WINONA LAKE – Lakeland Christian Academy’s boys basketball program is entering a new era. Joel Burrus, who served as assistant coach at IU-Kokomo the past two seasons, has been named the new head coach at LCA. “I am very excited to have this opportunity,” Burrus said in a release from LCA. “Lakeland has great Christian values and wants to see their basketball program take off. I want to build a winner here. We will be a hard-working team with a focus on playing great defense and rebounding. I can’t wait to get started.” Burrus replaces Lee Compson, who led the Cougars to a 7-15 record last season. Playing in the IHSAA state tournament for the first time last season, LCA lost 49-36 to Bethany Christian in the sectional opener. “Joel wants to build a program here, and will be starting with a young group of guys,” LCA Athletic Director Tim Yocum said in the release. “He’ll need patience in the process.” Burrus played at North Miami High School. He was later an assistant coach at North Miami, before assisting his father, John Burrus, at Southwood High School. During his four seasons at Southwood, Burrus led the JV team to a 47-13 record that included three county championships. Assisting his father with the varsity team, Southwood posted a 54-35 record during those four years and won a conference title, as well as a sectional and regional championship. LCA opens the 2013-14 season with a game at Caston on Nov. 26.
