a large part in his decision. “They like to play fast,” he said. “They like to score. They play up and down (the court) and shoot a lot of 3-pointers. Ball screens. Interchangeable guards. I thought it was a style that fits me pretty well.”
Also considering NCAA Division I programs such as UW-Green Bay, Rutgers and St. Joseph’s, ultimately Loewe felt at home with William & Mary and is confident he made the right decision. “The timing happened pretty perfect and I just thought William & Mary was the place to be,” he said. “The coaches from William & Mary watched me all summer and they showed a lot of support. I just thought it was a perfect place for me and the right fit. At the end of the day, it wasn’t that hard of a decision and once I made the decision, it felt really right.”
Luke Loewe transfers to Fond du Lac
FOND DU LAC – Luke Loewe is now a Fond du Lac Cardinal.
Loewe, a 6-foot-3 all-state guard who played the last three years for the Ripon boys basketball team, has transferred into Fond du Lac High School for his senior season due to a family move, Cardinals coach Mark Ziebell confirmed on Tuesday.
In his junior season last year, Loewe averaged 19.4 points per game for the Tigers en route to an honorable mention on the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 3 all-state team. He averaged 18.6 points as a sophomore. Ripon advanced to the WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal round last season before falling to eventual state champion Waupun.
Loewe has received a variety of scholarship offers from NCAA Division I schools and should make an immediate impact for a Fond du Lac team that finished 9-15 last season, but seemed poised for a jump to upper half of the Fox Valley Association in 2016-17.
“First of all, we’re bringing in a wonderful young man and a really good person,” Ziebell said. “He has his head on straight, has a vision and has goals and is really driven to achieve those goals. In terms of a basketball player, I think he really fits a strong need for us in terms of a point guard that can make plays for himself and others. He’ll be a tough matchup for other teams. He can shoot the 3-pointer and get to the basket. With him being 6-foot-3, I think defensively he’ll be able to guard big (players) and guard guards. He gives us a lot of flexibility because of his athleticism on both ends of the floor.”
Loewe’s younger sister Emma is expected to join the Fond du Lac girls basketball team for her junior season, while his younger brother will be entering an elementary school in the district. “His mother took a job in Fond du Lac, she’s from Fond du Lac and the family moved into the area,” Ziebell said. “They’ve got a daughter that will play as well and they’ve got a young son that’s heading into fourth grade. He was at our camp today and seems to be pretty talented for a fourth-grader. We’re excited for the opportunity to work with Luke for a year and then work with the family for the next handful of years.”