Mountain Hawk Hoops Pros Spotlight: Conroy Baltimore
11/10/2020 2:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Support, Features, Flight 45, Intellectual Development
Over the course of the 2020-21 school year, Lehighsports.com will be catching up with several former Mountain Hawks under head coach Brett Reed who have gone on to play professionally. We continue with Conroy Baltimore '15.
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
After graduating from Lehigh in 2015, Conroy Baltimore thought his basketball career was over.
But he felt drawn back to the sport he loves, and it led him to Ireland where he has flourished, on and off the court.
"I was home for my first year after graduation," he said. "I started coaching in October of 2015, but going into 2016, I just had the itch of wanting to play again and was trying to find the right fit."
It didn't take long for Baltimore to find that fit. He reached out to former teammate, and 2016 graduate, Justin Goldsborough.
"Justin told me he was going to Ireland to play for the Swords Thunder Basketball Club, part of this program that allowed him to get his master's degree and play professional basketball," said Baltimore. "I asked if he could pass along contact information of the coach to me. I reached out and the coach responded 30 minutes later.
"I flew to Dublin in August, 2016 and the rest is history."
It was a significant step for Baltimore and Goldsborough, who found themselves in an entirely new country to not only play basketball, but also earn graduate degrees (Baltimore studied journalism and media communications).
"To have Justin with me definitely helped," he said. "We spent a lot of time together, trying new things, going different places and adjusting to Dublin and Ireland in general."
Baltimore was experiencing a lifelong goal of playing professional basketball. The road was not always easy, but he reached his destination.
"Around age seven, I knew I wanted to play professionally," he said. "In high school, not to say the NBA dream wasn't real, but I knew I should think about another route. Then my Lehigh career didn't go the way I wanted, so basketball definitely took a back seat, especially immediately post-graduation."
It wasn't that Baltimore disliked Lehigh – that wasn't the case at all – but there were several ups and downs over the course of his career, as is the case for many student-athletes (and students in general). Included in the downs for Baltimore was injuries, which held him back. He played in 69 collegiate games, but only 16 over his final two seasons.
"I felt like I wasn't able to showcase my abilities much at Lehigh due to injuries, especially the latter half of my career," said Baltimore. "It was great to come over to Ireland and prove to myself that I was able to play at a high level."
Baltimore's role in Ireland proved to be similar to his role on the Mountain Hawks.
"My role was being the emotional leader," he said. "Leading by example, saying things when I needed to say things, but also trying to help the young guys and help them mature in certain ways, on and off the court."
A 6-foot-6-inch forward, Baltimore certainly contributed on the court as well.
"Justin and I had to split time because Americans couldn't play at the same time," he said. "That was definitely challenging and we had to adjust to the rules. The physicality was a lot different. They allowed a lot more things that officials wouldn't allow in basketball back home."
As a leader, Baltimore often thought back to his Lehigh days.
"Especially my freshman and sophomore years, I absorbed so much from the upperclassmen," he said. "I was able to take those things with me, so when situations presented themselves over here, I was able to translate and apply what I knew and learned."
Baltimore experienced plenty of success those first two years at Lehigh. His freshman season (2011-12), the Mountain Hawks won a program-record 27 games, including the historic NCAA Tournament win over Duke.
Flash forward a few years and Baltimore ended up playing with Swords Thunder for two seasons before transferring to the DCU Saints for a half season, then Dublin Lions for a year.
"The Lions were in the National League," said Baltimore. "There are two leagues in Ireland – the National League and Super League. Those first couple years, I played in the Super League. My main purpose was to help the Lions get up to the Super League and we were able to do so.
"I helped them achieve one of their main goals as a club."
Baltimore helped through both his play and leadership.
"I was playing with a lot of guys who were just starting and in their 20s," he said. "I had to go back to when I was a junior and senior at Lehigh, talking to the freshmen and sophomores and trying to help them find their own ways. Let them know that it's a process, it's going to take some time, but you'll eventually get there as long as you work hard and continue to believe in yourself and your effort."
Currently, Baltimore is not playing basketball, but isn't necessarily ruling out playing again in the future. He's still living in Ireland, and remains around the game he loves in a different capacity.
