Gov. Mifflin boys basketball team honors late coach Kyle Conrad at home opener

Andrew Heller, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

Dec. 6—The Gov. Mifflin boys basketball team honored the life of former coach Kyle Conrad Monday night during the team's home opening, non-league game against Cedar Crest at the Gov. Mifflin Intermediate School.

Conrad, who coached the Mustangs from 2018-22, passed away from esophageal cancer in September. Conrad, who also played at Gov. Mifflin, was known for his passionate approach to playing and coaching basketball.

"We honor him every night; its not just tonight," first-year Gov. Mifflin coach Brian Wrobel said. "Tonight was for everybody else in the stands. Every time we're here in the gym, everything he stood for, we try to represent in ourselves and as a team."

For the season, Gov. Mifflin will wear stickers on their shoes with the initials "KC" as well as warm-up shirts with Conrad's No. 24 from his playing days with Mustangs.

"Coach Conrad, you just can't replace someone like that," Gov. Mifflin senior Tyler Minick said. "It's hard to play the season without him, but the presentation we had for him was amazing and he was just an amazing, great guy. (Tonight) was a great atmosphere, we just got to perform better and get the job done."

Gov. Mifflin fell to Cedar Crest 71-51. Adrian McNeil had a team-high 14 points, Minick had 12 points and Delsin McNeil had 11 points for the Mustangs.

"It's one little hurdle, but we definitely have the pieces there to put it together, and that's my responsibility," Wrobel said. "So we'll get back to the drawing board and tackle it again on Thursday night."

Gov. Mifflin returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Red Lion.

Playing in the highly-competitive Berks I, Wrobel said he wants his team to continue to play with the same relentless fervor for basketball that Conrad exemplified.

"We play hard every night between the lines, and whatever happens happens," Wrobel said. "That's what Coach (Conrad) always said and that's what we preach and what we're gonna continue to do. We go out there and we put it on the line for each other for 32 minutes."