Trent Lockett saw his mother's name flash on his cell phone in early March and had little reason to suspect the call would change the course of his life. For as long as Lockett attended Arizona State University, he and his mother had remained especially close, and it was not uncommon for the pair to speak daily.
"When I saw her calling, I didn't expect anything other than to catch up with her and see how her day was going," Lockett told FOXSportsWisconsin.com. "But obviously that's not why she was calling."
This time, Judy Lockett revealed terrible news: She had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer that attacks the immune system. And in an instant, Trent's path as a college student and a basketball player altered considerably. He knew that he could no longer continue his studies or his playing career at Arizona State with his mother ailing more than 1,200 miles away in their hometown of Golden Valley, Minn.
He had to find a way to be near Judy — who had raised him and his sister, Taylor, alone since their father died 18 years earlier of a heart attack.
"Your mind kind of jumps to the worst conclusion possible," Lockett said. "I did think that immediately I needed to transfer home and I needed to be closer to her."
A whirlwind two months followed in which Lockett bounced from city to city, shuffling his mom from home to the Mayo Clinic, nearly two hours away in Rochester, Minn. In addition to finishing classes at Arizona State, Lockett also visited the campuses of Iowa State and Marquette to find a new school.
"Every week, I had to go somewhere else," he said. "It was too much traveling."
Ultimately, Lockett settled on Marquette, a school in Milwaukee, roughly six hours from his mom. He will take advantage of the graduate transfer exception rule, which allows him to play immediately at Marquette without having to sit out a year. Lockett received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State in business communications earlier this month and intends on pursuing a graduate degree at Marquette in sports leadership.
The winding path that led Lockett to Marquette took a toll on him, according to Marquise Watts, Lockett's mentor and former AAU basketball coach.
"It was difficult for him," Watts said. "He wasn't answering his phone. He stopped tweeting. I think to a certain extent he was a little overwhelmed and didn't think he'd have to go through the process of finding a school again.
"But I commend him. I don't know too many young men at the age of 21, just a young person in general, that could handle all of those responsibilities and still get everything done and find a way to finish school and pick a school and do all that. That says a lot about his character."
Lockett didn't reveal the prognosis of his mom's cancer out of respect for her, but he said he and his family were dealing with it as best they could. It is not the first time Lockett and his mom have dealt with cancer in the family.
Judy Lockett overcame breast cancer several years earlier, and her husband was diagnosed with leukemia when Trent was young. Though he died of complications from a heart attack, the chemotherapy had weakened his body considerably at that point.
“When you lose one parent at an early age,” Watts said, “and that’s all you’ve got is your mom now, and then to be faced with her having cancer again, I think it can be pretty overwhelming for Trent.”
Time near Judy is important for Trent Lockett these days, as is gaining a sense of normalcy again on the basketball court.
Last season, Lockett led the Sun Devils in scoring at 13.0 points per game and averaged 5.8 rebounds. He shot 49.8 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from the 3-point line and was expected to play an even bigger role this coming season. Lockett was named to the All-Freshman team in 2009-10 and was a second-team all-conference performer as a sophomore in 2010-11.
Though Lockett's decision to transfer was difficult, he said it was made easier because he received the blessing of Arizona State coach Herb Sendek.
At Marquette, Lockett, a 6-foot-4 guard, is expected to thrive under coach Buzz Williams' up-tempo approach.
"We are really excited to have Trent join our program," Williams said in a statement announcing Lockett's transfer. "Even though his situation is unique, he will be a perfect fit for us on and off the floor. I have genuinely enjoyed getting to know Trent and his family over the last several weeks and I have great belief that he will finish his career here on a high note."
Added Lockett: "I think coach Buzz can really bring something out of me that I haven't been able to tap into with his energy and his mindset that he brings to the court and life every day."
Lockett is still rehabbing a foot injury he sustained last season but said he expected to be fully ready by the time he arrived on Marquette's campus in the summer. And when the season begins this fall, Lockett has no doubt he'll see his mother at quite a few Marquette home games.
Judy is planning on it, too.
"It'll be really good," Lockett said. "She was out in Arizona for a couple games, but I think Marquette is so much more easily accessible to her. There's a round-trip bus ticket for like $35 that goes from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee, which she is very excited about. I think it will be really good for my last year."
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