For some people, basketball is just a sport or a way to have fun with some friends, but for Bakersfield College men’s basketball player Conroy Lester, it’s a way to remember his brother and express himself.
“It means a lot to me because I’ve been playing it my whole life and it’s the way I express myself,” said Lester. “My brother was the one who got me into basketball.
“He influenced me and he always motivated me to push hard. He helped me to prepare for any situation on the court and off of the court.
“When he passed away it affected me a lot because I know he would want me to work harder at everything I do and that gave me that motivation to do that. Every time I go out on the court I try to thank him for everything by trying my hardest.”
Lester is originally from Bakersfield and graduated from Foothill High.
After graduating from Foothill he went to Santa Rosa Junior College for a year and was redshirted.
Things didn’t work out like he thought they would at Santa Rosa after being redshirted.
“When I got redshirted I didn’t even want to go to class or anything,” he said. “I wasn’t focused on school and basketball. I wasn’t ready for the college life, and I was still used to my high school habits, so I went back home because I realized that it wasn’t going to work out there. My parents helped me to get motivated by telling me to just keep trying my hardest.”
Lester is now a freshman forward for the BC team, but his transition from not playing organized basketball to playing on the BC team wasn’t that smooth.
“I wasn’t in basketball condition to start the season, but as the year progressed I got in shape, my role changed and coach started to want me to be more aggressive offensively,” he said.
In January Lester was named BC’s male athlete of the month by averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“It was a lot of hard work and it paid off for me, and it was because of the support my family and friends gave me.”
Now Lester is currently the starting forward for the Renegades and leads all BC players in scoring with 15 points and eight rebounds per game against Western State Conference opponents.
“Coming back home was what I needed, and it’s an honor for me to play at BC in front of my friends and family,” he said.