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LOCATION: Green Bay, WI
CONFERENCE: Midwestern Collegiate
LAST SEASON: 20-11 (.645)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-5 (3rd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Phoenix
COLORS: Green, Red & White
HOMECOURT: Brown County Arena (5,600)
COACH: Mike Heideman (UW-Lacrosse '71)
record at school 76-41 (4 years)
career record 142-66 (8 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Bob Semling (Wisc.-Eau Claire '81)
Ben Johnson (Wisconsin-Green Bay '92)
Woody Wilson (Wisconsin-Oshkosh '65)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 22-25-13-17-20
RPI (last 5 years) 68-21-166-100-121
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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The way Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Mike Heideman looks at it, he'll have more options than a diner menu this year. No kidding. Four players with starting experience over the course of their careers, led by 6-4 senior guard B.J. LaRue, are back from last year's 20-11 team whose season ended with a triple-overtime loss to Butler in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference semifinal. So, those returnees will be hungry. And if they aren't, Heideman has 10 count 'em 10 newcomers at his disposal, too. "I think we bring a nice combination of veteran players who have been through a great deal and some young players who are hungry to get some quality playing time," Heideman said. "I like that combination and it will be the coaching staff's job to mix and match in order to get the strength out of the whole group." Although some of the faces will change, expect Heideman's recipe of success to remain the same. Last year, the Phoenix ranked among the top five nationally in scoring defense (fifth, 56.0) and three-point field-goal percentage (second, .420). Despite the graduation of hot-shooting Ryan Borowicz (78-of-159, .491 3 PT), look for the Phoenix to keep dialing long distance, especially after they set school records for three-pointers made (219) and attempted (521) last season. The leader of the 1999-2000 perimeter barrage figures to be LaRue (team-high 13.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 67 assists, 38 steals). The battle-tested 6-4 senior was a second-team All-MCC selection last year. He posted 29 points in the memorable loss to Butler in late February. LaRue ranked 15th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (.463) and led the MCC in free-throw percentage (.845 FT). "I'm looking for B.J. to continue to improve," Heideman said. "Not just shooting the ball, which he has done well for us in the past, but also making the players around him better. B.J. will be our leader both on and off the court and I know it is an assignment he looks forward to." Point guard Luke Kiss (3.2 ppg, 179 assists, 37 steals) must be replaced, but Heideman believes that he has three viable candidates in 5-10 sophomore DeVante Blanks, 6-3 junior Paul Kraft and 6-4 sophomore Aaron Jessup.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C+ BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES B+
Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Mike Heideman returns four players with starting experience from last year's 20-11 team, his second 20-win season with the Phoenix. The best of that lot is senior shooting guard B.J. LaRue (13.2 ppg), who started all 31 games last year and was among the national leaders in three-point shooting percentage at .463 (62-for-134). Accurate three-point bombing (UW-Green Bay made a school-record 219 threes last year) is just one constant for the Phoenix. The other is stout team defense the Phoenix were among the top five teams nationally in scoring defense. The backcourt, led by LaRue, seems solid, so the question is how well the versatile Jerry Carstensen (10.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) can anchor a young frontcourt. If he can, it'll be another top-half finish in the MCC standings for the Phoenix who figure to battle Rollie Massimino's improving Cleveland State squad for third place in the MCC, behind Detroit and Butler. |
