A weighted vest is draped over Steve Lutz as he swings the door open, leaves Oklahoma State’s basketball facility and plans a walk that will isolate him from everything related to his program for the next hour. Lutz isn’t hiding as much as he’s retreating and processing everything on his seemingly never-ending to-do list as Oklahoma State’s head coach.
Lutz takes a break every day to go for a walk. Everyone has to figure out something in their lives that they can use to unplug, he says, and he’s firmly landed on this as his vehicle. He’s not into elliptical trainers. He’s not aiming to run marathons.
He’s described by others as a religious walker, and he takes pride in that.
Three years ago, Lutz vowed to himself that he was going to walk consistently and that he wasn’t going to lose sight of why he did it. His wife Shannon–despite being perfectly healthy prior to it–had suddenly suffered a heart attack after the 2021-22 season and had to be shocked back to life three times.
“It puts everything into perspective,” Lutz told Basket Under Review. “It puts life into check for you because you finally get your first head coaching job and then your wife almost dies.”
