Lake Erie men's basketball buzz building with Josh Irwin transfer, experienced team
Sep. 27—Kyle Conley says his Lake Erie men's basketball team is ready to compete for a conference championship this season.
With an experienced roster and two key transfers, the Storm could be in position to do just that with the season fast-approaching.
The 2023-24 season will be Conley's 15th at LEC, and the eighth as head coach. This could be his best team.
"We return a lot this season," said Conley. "This is the deepest team we'll take into October since I've been head coach."
It starts with a solid front court headlined by 6-foot-7 junior post Jonny Manning. Last season, the Midview graduate averaged 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, blocked 38 shots and shot 52.7 percent from the floor.
"I think Jonny will be one of the betters 5s in the (Great Midwest Athletic Conference) and will be a candidate to be a first-team all-conference player," said Conley.
There's also Mentor grad Caleb Piks — a 6-5 junior forward — and Willoughby South grad Damion Williams — a 6-7 senior forward — and 6-6 junior Leon Hughes from Toledo. Conley said the trio had outstanding offseasons.
The front court got a huge bump when Josh Irwin transferred in from Youngstown State. Irwin played three seasons at West Geauga, and in those three seasons became the school's all-time leading scorer.
His final season playing at West G was as a junior when Irwin averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds and was second team All-Ohio. He spent his senior season attending classes at West Geauga but playing at the International Sports Academy in Willoughby.
"That was a great experience," said Irwin about ISA. "We played about 40 games, and every day in practice I would go up against guys that were 6-7, 6-8, 6-9, guys that were gong to Duke, Kentucky. Guys that went to the NBA. Every single day, I would drive home so exhausted wondering if I could do it again the next day. But I did it."
That type of work ethic is what Irwin is ready to show off at LEC, where he's thrilled to be given the opportunity to compete for minutes.
"I want to play as a much as I can for as long as I can," said Irwin, who has three years of eligibility at LEC.
When Irwin submitted his name into the transfer portal, he had Lake Erie high on a short wish list. Irwin wouldn't say but it's possible LEC was the only school. That's because family ties run deep there. Irwin's father Doug played basketball for the Storm.
"I remember going to games there to watch my dad," said Irwin. "Loved going to those games. All of that made my decision easy. I'm very familiar with everything at Lake Erie."
Irwin also has a connection with Manning as they played on the same AAU team for a few seasons. He hopes their presence in the front court can cause fits for the opposition this winter.
"Jonny was telling me how teams would double-team him a lot last season," said Irwin. "Now teams won't be able to double him. We want to dominate in the post, and kill teams on the offensive and defensive boards."
Another key transfer for Conley's team is point guard Kelvin Swims, who last season for Maryville University started 21 games and averaged nearly 10 points and shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Conley said if the season started this week, Swims would be his team's starting point guard.
Swims and 6-5 senior guard Jordan Burge should make for an experienced and talented back court for the Storm. Burge averaged nearly 11 points last season.
All of which has Conley excited for LEC's prospects as practices begin in early October.
"We have expectations but with that comes responsibility," said Conley. "We feel we've built our program, and we feel we have a team that has a chance to make run but we need to stay healthy."
The Storm — 14-14 a season ago, including an 11-9 mark in the GMAC — open this season at home Nov. 10 against Lake Superior State.
