Note: I did not attend Monday’s game and can only base these assessments off of the dulcet tones of Brian Kuklinski’s radio call on the Phoenix Sports Network.  Also, any stats listed below are unofficial as both UWGB and SNC decided “by mutual agreement, game statistics will not be made publicly available.”

In what was the unofficial start to the Sundance Wicks era, Green Bay hung on for a 65-63 victory over St. Norbert at the Kress Center on Monday night in the team’s lone exhibition game of the season.

When we wrote a similar piece after GB squeaked past the Green Knights by 5 points in an exhibition game last year, we wrote that it wasn’t time to hit the panic button.  Turns out, it actually was a sign of things to come as the Phoenix ended up being one of the worst Division I teams in the entire country.

So does that mean an even tighter margin in this year’s exhibition should start ringing some alarm bells?

I still say no, it is not a worthwhile exercise to read too much into exhibition results.  There are just too many variables – players sitting out with injuries, coaches tinkering with lineups and rotations, and just an overall incredibly small sample size – to start rushing to judgement. 

With all that being said, with so many unknowns (and what we do know from how last season went), it makes sense that Horizon League coaches and media picked GB to finish last in the conference’s pre-season poll.

Anyway, lets talk through some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from Monday night’s exhibition:

The Good:

The Phoenix have been a downright atrocious three-point shooting team over the past three years knocking down 33.3% of their three-point attempts in 2021, 28.2% in 2022, and 30.1% last season in 2023.

The team reportedly shot 9/26 (34.6%) from behind the arc last night – which isn’t great – but it is better!

A shining bright spot offensively was Southern Illinois transfer Foster Wonders who scored 14 points going 4/9 from behind the arc. The 6’5” sophomore guard from Iron Mountain, MI shot 34.7% from behind the arc at SIU last season as a redshirt freshman with 49 of his 59 field goal attempts coming from three-point land. He should get plenty of shot opportunities this season and could be a dangerous weapon that Green Bay has not had out on the perimeter in a few years.  Another player, Rich Byhre – who was unavailable for Monday’s game – shot 40.0% with a lot of volume (46/115) from behind the arc last season in Division II at Rockhurst and should also dramatically help the team’s three point shooting this season.

Noah Reynolds struggled a bit from behind the arc but ended up as the leading scorer for Green Bay with 15 points on 6/18 shooting.  He was just 1/7 from behind the arc but his All-Conference caliber driving, penetrating, and playmaking abilities were on full display.  He also chipped in 6 assists.

Elijah Jones, the 6’7” wing from South Holland, IL, was in the starting lineup and was active on both ends of the flooring scoring 8 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, staking his claim that he should be in the starting lineup when the season tips off for real Monday night at Iowa State. He helped the Phoenix win the rebounding battle by ten, 40-30.

The Bad:

Obviously only being able to beat the local Division III team by two points is not ideal.  However, more concerning is the fact that before the season has even officially begun, three key players were unavailable for Monday’s game due to injury and a fourth went down less than 4 minutes into the game.  Rich Byhre, Clarence Cummings, and Preston Ruedinger were all in street clothes and did not play while Will Eames suffered an apparent foot injury just before the first media timeout and did not return to the game.

Byhre is almost certainly a lock to be in the starting lineup this season with Cummings likely to join him while both Ruedinger and Eames are expected to be heavily involved in the rotation.

According to Kuklinski, Byhre is in the team’s concussion protocol but is expected to return to practice this week and should be available for Monday’s season opener.  Cummings is dealing with several nagging injuries but, from the sounds of it, should be available for the Iowa State game as well. 

Ruedinger, meanwhile, was seen with a walking boot on his left foot and will apparently be sidelined for several weeks.  Per Kuklinski, he could potentially be back for the Horizon League opener on December 2^nd. His absence will create more playing time opportunities for senior Ryan Wade, who started Monday night’s game, as well as true freshman David Douglas, who showed flashes and finished the game with 7 points.

The severity of Will Eames’ injury was not available as of this post. True freshman Jacob Antchak, the 6’8″ big man from Canada who also scored 7 points for the Phoenix last night, could be in line for additional minutes should Eames be forced to miss some time.

The Ugly:

The score didn’t have to be so close.  In fact, the Green Knights actually had a decent look at a game-winning three pointer at the buzzer that thankfully was off the mark. But prior to that, Green Bay led 65-61 with 7 seconds left and had a chance to put the game away at the free throw line. 

Instead, the Phoenix missed four consecutive free throws and kept St. Norbert in the game.  Overall, it was a brutal night at the free throw line with Green Bay shooting 10-24 (41.6%) from the charity stripe, leaving a lot of potential points off the board. Will this be a season-long issue or a blip on the radar due to preseason rust and jitters?

At the end of the day, thankfully this was just an exhibition.  There will certainly be a lot of growing pains with a completely revamped roster and a brand-new coaching staff.  Still, it was not one of those “burn the tape” games that Phoenix fans witnessed so many of last season – there are legitimate things to build on and learn from.  In addition, lots of young players got to take advantage of key players sitting out and gained some valuable on-court time because of it.

Take this exhibition win for what it is, a game that did not count in a season that will surely be full of unknowns and plenty of ups and downs. 

Well, hopefully some ups after all the downs that GB fans have been through the past few years.