"My full-time job is head basketball coach at King's Hospital School," said Baltimore. "I'm there four days a week. Even though I'm not playing, still being around the game is amazing.
"It's taking the role I had at Lehigh of being that emotional leader, helping younger people find their way and helping them navigate a certain way throughout life."
Personally, life has brought Baltimore ups and downs, but he has come out stronger in the end of every challenge. He's taking interests from his days as an undergraduate and graduate student and exploring a number of interests outside of basketball.
"I've picked writing back up," said Baltimore. "I've been posting on my blog once a week, trying to get myself back into the journalism field and trying to build my portfolio as much as possible. I also started a sports psychology course because that's the path of psychology I want to take (he majored in psychology at Lehigh).
"Now that I'm not playing, I'm having the opportunity to focus on things I really enjoy."
Baltimore still enjoys basketball, as well as the country of Ireland.
"The people are so friendly," he said. "After my first month here, I could see myself being here long-term. I've spoken to my parents about how I feel like I've done everything I need to do at home. I've accomplished so much in high school, and college. I wanted a new challenge and new opportunity.
"I was able to get that opportunity [playing in Ireland] and now I'm just making the best of it."
Baltimore isn't ruling out moving back home at some point, but doesn't see it happening in the near future.
"There are a lot of opportunities to do things here that I probably wouldn't be able to do if I was still back home," he said.
Despite the geographical distance, Baltimore still feels very connected with the people in the United States, including the Lehigh men's basketball program.
"I'm always keeping tabs on the season and I wear my Lehigh gear everywhere," he said.
Baltimore won't soon forget the impact of his Lehigh student-athlete experience, which set him up for success in basketball… and in life.
"Coach [Brett] Reed, his program and his practices are geared towards what you face when you go overseas," he said. "Sometimes, it's even more than what you face over here. When I first came over, I thought this was so much easier than what I went through at Lehigh.
"Being at an institution like Lehigh where academics are the top priority, along with playing at the Division I level, I was more than prepared for what I was going to face [in Ireland]."
Basketball may have brought Baltimore to Ireland, but the full breadth of his Lehigh student-athlete experience has helped him become a lifelong leader.
It has truly been the best of both worlds.
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
After graduating from Lehigh in 2015, Conroy Baltimore thought his basketball career was over.
But he felt drawn back to the sport he loves, and it led him to Ireland where he has flourished, on and off the court.
"I was home for my first year after graduation," he said. "I started coaching in October of 2015, but going into 2016, I just had the itch of wanting to play again and was trying to find the right fit."
It didn't take long for Baltimore to find that fit. He reached out to former teammate, and 2016 graduate, Justin Goldsborough.
"Justin told me he was going to Ireland to play for the Swords Thunder Basketball Club, part of this program that allowed him to get his master's degree and play professional basketball," said Baltimore. "I asked if he could pass along contact information of the coach to me. I reached out and the coach responded 30 minutes later.
"I flew to Dublin in August, 2016 and the rest is history."
It was a significant step for Baltimore and Goldsborough, who found themselves in an entirely new country to not only play basketball, but also earn graduate degrees (Baltimore studied journalism and media communications).
"To have Justin with me definitely helped," he said. "We spent a lot of time together, trying new things, going different places and adjusting to Dublin and Ireland in general."
Baltimore was experiencing a lifelong goal of playing professional basketball. The road was not always easy, but he reached his destination.
"Around age seven, I knew I wanted to play professionally," he said. "In high school, not to say the NBA dream wasn't real, but I knew I should think about another route. Then my Lehigh career didn't go the way I wanted, so basketball definitely took a back seat, especially immediately post-graduation."
It wasn't that Baltimore disliked Lehigh – that wasn't the case at all – but there were several ups and downs over the course of his career, as is the case for many student-athletes (and students in general). Included in the downs for Baltimore was injuries, which held him back. He played in 69 collegiate games, but only 16 over his final two seasons.
"I felt like I wasn't able to showcase my abilities much at Lehigh due to injuries, especially the latter half of my career," said Baltimore. "It was great to come over to Ireland and prove to myself that I was able to play at a high level."
