Ex-Erie Mason basketball stars Liedel, Sweeney join forces again at Kalamazoo Valley
ERIE – John Sweeney grew three inches and put on 50 pounds before returning to basketball.
Joe Liedel missed the game too much to stay away long.
It was an odd journey for both Erie Mason graduates, but together they found a home at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and now want to bring a national championship home back to Michigan.
“We can be something special,” Liedel said.
The former Eagles helped Kalamazoo Valley win 24 games this season, go 12-0 in conference play and knock off the No. 1 team in the nation. By season’s end, the crowds were getting bigger and the two of them kept getting better. Next year they hope to take KVCC to the national tournament and beyond.
“The farther you go, the more coaches from (NCAA) Division I and Division II get to see you,” Liedel said. “More eyes will be on us.”
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Liedel graduated from Erie Mason in 2020. One of the greatest scorers in Monroe County Region history, he was set to break the career 3-point record when COVID-19 derailed his dreams of a state title.
He signed up to play at the University of Detroit Mercy, but things didn’t work out with the Titans. Amidst a nagging injury to his hip, he stepped away from basketball. After two years away, he got the urge to return.
Mason coach Kevin Skaggs, who once coached at Kalamazoo Valley, thought Liedel would be a nice fit for the program and contacted the coach there, Jim Horn.
It was a triumphant return. He finished 11th in the nation in scoring at 21.6 points per game. He broke the school record for points in a game with 51 and led the junior college nation with 124 3-pointers.
“I missed the game,” Liedel said. “I’ve played it so much. I didn’t want it to end. The shooting came easy. I feel like that will always be there, but it took some time to get my legs back and get to the point where I felt totally comfortable playing again. I was there by the end of the season.”
Liedel said he hopes to parlay his comeback into a spot with an NCAA Division I team and possibly playing professionally overseas. If he does transfer after next season, he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
Before Liedel decided whether to go to junior college, he talked Sweeney into going with him to an open gym.
Before Sweeney left the gym that night, Horn was trying to put together a scholarship package.
“I was enrolled at Eastern Michigan University working toward my cyber security degree,” Sweeney said. “I went with Joe, and we played. One of their coaches pulled me aside and said, ‘We really want you.’”
Sweeney was 6-foot-7, 180 pounds as a senior in high school in 2018-19. Last season at Kalamazoo he was listed as 6-10, 230. In 31 games, Sweeney averaged 10.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, shot nearly 60 percent from the floor and even made 10 3-pointers. The most points he ever averaged in high school was seven.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Sweeney said. “I started falling in love with the gym. It was helping me get on the right path in life.”
He plans to go back to Kalamazoo in the fall. He and Liedel are working out in Erie regularly and head to Kalamazoo a couple times each week to be with teammates.
“I really meshed well with the guys,” Sweeney said. “I don’t know what my expectations were, but it was a great season. I’m really excited coming into next season. I think we have the ability to win a national championship.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Kalamazoo Valley basketball led by old teammates Liedel, Sweeney
