INDIANAPOLIS - Jonah Lucas is living his dream.

Like any other Indiana kid, he wanted to be a college basketball player. Lucas was a standout at Harrison High School in Lafayette, Indiana, and he found his spot as a walk-on with the Marquette's men's basketball team.

In MU's cramped locker-room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Lucas took a few moments to talk about the work of being a walk-on, getting on the court in the NCAA Tournament and being known as the guy on the Golden Eagles' bench with a skunk sign.

What's it like being back home for the NCAA Tournament?

Lucas: "It's special. I've had some people saying they're going to be here for Sunday's game (vs. Colorado). Obviously with the Purdue (which is in East Lafayette) people coming in as well. A lot of my family came up."

You got to check into the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the last minute against Western Kentucky. What was that moment like?

Lucas: "It was special. My mom told me after that she cried. I never take those moments for granted. Because it's just special. I kind of was speechless about it. I've got a ton of appreciation for my teammates that put us in the position to get us there. And Coach (Shaka Smart) allowing us to get in there for a little bit."

How did you get to Marquette to become a walk-on?

Lucas: "I came to the end of my senior year, I had just a couple small-school offers. It really didn't appeal to me for what I wanted as an overall college experience. I was probably going to Indiana University just be a student or maybe a manager there. So it came around that my cousin, who is the Dean of Communications at Marquette (Sarah Feldner), she got me in contact with (Athletic Director) Bill Scholl and Bill Scholl got me in contact with the coaches. We kind of hit it off from there. They looked at my film and said were, like, look, we'd love to have you up. Came up on Admitted Students Weekend, and they just showed me around. Met some of the guys around here. And they were, like, look, we got a walk-on spot available. There's nothing guaranteed, but you'd be a big contributor to this team and just be able to help out. You just have to be a star in your role. Be a culture guy. All that non-negotiable stuff. I was pretty much on-board from there on. It was immediate. Me and my dad kind of looked at each other on the trip and were, like, yeah this is where I want to be. Ever since, I've been grateful. It's defied my expectations. It's just been awesome."

What's the biggest thing about being a walk-on that people might not know about?

Lucas: "It's tough. You got to be ready for whatever. You got to maintain a high standard for yourself academically. And then athletically you have to push yourself to the limit against scholarship guys that are really high-level players. You really push yourself every day. You have a lot of doubts going through it. We have a term that we use this year: Chip over doubt. You have a chip on your shoulder that is bigger than the doubt in your own mind. You'll be able to make it, you just have to fight every day. But with this team, our culture, there is a lot of appreciation around. You never feel under-appreciated or not seen in certain scenarios."

How did you become the guy who holds the skunk sign on Marquette's bench (when the Golden Eagles make six straight defensive stops)?

Lucas: "I think it was last year, we really brought out the pitcher. I was really animated with that. So I think that really set it where it was like I have all the culture props throughout the games. So we got a lot of pride in having skunks and things like that. We get really animated every kill (three straight defensive stops). You see Coach running down, giving us all high fives and stuff like that. With a skunk, it's just something we pride ourselves on. When the guys see it on the court, they get excited as well. It's almost like a second wind for us. I'm grateful I'm that guy. Oh, you're the guy with skunk sign? I'm perfectly fine with that."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette walk-on Jonah Lucas sees minutes in the NCAA Tournament