Oakland basketball surprisingly loses another big man, Chris Conway, to transfer portal

The mass turnover on Oakland's basketball roster continues.

Chris Conway, a senior forward with one year of eligibility remaining, announced Monday on social media that he is entering the transfer portal. Fellow big man Trey Townsend and Conway were the only two Oakland players to start every game this past season, arguably the greatest in program history.

Townsend also played four years at Oakland, and is transferring to Arizona for his final year, after being named the Horizon League player of the year and Horizon League tournament MVP.

Oakland also is losing Blake Lampman, Jack Gohlke and Rocket Watts to graduation. That means five of Oakland's top six scorers from this past season are now gone.

"I would like to take this time to thank Oakland University for not only helping me grow as a player but as a person as well," Conway wrote in a social media post. "I would also like to thank each and every one of my teammates for being there every step of the way."

The 6-foot-9, 221-pound Conway, 22, averaged 10 points and 4.1 rebounds this past season, as he played the ying to Townsend's yang. They formed a dynamic post duo, while Lampman and Gohlke formed a double threat from the outside. As a junior, Conway was Oakland's leading scorer off the bench, at 4.5 points. With Townsend's departure, Conway figured to be the centerpiece player in Oakland's offense next season.

This past season, Oakland went 24-12 and won the Horizon League regular-season and tournament championships, making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. In the NCAA Tournament, Oakland stunned Kentucky in the Round of 64 game, before falling to N.C. State in overtime in the Round of 32.

Assuming Conway does indeed transfer, only junior swingman DQ Cole (Pontiac) will return among this past season's top six scorers. Cole averaged 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. Forward Isaiah Jones is next-closest, having averaged 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds. Jones will be joined next season by his brother, point guard Jaylen Jones, transferring from Tennessee State.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984