City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)

MYERSTOWN — Getting a late start at anything, whether it’s a vocation, a true passion or even a hobby, can be a real hindrance.

And that may be especially true in the basketball recruiting biz, where assistant coaches and even the guys fronting programs flock to the big cities and the usual hoops hotbeds and the prominent camps to locate yet another phenom.

Colton Lawrence understands.

At the same time, the powerful 6-3, 205-pound athlete from Eastern Lebanon County High School is cognizant that not too many Division-I college basketball programs know how to get to his particular corner of Pennsylvania.

While D-I Virginia Military Institute extended Lawrence an offer last summer — new VMI assistant Chris Kreider, who attended high school in neighboring Dauphin County and played at nearby Lebanon Valley College, definitely knows the territory — Fairleigh Dickinson is another school that’s mighty interested.

Several Patriot League and Ivy League programs also are keeping tabs on an intriguing youngster with an intriguing game — Lawrence is a terrific student — as are D-2s such as Philadelphia University, East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg.

However, none of it has come easy.

Particularly since the introspective Lawrence definitely isn’t the type to broadcast his various exploits. He’s much more apt to let a high-rising game highlighted by his efforts around the tin and growing in confidence — his 35-inch vertical and 6-9 wingspan allow him to overpower smaller and bigger adversaries regularly — each time he hauls the rock into the paint against an unsuspecting opponent.

Add in a terrific release on a jump shot with plenty of range and an improved handle and you’ve got a kid that’s certainly capable of helping someone at some level.

“Last year we really only started trying stuff out,” said Lawrence, who began playing with a Lancaster-based AAU program following his sophomore season and moved to Harrisburg’s Team Supernatural after his junior year. “The journey for me to get recruited is a lot tougher than people realize.

“I had a late start. I didn’t know I wanted to make basketball my main sport until a little bit later in high school,” added Lawrence, who also played baseball at Elco before deciding to focus on basketball. “Even then, coming out of Myerstown from Elco and I’m not like a real tall kid and somebody that stands out, it was a lot tougher than people think.”

Yet things have begun to change.

Playing last spring at the Southern Jam Fest in Virginia Beach, Va., playing for Team Supernatural, Lawrence began to sense a difference.

“We played on the main court in our first game,” Lawrence recalled. “Probably the most important game I ever played in from a recruiting standpoint. There were a lot of big names there. … I had a decent game there. It wasn’t phenomenal, but I was able to show athletically and I shot well.

“After that it was about a three-month period where there were a good amount of schools contacting me every week. Schools contact me now and then, but without that tournament I wouldn’t have been exposed.”

Whether or not college coaches know who Lawrence is — or where he lives — Elco’s opponents in the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s rigid Section 3 are well aware of the damage the soon-to-be four-year starter is capable of inflicting.

While Lawrence last season averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game for an Elco program (13-10) that made its first trip to the District 3-AAA playoffs in six seasons. More await since Brad Conners’ Raiders return all five starters.

Junior Mason Bossert and senior Caleb Buchmoyer will join Lawrence on the perimeter — when Lawrence isn’t needed in the paint to run a set play that may call for one of his array of post-up moves — while senior Dylan Stoops and junior Ryan Eshleman are Elco’s experienced bigs.

“Winning the Section is our goal this year,” Conners admitted. “Goal No. 1 is to do really well in the tip-off tournament and win the Lebanon Tip-Off Tournament. Beyond that, it’s to win the Section, get in the [L-L’s eight-team] playoffs and maybe do something there and [in districts].”

Since Lawrence & Co. will have a number of chances to square off against quality prospects — Cocalico’s Tucker Lescoe, Manheim Central’s Taylor Funk and Ben Sandberg of Lampeter-Strasburg also inhabit Section 3 — who knows what coaches may be sitting in the bleachers taking notes and wondering, “Maybe I'd like to see more and really get to know this kid.”

“That’s great. We’re looking forward to it. It’s exciting. There’s something in the air,” Conners said. “The kids talk about it. Even other kids, they hear these things and it’s their chance to play in front of a coach, too. Whether they have games to play in college or not, it’s neat for them.

 While Lawrence is poised to become just the third player in Elco history to bank 1,000 career points — he’s sitting on 985 right now — he also could wind up as the Raiders’ all-time leading scorer before he’s done.

Lawrence isn’t concerned about personal achievement — aside from playing at the next level — he’d rather celebrate victories with his teammates. If the record comes, it comes.

“As a freshman, it was something I always thought about,” Lawrence recalled. “Just looking up at the banner, because I didn’t know then if I wanted to play basketball in college and make it my No. 1 sport. Now that it’s close, I’m just too focused on what we need to do as a team.

“I know it’s coming and I’m not saying it doesn’t mean anything, but a lot of people are making a really big deal about it. I’m excited. And when it comes, it’s going to mean a lot. It’s just not something that’s a priority.”

What is a priority is working on his game — particularly his handle and developing consistency with his shot — making his teammates better and winning.

And while Elco’s Section 3 playmates may place a target just below Lawrence’s broad shoulders, he’s not concerned. He believes everything will take care of itself if a consistent effort is displayed. Even his recruiting future.

“Most games, I kind of even forget that there’s a crowd there,” Lawrence said matter-of-factly while parked in Conners’ office. “So I’m going to play the same game every time I go out. But every player that wants to be great, no matter who they’re playing, needs to go out and think they’re the best player on the floor. …If I’m working hard, then something’s going to happen. That’s really been my mindset every single game.”