Crusaders Ready to Let It Fly

The Great Lakes Christian College Men's Basketball team is ready to kick off their 2018-2019 campaign October 24th, at home, against NAIA Lawrence Tech. The Crusaders enter the year with palpable buzz around the program. The program brings in a new Head Coach, Richard Westerlund. Coach Westerlund brought in a talented and deep recruiting class from across the country. The Crusaders roster feature student-athletes from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Maryland, Texas, California, Georgia, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

Key Returners:

• Lance Adams, Senior Guard: Last season Adams averaged 16.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 2.1 apg while hitting 95 3's and connecting on 40 percent of his three point field goals. Lance has been All Region Honorable mention two straight seasons for the NCCAA Mideast Region.
  • What Coach says: Lance is a gifted scorer, he can really fill it up, he is much more than just a three point shooter. He has had a great summer improving his game and leadership. I am excited to see him have a great senior year. Adams should surpass his 1000th career point sometime in early December.
• Ja'Quin Jones, Junior Guard: Last season Jones averaged 11.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.7 apg while shooting 61% from the floor. 
  • What Coach Says: JaQuin is a swiss army knife of players. His versaility is something that fits what we want to do so well. We expect Jay to do a little bit of everything for us this year. Last year he was forced to play a little out of position, but I am excited to get him back into his natural position. I believe he will really thrive for us on the perimeter. Jay will provide a lot of leadership to our team as well.
• Isiah Reed, Sophomore Guard: Last season Reed averaged 12.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg while hitting 73 long balls. 
  • What Coach Says: Zae is tremendous shooter with unlimited range. He has really worked hard this offseason to continue to grow his skill set. He really fits well with what we want to do. I love Zae's passion and the energy and competitiveness he brings daily. I really expect him to have a break out campaign this year.

Key Newcomers:

• Basit Seidu, Sophomore Forward: Basit comes to the Crusaders from Division 1 JUCO, Cleveland State Community College.
  • What Coach Says: Basit is someone I've known for quite sometime. I am thrilled to have him in our program. He will be a big time force in the middle for us. He played for a very talented JUCO program and knows high level basketball. He is someone who will have an impact each time he is on the floor. 
• Quincy Green, Junior Guard: Green comes to the Crusaders from Wright State Lake where he played for Coach Westerlund. Green avergaed 10.9ppg, 5.3 rpg and 1.4 spg while hitting 51 threes.
  • What Coach Says: Q is someone who knows our culture, know the system, and is a tremendous leader. I am thrilled to be coaching him here. He has put a ton of work on his game and I believe he will bring tremendous toughness, rebounding, and three point shooting to our program.
• Ethen Russell, Freshman Guard: Ethen comes to the Crusaders from Anderson HS where he was All League in both Football and Basketball.
  • What Coach Says: E brings great size and toughness to the point guard position. He is a tenacious defender and a crafty passer. Standing at 6'2 his size allows him the ability to guard a lot of different spots. He has gotten better each day. I expect him to have a great freshman campaign.

Season Outlook:

•  What are expectations this season?
  • Coach Westerlund said, "I believe expectations are high. There has been a lot of excitement around our program. We have a tremendous group of guys who have only bought into our program's culture but also our campus culture. Like all my teams we are going to compete, pressure, and play fast. This group is by far the most skilled offensive group I have ever coached, and I am having fun being creative offensively to utilize all their skill sets. Our goal is to change out best each and everyday. We want to make the choice to be elite. Obviously as far as our season we'd love to compete for a region title and a national tournament bid. I believe this group has that type of potential." 
• Thoughts on the Mideast Region?
  • "Mideast region is argubaly the deepest region top to bottom in the NCCAA DII. Grace Christian University and Johnson University (TN) both went to the final four this past year. KCU also went to the national tournament each of the last two years. The top 3 in our region the past few years can stack up well aganst anyone. Welch College will be better this year as will Boyce, both of those coaches have their programs moving in the right direction. Where we fit into the mix? I believe we can compete at the top of our region especially when we are playing well."
• Thoughts on your team's preseason?
  • "This preason was all about establishing our culture and our guys building relationships. We only returned three players, three talented players, but stil 17 new guys into a program makes the preseason all that much more important. I thought it was productive, and we accomplished what we set out to do. I think we are prepared as we head into the season.
• Game you are looking forward to the most?
  • "I try to stay present so I'd say Lawrence Tech on October 24th."
• What are you most excited for this season?
  • "I'd say just us continuing to change the culture here around Great Lakes basketball. I really believe this group has a lot special things ahead and will accomplish things that have not been done before. 
• On your roster?
  • I think we have a very talented roster. We have 20 student athletes that are ready to impact. Five of our guys have to sit out after transferring in but those guys have made pushed our group in practice every day and really having an impact in our program. The 15 guys playing are athletic, skilled and ready to compete.

What's Next:

• The Crusaders open up their season October 24th at home against Lawrence Tech. Tip off is scheduled at 7:00pm est. For the full schedule check it out here.