From 1995 to 2018, there was only one former Green Bay Phoenix men’s basketball player to have their jersey retired: the great Tony Bennett. The current Virginia head coach (and the greatest player in the UWGB program’s 50+ year history) had his number 25 jersey retired during a ceremony at the old Brown County Arena back on February 18th, 1995. 

Jeff Nordgaard became the second Green Bay player to have his jersey retired when the program raised his number 33 jersey to the Resch Center rafters during a halftime ceremony on December 1st, 2018.

Now, three of the all-time greats from the early days of Phoenix basketball will be the next to have their jerseys retired during an upcoming game this month.

Dennis Woelffer, Tom Anderson, and Ron Ripley will all be honored and have their jerseys retired during a special recognition ceremony when Green Bay takes on Detroit Mercy on Alumni Day at the Resch Center on January 27th.

All three players were part of the first ever class inducted into the Green Bay Phoenix Hall of Fame in 1993 and still to this day have their names all over the mens basketball program’s history book.

Woelffer, who starred for the Phoenix from 1969-1973, was a member of the school’s first ever basketball team that began play in the 1969-1970 season competing at the NAIA level. He is third on the program’s all-time scoring list finishing his Green Bay career with 1,916 points which has only been surpassed by Bennett’s 2,285 and Keifer Sykes’ 2,096. He is also third in career scoring average (17.3 per game) and field goals made (727). 

In addition to scoring, the 6’5″ Woelffer was the program’s all-time leader in career rebounds with 947, a record that stood for decades until being passed by Jordan Fouse in 2016.

The Marshall, Wisconsin native was named a Second Team NAIA All-American during his senior season in 1973 and helped Green Bay to a 28-4 overall record and a trip to the Elite Eight in the NAIA Tournament.

Anderson, a 6’2″ point guard, played at Green Bay from 1974-1978 and still holds the program’s single season assist record at 193 during the 1977 season. In total, his 560 career assists ranks second behind only Bennett’s 601.

In addition to distributing the basketball, he also led the team in scoring his senior season averaging 14.8 points per game and sits 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,505 career points.

The Green Bay native was named a Second Team NCAA Division II All-American by the NABC in 1977 and a First Team All-American during his senior season in 1978. He was the program’s first NBA draft pick after being selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 10th round of the 1978 NBA Draft.

Ripley, a 6’10” forward, was a member of the Phoenix from 1975-1979 and was an incredibly efficient scorer. In fact, the top three seasons in terms of individual field goal percentage all belong to Ripley – he shot 66.3% from the floor in 1976, 66.8% from the floor in 1977, and 67.8% from the floor in 1978. He’s the career leader in that category by a wide margin shooting 64.7% from the floor for his career – the next closest is Greg Babcock, who shot 58.7% from the floor during his Green Bay career from 1999-2003.

Ripley ranks 5th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,751 points scored and is third on the all-time rebounding list behind Fouse and Woelffer with 852 career rebounds.

He was a First Team Division II All-American in 1979 and Second Team All-American in both 1977 and 1978.

The Pulaski, Wisconsin native became the program’s second ever NBA draft pick when the Golden State Warriors drafted him in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft. 

Alumni Day takes place at the Resch Center on Saturday, January 27th with the Phoenix hosting Detroit Mercy. Tip off is scheduled for noon.