Lucas Hobin ’25: A Leader, A Competitor, A Coffee Bean

Lucas Hobin ’25 will graduate this May as a standout athlete, a curious, thoughtful student, a grateful Jesuit-formed young man, and a future member of the Air Force Academy. He’s many things and impresses in many ways. On the basketball court, for example, he has a silky-smooth high release that’s truly lethal from deep. He has the wingspan of something from the Mesozoic period, making him a menace on the defensive perimeter.

 

He’s a work-hard and lead-by-example type, on and off the court. That’s why, though this may appear strange, the image that comes to mind when I think about Lucas is a coffee bean.

 

Let me explain.

 

A few years ago, the Strake Jesuit basketball program wore warmup shirts featuring coffee beans. The metaphor runs this way: there are different ways that solids react to water. For example, when carrots are placed in a heated pot, they soften; eggs harden. Coffee beans—they’re a whole different story. They change the water to coffee, the lifeblood of many adults (and not a few of our older students). Head basketball coach Dominic Amorosa used that image to address the demanding work required to be a member of a high school basketball program. He wanted his players to be so culturally rich, so Jesuit-disciplined, that not only wouldn’t they succumb to the effects of all the metaphorical water around them, but they would positively influence and change their environments. They’d function, individually and collectively, like coffee beans do.

 

Lucas’s positive effect is clear to anyone who watches him. Opposing coaches have seen it since his strong sophomore season, where he was first recognized as a standout Houston-area 6-A basketball player. Teachers notice how he brings discipline and actual intellectual interest to his role in classrooms across campus. Lucas attributes part of his character to the Jesuit principles of formation, notably the emphasis on love, generosity, and service to others.

 

Lucas came to Strake Jesuit because of its reputation: one of intellectual rigor, college preparation, and meaningful, Catholic education. During his time at Strake Jesuit, Lucas found the community’s religious core its most meaningful feature. He, like many graduates, highlights Kairos in particular as an exceptional and transformative time. For Lucas, the retreat provided the opportunity to forge relationships with a diverse student and faculty group, including Dean Healey, who served in the United States Marine Corps. Lucas absorbs and often reflects on Dean Healey’s wisdom as he mentally prepares for this fall as a star recruit of the Air Force basketball program.

 

As Lucas finishes up his time at Strake Jesuit before moving on to Division I athletics and then serving our country, he looks forward to making the most of his remaining class time, continuing to find nourishment in Strake Jesuit’s variety of personal and extracurricular experiences, and to solidifying relationships with friends, coaches, and faculty. Lucas is a standout individual who embodies the virtues of a Catholic-educated young man. And one who is well set up to continue making coffee out of any hot water life throws at him.