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Post by skrapheap on Aug 5, 2023 14:25:35 GMT -6
My buddy from De Pere says that UWGB is "absolutely dominating in-state recruiting" at the moment. Thoughts? Green Bay Basketball is Back! đ
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Post by skrapheap on Aug 8, 2023 11:07:13 GMT -6
UW-Green Bay scores biggest coup since pmck was hired:
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Aug 22, 2023 12:29:16 GMT -6
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Post by bizzork on Aug 22, 2023 14:20:36 GMT -6
This season, Green Bay and IUPUI will play both of their head-to-head games at 11:00 CST on weekdays.
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Post by PantherU on Aug 22, 2023 19:55:21 GMT -6
This season, Green Bay and IUPUI will play both of their head-to-head games at 11:00 CST on weekdays. Good to know they value making it to class
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Post by ghostofdylan on Aug 22, 2023 20:43:49 GMT -6
This season, Green Bay and IUPUI will play both of their head-to-head games at 11:00 CST on weekdays. Good to know they value making it to class Class?!?! What class?!?!
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Post by Cactus Panther on Feb 3, 2024 9:57:30 GMT -6
Now that the Packer season is over it looks like they are starting to notice locally: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coach Sundance Wicks puts UWGB men's basketball in running for the best one-year turnaround in Division I history Scott Venci Green Bay Press-Gazette
GREEN BAY â This is not normal.
Nothing about the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay menâs basketball team under rookie coach Sundance Wicks has been conventional this season.
A Phoenix group picked to finish last in the Horizon League remained atop the standings Thursday after a 79-56 win over IUPUI in front of 5,490 at the Resch Center, its third straight victory and 10th in the last 12 games.
Wicks became the ninth coach in program history when he was hired in March, and he already has more wins than five of those coaches had in their debut season with the Phoenix at 15-9 overall, 10-3 in league play.
His 15 wins are better than the nine Dick Lien had in 1982-83. Much better than the five legendary coach Dick Bennett won in 1985-86, the 10 from Tod Kowalczyk in 2002-03, the 14 by Brian Wardle in 2010-11 and the eight from Will Ryan in 2020-21.
He is one win shy of tying Dave Buss, who started the program in 1969, although there is work to be done to catch Mike Heideman (25 wins) or Linc Darner (23), both of whom led the Phoenix to the NCAA Tournament in their first year.
Perhaps what makes Wicksâ journey a little more impressive is that he didnât take over talented teams like those that were left to Heideman or Darner.
He all but started from scratch building a roster, and considering the Phoenix won a combined 16 games the previous three seasons, hoping for 10 wins this season seemed like a best-case scenario.
That seems so foolish now.
A team that went 3-29 last season has put itself in the conversation for the best one-year turnaround in Division I menâs basketball history, which is the 17½ game improvement by Towson after it went from 1-31 in 2011-12 to 18-13 the following season.
âI donât think anybody expected this fast a turnaround,â UWGB athletic director Josh Moon said. âBut knowing Sunny, I think I first talked to him in 2011, knowing who he is and how he would attack this, itâs not surprising.â
The victories are what receives the most attention, but itâs been so much more for a school that must win the margins.
Grades in the classroom were less than inspiring last season. This team responded by earning a 3.25 grade-point average in the first semester, the second-highest mark in program history.
Wicksâ outreach in the community is exactly what Moon knew heâd bring, from his energy to his attitude.
His attention to detail also is noticed every time he attends a meeting and there is a notebook in his hand.
âI think we said from Day 1 that itâs all about who has the best plan,â Moon said. âThis is what his plan is. The magnitude of the turnaround is surprising, but he is built for something like this.â
Even those outside the program knew something good was happening at UWGB early on, even before the Phoenix really started to get in a groove this season.
UWGB lost at SIUE on Dec. 6 to fall to 4-5 overall.
SIUE coach and former UWGB assistant Brian Barone sent a text the following morning to offer his unsolicited take on Wicks.
âSundance is going to win there,â Barone said. âI really think heâs doing a good job.â
Hoping for a long Sundance Wicks era
Wicks has needed less than a season to show he can hire a quality assistant staff, recruit talent, develop it, and win both on the court and in the classroom.
So, how long will it take for another school to come calling?
UWGB fans have watched some of their coaches leave for bigger programs. They have recently watched players who were underrecruited have success with the Phoenix before bigger schools stole them away.
Trevor Anderson left after his freshman season in 2017 to play at Wisconsin. Amari Davis departed for Missouri in 2021 after two seasons. Kamari McGee spent one year in Green Bay but left before last season to play for the Badgers.
It might seem preposterous, and perhaps it is, to think Wicks could be one-and-done. Especially since there are seven games remaining in the regular season and nobody even knows how the Phoenix will do in the Horizon tournament next month.
But is it any crazier than what he already has pulled off?
It doesnât happen often, but itâs not unprecedented for a coach to stay one year before landing another job.
Buzz Williams spent one season at New Orleans in 2006-07 and then jumped to Marquette as an assistant for one year before taking over as head coach of the Golden Eagles.
