2004-05 Preview: Looking for More
  

Franklyn Beckford won't let anything hold him or his team down this season.

While another trip to the league tournament might be the goal for most teams in Lake Forest’s position, Head Coach Chris Conger is looking for that and more. “The goal for our program is not just to be in the MWC Tournament each year,” he begins, “but also to establish ourselves as one of the nation’s elite programs.”

It’s been four years since Conger’s squad spent eight weeks ranked among the top 20 teams in the country. All the members of that team are gone, but the current players are well on their way to achieving an even higher level of success. Last year, team captain Eric McDonald became the 16th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and just the sixth to do so as a junior. He is joined in the frontcourt by Franklyn Beckford, who led the team in scoring and rebounding and was chosen as its Most Valuable Player in 2003-04. Beckford earned all-conference and all-region honors as a sophomore last season while McDonald was an all-conference selection for the third straight year.

“Eric and Franklyn did a great job for us last year at both ends of the court,” comments Conger. “While they are two of the league’s best players, we have not yet seen them at their best. As they continue to get better, so will our team and there’s no telling how far they can lead us.”

McDonald and Beckford were certainly not the only major contributors to last year’s success. Greg Klos, Brad Rathe, and Dodd Browning earned starting roles as sophomores and rookie Brad Wehner often provided a valuable spark off the bench.

“Every player on the team stepped up his play late last year as we earned a spot in the tournament,” recalls Conger. “We’ve got a great group of guys who are determined to build on that success and lead the program to far greater accomplishments.”