The Lake Land College (LLC) Lakers’ men’s basketball team, under the tutelage of Coach Julian Larry and his assistants, Dave Earp, Brian Egejuru and Chad Graves, finished the 2024-25 season with a 23-9 record, including an 11-5 record in the Great Rivers Athletics Conference (GRAC). Additionally, the Lakers won 15-2 at home, 6-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games.
The 23-9 mark was the best record in Lakers’ men’s basketball history since the 2013-14 season, when they finished with a 22-9 mark. The Lakers also had winning records for four consecutive years under Coach Larry, as the team started inauspiciously at 6-14 during the 2020-21 season, which was his first season as head coach.
Coach Larry entered his ninth year at LLC and sixth year as the program’s head coach after serving the previous three years as an assistant. This year marks his 17th season of coaching at the collegiate level, with stops at Dickinson St., Dakota College and Catawba Valley Community College. Larry’s current record as head coach on campus is 81-56.
Larry mentioned that his favorite memory of last season was “the chemistry of the players and the relationships that I have made with these players.” This illustrated his reputation and history of player development, on and off the court, as well as in the classroom and life.
He emphasized that the keys to winning the conference and possibly the national championship is “staying healthy throughout the season, staying together as a team and building trust with each other … “I was encouraging the players, being there as much as I could. As a head coach, I made sure that [the players and assistant coaches] was on the same page and doing whatever they need to do to become successful.”
The Lakers opened their season on the road, where they will play the Trenton College Trojans at River Grove, IL, the suburb of Chicago, on Nov. 4. The Lakers’ home opener is on Nov. 8, when they host the Richard J. Daley College Bulldogs.
The Lakers will participate in two tournaments in November: The Bob Sechrest Classic on the campus of Mineral Area College at Park Hills, MO and the Broadway Classic on the campus of Southeastern Community College in Burlington, IA.
In December, the Lakers will open their conference play on the road as they will be hosted by the Illinois Central College Cougars at East Peoria, IL on the 6th. The Lakers will host the Olney Central Knights in their conference home opener on the 13th.
After hosting the Mineral Area College Cardinals on Dec. 17, the Lakers will have a three-week hiatus before resuming play on Jan. 7 when they host the John A. Logan Volunteers.
The Lakers will conclude regular season play in back-to-back home games on Feb. 25, when they play the Shawnee Community College Saints, and Mar. 3, when they play the Wabash Valley College Warriors.
The conference tournament will be announced at a later date, since at the Junior College level, conference tournaments are played at the host school who finished the conference in first place.