Thad Matta was promoted from assistant to head coach at Butler in 2000-01 and led the Bulldogs to a 24-8 record. He was hired by Xavier that offseason.
Wicks and his family have adjusted well to Green Bay after he spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Wyoming.
He and his wife, Courteney, often did the same thing with their two young children, Grace and Skywalker, every weekend while in Laramie, Wyoming.
UWGB athletic director Josh Moon hired coach Sundance Wicks last March.
God bless those 31,659 people who live there, he will tell you, but there wasnât much to do but take the kids to the Ninja Warrior Gym.
Green Bay isnât exactly the Big Apple, but Wicks and crew have found plenty of entertainment.
They take Grace and Skywalker to Get Air Trampoline Park. The Green Bay Botanical Garden. The Childrenâs Museum.
He and Courteney also find a different date spot almost every week.
Wicks loves the house they found. Itâs out in the country a little bit and reminds the native of Gillette, Wyoming, of home.
Courteney is a teacher at Parkview Middle School in Ashwaubenon.
âWeâve lived in small towns with hard jobs in cold weather areas,â Wicks said. âWe are in a great job in a big town with cold weather. So, we get two different out of the three that we have never gotten.
âItâs been awesome. We love it. When you can get into a community, and they accept you and they care about you ⌠Itâs hard to beat, man. It really is.â
Wicks knows there are fans who worry about how other UWGB coaches have left for bigger jobs, but all of them stayed for five to 10 seasons.
What about Wicks? He loves it here, but what if this turnaround is so magical that other schools not only take notice but come calling?
Heâs not even pondering it, but he was asked the question, so he gave an answer.
âI donât placate to that stuff,â Wicks said. âI always say thatâs for everybody else to talk about. I donât get into that crap. I donât ever focus on that stuff. You donât mess with happy, right? My family is happy. Iâm happy. We are winning. Our team is happy.
âThose are the types of things that I call rat poison for a program, is when people start talking about that stuff.â
UWGB is prepared to step up
While itâs possible another school comes after Wicks, UWGB does have advantages.
Wicks signed a five-year contract in March with a salary of $235,000 per season, made up of a $200,000 base salary in addition to $35,000 paid through the UW-Green Bay Foundation.
If Wicks leaves any time prior to the 2026 national championship game, the buyout will be equivalent to three times the total base salary due for the prior contract year.
The requirement goes down to two times the base salary if notice is given prior to the 2027 title game and the equivalent to the total base salary if provided before the 2028 game.
A Power Five school wouldnât blink at those numbers. But others might find it less appealing to help pay as much as a $705,000 buyout along with a coaching salary.
Either way, Moon wants to go on offense when it comes to keeping Wicks and his staff.
Itâs one thing to lose a coach to a big-time program, like the Phoenix womenâs basketball team did when Kevin Borseth left for five seasons to take over at Michigan before returning.
But UWGB must find a way to pay its menâs coach enough that making a move to a conference like the Missouri Valley isnât a slam dunk.
There is no question UWGB needs more resources. There is a reason Moon believes the time is now to make it happen, to hope more donors and businesses step up to invest in the program to help achieve sustained success instead of the roller coaster it has been on.
Some of the benefits to the early fundraising dollars from last year already have been seen this season.
Wicks not only put together a strong staff with Pat Monaghan, Zach Malvik, Nic Reynolds and director of basketball operations Adam Owens, but he also was able to bring in former UWGB great Rahmon Fletcher as director of player development.
âTo be able to fund a new position, now GB has an extra position that we didnât have before,â Moon said. âA full-time position. How did we do that? We fundraised and we got the money for it.
âThatâs the stuff that makes a difference. Right now, Fletch is in there working with some guys. Itâs not just Sunny, itâs the whole package.â
Wicks and Moon meet every two weeks and are in constant communication.
Moon was asked whether Wicksâ contract could be extended this offseason or if a raise will be discussed. Wicks also would want to reward his assistants.
âItâs a fluid process,â Moon said. âThe contracts arenât just sitting in a binder somewhere. If that folder isnât something you look at all the time, then you are not doing your job.
âThatâs absolutely something that we have to be competitive. We have to be a destination. I think we are, but we have to increase that funnel now.â
Indeed, if Wicks ever does depart for another job because of a successful run, one big benefit he will leave behind is that he will have made UWGB a much more attractive spot.
There are some coaching candidates who wouldnât have even considered taking UWGBâs call last season because of how far the program had fallen and that it was one of the two or three worst teams in the nation.
How things have changed in 11 months since Wicks strolled into town.
âThat speaks to what Sunny has done,â Moon said. âYou have, literally, the worst team in the country statistically. To be able to come in and do that, it makes the story even more amazing.
âThis program was at its arguably lowest point in history. Thatâs what makes this story so amazing. The job he has done and his staff.â
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Post by PantherU on Feb 3, 2024 18:19:19 GMT -6
I needed Green Bay either to get their sh*t together as a university and program or I needed them to get the f*** out of our conference. It hurts our brand as a university to have people think the rest of the UW schools are interchangeable with us.
Seems to me like they've come a long way. Good for them.
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