KU’s Landen Lucas meets Landon and Lucas, the 10-month-old twins named after him

Kansas senior forward Landen Lucas extended his arms on Saturday to hold 10-month old twins Landon and Lucas Sadler for the first time.

“It’s awesome finally getting to meet them,” KU’s Lucas said of the sons of Meredith and Ian Sadler. Landen Lucas was inspiration for their first names.

“I would if they are as calm as these two,” he added when asked if he’d like to have twins of his own someday.

Ian Sadler, a KU grad, and his wife, Meredith, live in Tulsa. Ian works for Tulsa’s athletic department; Meredith in fundraising for elementary schools. They brought their twins to KU’s team headquarters, Tulsa’s Renaissance Hotel, to visit with Landen a bit before KU’s NCAA Tournament off-day practice Saturday.

The two were born two months premature at St. Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa (Luke was 2 pounds, 4 ounces and Landon 4 pounds) and are doing fine at this time.

Ian Sadler, who worked at KU’s athletic department from 2012 to 2014, explained the naming of the twins.

“When we first found out we were pregnant, Meredith jokingly said, ‘Nothing KU related regarding the baby’s name,’” he said. “When we found out they were twins, we joked about Markieff and Marcus (Morris).

“One day Meredith came home and said, ‘I really like the name Landon.’ I said I really liked Luke or Lucas. She said, ‘Perfect name.’ I thought she’d catch on. Luke and Landon … we were watching the West Virginia game last year and he (Landen) was shooting a free throw and I think it finally clicked with her, that we named the boys after a KU player.”

When the two were born, Ian Sadler made the announcement on social media and Landen Lucas’s mom, Shelley, noticed the Twitter post and informed her son. He’d been waiting ever since to meet them.

Shelley Lucas, by the way, on Saturday revealed that Landen weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces at birth and needed to have his collarbone cracked in order to be delivered.

The twins won’t be attending Sunday’s KU-Michigan State game at BOK Center.

“On Sunday they’re going to Sesame Street,” said Ian Sadler, who used to be the public-address announcer for the KU’s women’s basketball team.

This story was originally published March 18, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "KU’s Landen Lucas meets Landon and Lucas, the 10-month-old twins named after him."