When Coach Rick Majerus and Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller gather their basketball teams together next fall, something will be missing. It won’t be the fans or the new arena or the Billiken; they’ll all be there eager for tip-off and a new season.
Each coach will be missing a member of the First Family of Billiken basketball: the Lisches.
Next year, for the first time in five seasons, there will not be a Lisch on either basketball team here at Saint Louis University. The era of the Lisch is over. Senior Kevin Lisch, who started at SLU in 2005, leaves as one of the top scorers in Billiken history. His sister, junior Theresa Lisch, announced late last week that she would not be returning for her senior year after playing three years for the Bills. Little brother Daniel, a freshman, is expected to transfer at the end of the year.
The University News had the exclusive privilege of jointly interviewing Kevin and Theresa to talk about their career at SLU, how they perceive themselves, and what the future holds for the famous Billikens.
“It’s definitely a kind of bittersweet feeling. .. It’ll probably hit me some time next year when I’m reading about them online,” Theresa said. “But I couldn’t be more excited about moving on with my life right now.”
She will be marrying University of Illinois’ shooting guard Trent Meacham this summer.
Kevin and Theresa leave SLU as one of the top scoring brother-sister duos in NCAA history. Together, they combined for more than 3,000 points and over 6,000 minutes played on the floor. They have both been the driving force behind teams that have undergone rebuilding in recent years. Kevin led a team of seven freshmen to an 18-14 record this season while Theresa helped give Gray-Miller her best season in two years.
Some fault Kevin for not bringing the Billikens a berth into the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.
“We gave it all we had and it didn’t happen and I’m fine with that. Other people may disagree, it’s not like we weren’t trying to get there, but I feel there’s more imporant things that I did while I was here.” By the way, he’s picked Pittsburg to win this year’s tourney. Theresa joked that she picked Illinois to win it all.
Though neither is quick to admit it, big things were expected from both Lisches when they set foot on campus. At Althoff High School in Belleville, Ill., Kevin and Theresa were stand- outs on a team regionally known for basketball excellence. Kevin finished his high school career averaging 24.8 points per game, ranking him first on the all-time scoring list at the school and 45th all-time state. Theresa was twice named St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year and averaged 21 points per game. She was also named the “Miss Illinois Basketball Player.” And yes, they were celebrities in Belleville, too.
“I guess in our own little community, but I don’t think that it ever got in our way of concentrating and it never puffed our heads up at all,” Kevin said. “It just all comes down to working on your game.”
Theresa echoed that sentiment, saying, “It’s easier to be humble when you know you’ve been blessed with God-given talent and the only thing we can take credit for is for working to improve the talent we had. And that’s not all us; we had help from our parents, coaches, and teammates in our lives throughout the years.”
At SLU, the Lisches lit up the court and the classroom. Both have received accolades from the Atlantic 10 Conference, including All-Conference First Team, All-Rookie Team, and Player of the Week. This year, Theresa was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team; Kevin made the third team. Both players hold GPAs over 3.30 cumulative.
But none of the stats or celebrity seems to affect Kevin or Theresa. “I never expected success or notoriety. I expected to work the very hardest I could work and do everything I could to reach my potential. I wanted to do that and see where that took me, whether that was one of the best players in the conference, that’s great, or just an average basketball player, that’s fine too. I didn’t worry about where I would fall in comparison to others.”
“It’s crazy how it all worked out,” Kevin said. “I never imagined Theresa coming here. I guess in a way I’m kind of surprised, but in a way, too, I knew we were both good basketball players, too, so I’m not surprised about that.”
So now that basketball at SLU is over, what’s in store for the dynamic duo? For Theresa, a marriage is coming quickly and fiancé Meacham has his eye on international ball. She does plan on completing a Master’s degree in speech pathology, but that will have to wait.
As for Kevin, “I can’t wait to make my own schedule, play some golf, take a bike ride in Forest Park.” He laughs, and then adds, “I’m going to play next year somewhere, possibly overseas. I’m going to put my MBA on hold for a while. And we’ll see where this takes me.”
More than just siblings, Kevin and Theresa are best friends. Kevin concedes he’s heard fans yelling at Coach Majerus to “put in Theresa!” But the admiration between the two is palpable.
Says Theresa, “Right off that bat, Kevin’s.” Kevin injects, “Amazing, one of the few words that comes to mind.” While laughing, she continues, “.From a sister’s standpoint, to be able to see how hard he’s worked as a player is rewarding and to watch his success grow has been rewarding for me. But I’m most proud of him off the court, just knowing the way he lives his life.”
All playfulness aside, Kevin says about his sister, “She grew up quick, she’s getting married. It’s been amazing to see how she’s grown since her freshman year and it’s been fun to see the changes and I think, how she carries herself, she cares about others, her teammates, and those are the things you’ll remember, not how many free throws she made.”
But make no mistake, should the two go one-on-one, both are quick to admit that Kevin wins. Why?
“Well, I’m bigger,” he said.
And for all those who wondered, Kevin says yes, he can dunk a basketball. Theresa asked the next question: “Well, why didn’t you?” His answer, “Honestly, there wasn’t a need for me to. I can’t do it easy enough that I could go over people and dunk. I have much more confidence in my layup, so I see no need.”
For all the Lisches have given the SLU community, it’s only appropriate to give them the last word of this farewell article.
So, Kevin and Theresa-how do you want to be remembered?
Kevin: “Honestly I don’t care if they remember me for the basketball,” Kevin said. “I just want my teammates to remeber that I was all for them, I had a great time with them, and that I treated them well. And I hope the fans remember that I gave all I had and tried to show good character out there.”
Theresa: “I’d much rather be remembered for the person that I was and not the things I accomplished,” Theresa noted. “After a career, if you look back and all you have is stats and records, that’s pretty empty. But if you can look back and see the relationships you made, the people you helped and those that helped you and the lessons you learned, you take that with you forever.”
