WINONA LAKE - A former Warsaw Community High School and Grace College basketball player is trying to get the Lakeland Christian Academy boys basketball team on the right track.
Entering his first season at the helm of the LCA Cougars, Lee Compson hopes to institute the same kind of system the Warsaw Tigers implement across town."I want to look to establish a program similiar to Warsaw's," Compson, a 1999 graduate of WCHS who went on to play at Grace College, said. "We need to make a system that starts in the elementary, goes into middle school and runs into the high school to get certain ways engraved in their minds. I want to establish a program like that."
Currently, LCA is a program coming off a 9-19 season and is in the first year of a two-year probationary period to join the IHSAA.
"We just need to conform with the schedule and standards to join the IHSAA, but we'll stay in the Christian state tournament this year," Compson said. "(The IHSAA) wants to see us align with its rules or guidelines."
The Cougars opened their season with a 47-36 home win against White's Tuesday, with Calvin Prinsen and Jacob Cole both scoring 10 points.
"Calvin Prinsen may be our best post presence at 6-foot-5," Compson said. "Jacob Cole provides good leadership and good height. Josh Silveus can also play guard or foward. He's really in-between playing in the post or in the backcourt. Collin Price, a sophomore, also has a lot of ability."
The Cougars also feature Teddy Harvey, John Rohrs, Zarek Finley, Ross Wallen, Sam Harris, Jon Vida, Noah Cole and Logan Mount, rounding out a young roster.
"We're a young team," Compson said. "Jacob Cole is our only senior, so we have a lot of sophomores and juniors. We may go through some growing pains, but these are good kids that know how to play."
There is some height on the LCA squad, but for the most part, the young Cougars are comprised of ball handlers.
"We're really guard heavy," Compson said.
The guard-heavy team plays its next game against Northern State Conference member Jimtown Tuesday.
"In the long-term picture, we want to be good when these players get older," Compson said. "Wins and losses isn't what I'm concerned with right now. What I'm worried about is improvement."
