Wisconsin-Green BayOctober 17, 2007
COACH AND PROGRAM
Wisconsin-Green Bay's 2006-07 season could be viewed in some ways as a success and in others as a bit of a disappointment. The Phoenix had high expectations. Not all were achieved.
The 18 wins were the most in Tod Kowalczyk's tenure. However, the Phoenix hoped to be in the hunt down the stretch in February for a Horizon League title and that didn't happen. At 7-9 in league play, UW-Green Bay was back in the pack.
''We were very inconsistent,'' Kowalczyk said. ''We never came together as a team.''
Looking ahead, a case could be made that the Phoenix have the tools to gear up for another run at the top of the standings as several talented young players continue to develop.
There's one significant loss to overcome, replacing departed point guard Ryan Evanochko (15.0 ppg), and that's no small project. Evanochko led the league in assists, assist to turnover ratio and minutes played. However, reading between the lines it seems Kowalczyk isn't mourning the loss of his leading scorer.
''I like the guys we have this year,'' he said. ''Our leadership and chemistry is better on this team than it was last year.''
Also gone is Josh Lawrence (7.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg), a four-year do-it-all kind of guy. Green Bay got a head start on that job when a head injury forced Lawrence to miss the final six games last win-ter. Also departed, though, is Aswan Minatee (4.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg), the guy who moved into the lineup after Lawrence's injury.
The Phoenix have a number of weapons back, weapons that played a big role in UW-Green Bay leading the Horizon League in three-point shooting (38.3 percent) and free-throw accuracy (76.0).
''We do shoot the ball well,'' said Kowalczyk, ''and we need to find a way to shoot more threes. I don't think we took enough of them last year. We led the league in percentage but were fourth or fifth in threes made per game.''
PLAYERS
Mike Schachtner (14.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg) heads a nucleus of five key returnees. Schachtner is a 6-9 forward who built on a fine freshman season by becoming a second-team all-league player as a sophomore. If he shows the same improvement again, Schachtner will be one of the top players in the conference. His forte is putting the basketball in the hole, from any range. He hit 49.6 per-cent of his three-point tries (52-of-114), third best in the league. Getting to the free-throw line is another of his tools. At 91.2 percent, he's one of the best in the nation.
''He's better,'' said Kowalczyk. ''He's always been a good perimeter shooter. He's gotten much better with his skills from the perimeter. Now he's a playmaker on the perimeter. He's also added some strength. He's a power forward, but a skilled power forward.''
What Schachtner is to offense, Terry Evans (7.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is to defense. The 6-5 junior is a two-time repeater on the Horizon's all-defensive team. Last year he tied a school season record with 47 blocked shots and came up one short of the school season steals record with 56.
''He's such a good defender,'' Kowalczyk said. ''He's such a good rebounder we can play him at [the four] and play Mike Schachtner at the five at times. We'll be more versatile this year.''
As good as Schachtner was behind the arc, teammate Troy Cotton (7.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg) was even better. The sophomore from Milwaukee hit 46.3 percent (54-of-117) of his treys to rank second in the league behind Butler's Pete Campbell. The 6-1 Cotton started 22 games as a freshman and shared the team's most improved award with Schachtner. Cotton managed only 17 assists last year, so it's clear where his priorities lie.
Ryan Tillema (8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg) is the third three-point threat. The 6-8 junior guard hit ''only" 35.9 percent but had more attempts (128) than either Schachtner or Cotton. Tillema averaged 23.8 minutes and was in and out of the starting lineup. A month's absence because of mononucleosis in mid-season disrupted his progress. Like Schachtner, Tillema is money at the free-throw line, hitting 84.8 percent, and he's gained 20 pounds.
Another key returnee is 6-9 sophomore Randy Berry (2.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Yet another tall member of that 2005 in-state signing class, Berry doesn't share a penchant for three-point shooting with Schachtner and Tillema. In fact, he didn't attempt a single one. Berry red-shirted his first year on campus, then got in the mix last year to the tune of 15 minutes a game and 10 starts. He contributes with post defense and rebounding.
Two veterans who will again come off the bench are Tevah Morris (1.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and Cordero Barkley (1.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg). Morris, a 6-9 senior, is called upon for defense. However, he's been called on less each year and averaged only 5.7 minutes last season. Barkley is a 6-5 junior who averaged 8.1 minutes and got three starts. Any damage he does will be inside the arc.
The newcomers match the veterans in terms of numbers. Several of them have a chance to step into Evanochko's vacated role of running the offense. D'Angalo Jackson is a 6-0 fresh-man point guard who transferred from Creighton. He doesn't become eligible until the second semester, however. The Milwaukee high school product chose Creighton over UWGB, but lasted only one semester in Omaha and never played. He has three and a half years of eligibility remaining.
Edgar Segura is a 6-3 freshman point guard out of Weslaco High School in Texas. The native of Mexico is a pass-first guard with a flair. This isn't UW-Green Bay's first connection with Spanish-speaking recruits. Javier Mendiburu and Benito Flores fared well with the Phoenix in recent years.
Freshman Rahmon Fletcher is a third incoming point guard. The 5-10 Kansas City product should be a good fit in the Horizon League and could lay claim to the point-guard job early.
Bryquis Perine is a 6-3 freshman combo guard out of Milwaukee Vincent High School who hopes to work his way into the rotation.
''He's as talented a guy as we've ever signed,'' Kowalczyk said. ''He could compete for significant playing time.''
Yet another guard, 6-1 junior Eric VanCleave, has been on campus a year after transferring from Minnesota State, where he appeared in all 31 games and made three starts as a sophomore in 2005-06.
So while Evanochko is gone, there are any number of ways to fill his vacancy.
''We have five guys who could play the point,'' Kowalczyk said.
Fletcher and Segura are the true point guards, but Jackson, Perine and VanCleave are capable of performing those duties, as well as playing elsewhere on the perimeter.
The frontcourt is due for some new blood, too. Pat Nelson is a 6-9 sophomore forward who transferred from Ball State. Nelson started 14 games as a freshman before sitting out last year in Green Bay.
''Pat's probably our best low-post scorer,'' Kowalczyk said, ''and he's a big defender inside.''
J.J. Henley is a 6-7 freshman forward out of Chicago Lincoln Park who will add some bulk.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B
BENCH/DEPTH: B+
FRONTCOURT: B
INTANGIBLES: B-
Wisconsin-Green Bay fell short of high expectations last winter. One reason may be that of 200 minutes per game, 132 of them were occupied by freshmen and sophomores. Whether their sights were set too lofty is by now a moot point.
All that matters is taking another step forward this winter. The Phoenix will be an interesting mix of old and new.
Surely, point guard and leading scorer Evanochko will be tough to replace for all the things he did, at least statistically.
However, UW-Green Bay should set the bar high again this year because of the returning talent and experience -- and an influx of new blood. In Schachtner and Evans, the Phoenix have an outstanding scorer and a top-notch defender, respectively. Tillema and Cotton provide further shooting that will make this a tough team to guard on the perimeter.
There is no shortage of candidates to take Evanochko's place running the attack. Jackson, Fletcher and Perine added athleticism and quickness to the perimeter. If team chemistry holds strong, this could be the team nipping at Butler's heels.
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