By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay men's basketball team will unofficially get its 2014-15 season underway on Thursday night at the Resch Center, hosting Ripon at 7 p.m. in an exhibition contest.  

After winning the Horizon League regular season title in 2013-14, the Green Bay enters this season with high hopes to defend. While the Phoenix was selected to repeat in the preseason poll, the task will not be easy as head coach Brian Wardle's team will need to replace 2014 NBA Draft Pick Alec Brown.

Despite losing an NBA Draft Pick, the Phoenix still returns the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, senior point guard Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.). As a junior, Sykes averaged 20.3 points and 4.9 assists per game in leading the Phoenix to a 24-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in conference play. At the conclusion of the season, Sykes was named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and USBWA All-District.

Sykes, the league's preseason player of the year, is joined on the roster by three other returning starters, including 6-foot-7 junior Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.), who has started all 65 games in his career. The preseason All-Horizon League selection has twice been voted to the Horizon League's All-Defensive Team, finishing second to Brown in last year's Defensive Player of the Year voting. In each of his two seasons, Fouse ranked in the league's top-five in rebounding, blocks and steals.

While ironically flying under the radar, high-flying Greg Mays (Chicago, Ill.) had a breakout junior season. Mays averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while ranking fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.586). Junior guard Carrington Love also returns after starting 14 games and averaging 7.9 points per game as a sophomore.   

FOLLOW IT LIVE: Thursday night's game will not be video streamed or televised, but fans can still follow along via radio, a live audio stream, social media or live stats. On WNFL's radio broadcast, listen to Matt Menzl and Mark Daniels on the call. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @gbphoenixmbb for live updates throughout the game.

PERCENTS RETURNING: Green Bay loses a three-time All-Horizon League performer in Brown, but returns four starters (Sykes, Love, Fouse and Mays) and nine players overall. In 2013-14, those nine players accounted for 70.7 percent of the team's points, 78.1 percent of the rebounds and 81.6 percent of the assists.

NO 7-FOOTERS BUT STILL TALL: Despite coaching a team without Brown for the first time, Wardle will still have lots of height and length at his disposal. The 13 Phoenix players have an average height of 6-foot-5 3/4 with the sophomore newcomer Henry Uwadiae (Benin City, Nigeria) standing the tallest at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan. Mays (6-9), Kerem Kanter (6-9), Alfonzo McKinnie (6-8), Kenneth Lowe (6-8), Fouse (6-7) and Turner Botz (6-7) join Uwadiae to give the Phoenix six players at 6-foot-7 or higher.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: The 2014-15 version of the Phoenix will have an international flavor, featuring players from three other countries. Sophomore Tevin Findlay (Malton, Ontario) represents Canada, Uwadiae hails originally from Benin City, Nigeria, and Kanter is a native of Istanbul, Turkey. Green Bay will also have players from three different states, including five from Illinois, four from Wisconsin and one from Indiana.

2K24: Sykes enters his senior campaign ranked tenth on Green Bay's all-time scoring list with 1,482 career points. Last season, the Chicago native scored 608 points, good for the fourth-most for a Phoenix player in a single-season. With 435 points, Sykes will move into second place all-time and with 518 points will become the only player other than Tony Bennett to reach the 2,000-point club.

HOME SWEET HOME: Green Bay enters 2014-15 with a 47-13 home record in four seasons under head coach Brian Wardle. Last season, the Phoenix went 13-4 at home but actually lost its final two games at the Resch Center.

PHO SLAMMA JAMMA: Last season, Green Bay tallied 97 dunks in 31 games, an average of 3.1 per contest. Greg Mays totaled a team-high 36 dunks while Sykes tallied 26. The Phoenix had eight different players record at least one dunk during the season. Led by Mays, who has 71 career dunks, the high-flying Phoenix was dubbed Pho Slamma Jamma by the Anchorage Daily News during the Great Alaska Shootout.

A-MAYS-ING: Mays had the best season of his career in 2013-14, averaging 10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and one block per game. On the strength of finishing around the rim and an improved jump shot, Mays ranked fourth in the Horizon League in field goal percentage (.586). In Horizon League play, Mays was second in the league in field goal percentage (.594, 63-106). Mays enters his senior season as the 11th-highest returning scorer and seventh-best returning rebounder.

SWAT TEAM: Brown may have rewritten the program block records, but he was not alone as a Phoenix eraser in helping Green Bay finish second nationally in blocks per game (7.2) and break the school record with 223. It marked the fourth-straight season that the program had set a single-season record for blocked shots. The Phoenix should still possess the ability to reject shots at the rim, with Fouse (97) and Mays (60) already ranking in the program's career top-10. Kenneth Lowe also recorded 28 blocks as a freshman.

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Season tickets, 5-game packs and single-game tickets are on sale now for. For more information on ticketing and seating options, visit the ticketing page on GreenBayPhoenix.com or by calling 920.465.2625.

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