If UW-Green Bay coach Tod Kowalczyk was a full time poker player it would be easier to explain the 07-08 season, and much of his rebuilding efforts over the past few years….. no luck, time to fold and get some air. Kowalczyk is not built that way.
After a disappointing .500 season the Phoenix coach has been going non stop. He has already gotten two commitments from rising high school seniors. When I caught up to him he was just back from the Minnesota High School Basketball Tournament. It was the morning after a long road trip, and Kowalczyk was gracious despite the clear signs of fatigue.
Every high school and JUCO player who has stayed in the Green Bay program has graduated. There are few division one coaches in the country who can match that record. The on court record has been respectable but not the breakthrough post-season tournament kind that Kowalczyk and Green Bays fan want.
07-08 could have been the season but three killer events stalled progress for a team that had no margin for problems.
Freshman point guard Rahmon Fletcher made the all newcomers team but was knocked out of action with what was considered a season ending foot injury during a game at Valparaiso. A potential road W turned into a defeat and was a major psychological loss for the team.
A high ankle sprain to “glue guy” post player Randy Berry put him on the pines for seven games and playing on one leg for three games. At the beginning of the season forward Mike Schachtner was the best player in the Horizon League scoring inside and out and pretty much unstoppable. Undisclosed personal problems stalled his production in the second half of the season.
Kowalczyk says the turning point for his team came against the consensus top 15 Butler Bulldogs. It was a tough home loss.
Beyond poker player luck - if Kowalczyk problems turning the corner can be traced to one issue - it is a failure to find the right players to man the point guard position. With All Newcomer Rahmon Fletcher “separating himself” in the point guard battle that piece of the puzzle seems to be in place.
In the coming season Kowalczyk returns three veteran senior starters who have the potential to be all league players. If Schachtner, Ryan Tillema and all defensive league player Terry Evans have the kind of season they are capable of having -- if Fletcher and the young guards continue to grow -- if the string of poker player bad luck ends in 08-09 then the UWGB Phoenix will be the best since the glory days of *** Bennett.
If if if.
In any of my talks with Coach Kowalczyk it appears you can learn more from how he says things rather than what he says. It requires reading between the lines. That is why you do not see specific quotes in this story . An educated guess from this writer – Kowalczyk’s retiring mentor and assistant coach Dale Race has at least one more major gift to give his protégée .
The league Green Bay plays in now is radically stronger than in the days when the Nix were regularly going to the NCAA and NIT. Kowalczyk has a stronger bond with the players than ever before. Without ever complaining you sense he feels the community expectations. He is dealing with it by focusing on the work that is needed. When asked about his life he talks about being a better coach now than when he first arrived and he talks about the life balance marriage and fatherhood has brought.
At least two players are expected to see court action from UWGB in the coming season. Brent Eaton is ranked among the top 20 players in Indiana high school ball. He averaged 22.2 points per game this past season for Northridge High School. The 6-5, three point specialist has been compared to former Marquette star and current Nix assistant coach Brian Wardle. Eaton scored 1,564 points in his prep career. 6-7 J.J. Henley is coming off a redshirt season. The Chicago native should provide more muscle and athleticism on the inside.
UWGB has commitments from two rising seniors: 6-9 post Clayton Heuer of Wisconsin Rapids averaged 17.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in his junior years. Former UWGB coach *** Bennett has described Heuer as a high skill player who must develop foot speed to reach his potential. He’s rated at the seventh best rising senior by Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook. 6-0 guard Seth Evans of Seneca, Illinois high school is a coach’s son, on a team that has captured a state title in Illinois. Starting for a smaller school since his freshman year, Evans has been described as one of the most underrated prep players in the state. He’s a second team all stater who averaged 21.1 points per game shooting nearly 54 percent from the field, 43 percent from three point range.