Baltimore's role in Ireland proved to be similar to his role on the Mountain Hawks.
"My role was being the emotional leader," he said. "Leading by example, saying things when I needed to say things, but also trying to help the young guys and help them mature in certain ways, on and off the court."
A 6-foot-6-inch forward, Baltimore certainly contributed on the court as well.
"Justin and I had to split time because Americans couldn't play at the same time," he said. "That was definitely challenging and we had to adjust to the rules. The physicality was a lot different. They allowed a lot more things that officials wouldn't allow in basketball back home."
As a leader, Baltimore often thought back to his Lehigh days.
"Especially my freshman and sophomore years, I absorbed so much from the upperclassmen," he said. "I was able to take those things with me, so when situations presented themselves over here, I was able to translate and apply what I knew and learned."
Baltimore experienced plenty of success those first two years at Lehigh. His freshman season (2011-12), the Mountain Hawks won a program-record 27 games, including the historic NCAA Tournament win over Duke.
Flash forward a few years and Baltimore ended up playing with Swords Thunder for two seasons before transferring to the DCU Saints for a half season, then Dublin Lions for a year.
"The Lions were in the National League," said Baltimore. "There are two leagues in Ireland – the National League and Super League. Those first couple years, I played in the Super League. My main purpose was to help the Lions get up to the Super League and we were able to do so.
"I helped them achieve one of their main goals as a club."
Baltimore helped through both his play and leadership.
"I was playing with a lot of guys who were just starting and in their 20s," he said. "I had to go back to when I was a junior and senior at Lehigh, talking to the freshmen and sophomores and trying to help them find their own ways. Let them know that it's a process, it's going to take some time, but you'll eventually get there as long as you work hard and continue to believe in yourself and your effort."
Currently, Baltimore is not playing basketball, but isn't necessarily ruling out playing again in the future. He's still living in Ireland, and remains around the game he loves in a different capacity.
"My full-time job is head basketball coach at King's Hospital School," said Baltimore. "I'm there four days a week. Even though I'm not playing, still being around the game is amazing.
"It's taking the role I had at Lehigh of being that emotional leader, helping younger people find their way and helping them navigate a certain way throughout life."
Personally, life has brought Baltimore ups and downs, but he has come out stronger in the end of every challenge. He's taking interests from his days as an undergraduate and graduate student and exploring a number of interests outside of basketball.
"I've picked writing back up," said Baltimore. "I've been posting on my blog once a week, trying to get myself back into the journalism field and trying to build my portfolio as much as possible. I also started a sports psychology course because that's the path of psychology I want to take (he majored in psychology at Lehigh).
"Now that I'm not playing, I'm having the opportunity to focus on things I really enjoy."
Baltimore still enjoys basketball, as well as the country of Ireland.
"The people are so friendly," he said. "After my first month here, I could see myself being here long-term. I've spoken to my parents about how I feel like I've done everything I need to do at home. I've accomplished so much in high school, and college. I wanted a new challenge and new opportunity.
"I was able to get that opportunity [playing in Ireland] and now I'm just making the best of it."
Baltimore isn't ruling out moving back home at some point, but doesn't see it happening in the near future.
"There are a lot of opportunities to do things here that I probably wouldn't be able to do if I was still back home," he said.
Despite the geographical distance, Baltimore still feels very connected with the people in the United States, including the Lehigh men's basketball program.
"I'm always keeping tabs on the season and I wear my Lehigh gear everywhere," he said.
Baltimore won't soon forget the impact of his Lehigh student-athlete experience, which set him up for success in basketball… and in life.
"Coach [Brett] Reed, his program and his practices are geared towards what you face when you go overseas," he said. "Sometimes, it's even more than what you face over here. When I first came over, I thought this was so much easier than what I went through at Lehigh.
"Being at an institution like Lehigh where academics are the top priority, along with playing at the Division I level, I was more than prepared for what I was going to face [in Ireland]."
Basketball may have brought Baltimore to Ireland, but the full breadth of his Lehigh student-athlete experience has helped him become a lifelong leader.
It has truly been the best of both worlds.
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