Blanks (1.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 21 assists) is considered the frontrunner. He's the quickest player on the roster. Heideman is a defense-first coach, so Blanks' foot speed and his knack for playing solid on-the-ball defense make him the logical choice to replace Kiss, an All-MCC defender last year. Blanks will need to clean up his assist-to-turnover ratio (seven more miscues than assists last year) and must stop shooting like his last name would indicate (.302 FG) to hold off the challenge of Kraft and Jessup. Kraft (3.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 48 assists, 18 steals) is more of a natural two- guard, but he possesses good size, strength and quickness, so he'll see time at both guard spots. Kraft is the poster boy for UW-Green Bay hoops. He's tough, as evidenced by the fact that he suffered a concussion, ruptured his left eardrum and suffered a sever ankle sprain last season, yet missed only two games. And also by the fact that he can stroke the three-ball (.367 3 PT). Newcomer Jessup, or "A.J." as his coaches and teammates call him, joins the squad after missing last season because of academics. The 6-4 sophomore guard's size, strength and ability to take the ball all the way to the rim seem to perfectly complement the outside shooting skills of LaRue and Kraft. Senior Ben Royten (1.0 ppg, 0.1 rpg) begins his third season as a walk-on for the Phoenix. An MCC All-Academic selection, Royten might be the best pure shooter on a team filled with them. His biggest contribution to the team will continue to come in practice, where he works hard to get his teammates ready for battle. Freshmen Greg Monfre, Derek Schiedt, Ashley Booth and Gene Evans are all walk-ons for Heideman. The best of this lot appear to be Booth and Evans. Booth has shown the ability to run the offense and score in matchups against last year's starting five, while Booth is a hard-working guy who gets better all the time. On the wings, Heideman has four players he feels comfortable using. Ryan Mueller, a 6-6 sophomore, was a pleasant surprise last season. Mueller (4.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 26 assists, 13 steals) can drive to the basket or drill the long-range jumper (.442 3 PT). He averaged more than 20 minutes per game as a freshman and played in every game, including 13 starts. Mueller is the odds-on favorite to start at small forward and to play a lot more minutes than he did a year ago. Jeremy Pfister a 6-5 senior, is a heady, blue-collar type who will spell LaRue at the two and Mueller at the three spot. Pfister (1.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg) knows that his job description is to work hard and to provide spot-up shooting. He'll do just that, if called upon. Chancellor Collins, a 6-4 redshirt freshman, has explosive athletic skills. The question remains: Is he 100 percent healthy? Last season, Collins was sidelined by a nagging foot injury. If he's OK, Collins can take the ball to the basket and either finish himself or kick it out to shooters. He'll be a valuable addition, if he can pick up his defensive effort and if his foot no longer aches. Freshman Lannce Hargrove rounds out the list of swingmen, although he could be a redshirt candidate. The slender 6-4 Hargrove needs to put some serious meat on his bones (just 175 pounds with change in his pockets). Hargrove improved markedly during his senior season at Troy (Ohio) High School. He can shoot the ball and has better-than-you'd-think ballhandling skills. In the paint, 6-7 senior Jerry Carstensen will be the team's anchor now that he's 100 percent healthy after last year's bothersome abdominal strain. Carstensen (10.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 25 assists, 16 steals, 8 blocked shots) didn't let the injury slow him down last year. Heideman needs him to be an on-the-court leader in 1999-2000. "He is a warrior and a leader on this team," Heideman said. "We are young in the paint this year and we will need Jerry to help us bring the young men along and show them how we play the game at UW-Green Bay." One of those youngsters has a decent idea of how the Phoenix play the game already. That's 6-9, 235-pound redshirt freshman Greg Babcock. Babcock, who grew an incredible 10 inches during his four years of high school, made good use of his redshirt year, learning the system and packing on a much-needed 20 pounds of muscle. "We certainly hope to improve our interior defense and offensive rebounding with Greg," Heideman said. "Sometimes you need mass and strength. Our league is becoming much more physical, so we need some of that (size) to combat our opponents." Two frontcourt newcomers, 6-8 freshman Mike King and 6-9 freshman Chris Hempel, should also figure in the mix. King, a Canadian import, put up impressive numbers in leading St. James to the Ontario provincial title with a 40-3 record. King averaged 22.0 points, 17.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists last year. He can pop out and hit the three-pointer, a must to play for the Phoenix. Hempel, at 6-9 and 245 pounds, is the biggest player in UW-Green Bay's program. Because the MCC is becoming more and more physical, Hempel will probably dress rather than redshirt. Either way, he'll learn the low-post ropes from Carstensen.
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