Men's Basketball 12/17/2020 2:18:00 PM

Green Bay Opens League Slate with Milwaukee at Home Saturday, Sunday

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- Horizon League play officially gets underway for the Phoenix this weekend, as Green Bay welcomes in-state and league-foe Milwaukee to the Kress Center for games on Saturday and Sunday. Both contests will be streamed live on ESPN3.

GAME INFORMATION
Saturday vs Milwaukee // December 19, 2020
Kress Center // Tipoff at 1PM
Watch Live on ESPN3

Sunday vs Milwaukee // December 20, 2020
Kress Center // Tipoff at 1PM
Watch Live on ESPN3

PAIRINGS WITH THE PANTHERS
Green Bay owns a 40-26 advantage in the all-time series with in-state rival Milwaukee, but it has been even more dominant in recent history, claiming victory in eight of the last 10 matchups.

NO TIME FOR TURNOVERS
The Green Bay men's basketball team has really been taking care of the rock in the nonconference season. Most recently, the Phoenix surrendered only five turnovers at Marquette, a team which ranks atop the Big East in numerous defensive categories. The last time a team had such few turnovers against the Golden Eagles was on March 7, 2018, when Creighton yielded only four.

WE WANT MOORE
Toledo transfer Donavan Moore is now immediately eligible after the NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to grant a blanket waiver allowing all Division-I transfers to play immediately this year. Emmanuel Ansong is a transfer from DII Wheeling University, so the blanket waiver does not apply.

FINDING HIS RANGE
It may come as a shock considering Amari Davis was the HL Freshman of the Year and broke the program's freshman scoring record, but he sank his first career three-pointer in the second half of GB's matchup at #4 Wisconsin. Davis added another to his tally in Green Bay's Saturday matchup with EIU.

CLAPPIN' FOR CLAFLIN
Freshman Ryan Claflin played valuable minutes in Green Bay's double-overtime matchup with Eastern Illinois, adding a career-high 10 points on a near-perfect 4-of-5 effort from the field which included two triples.

THOMPSON PLAYING TOUGH
Freshman Terrance Thompson finished 3-for-3 with one three-pointer in 27 minutes and added eight points to GB's total. He also pulled down four rebounds and dished out one assist.

BATTLES WITH B1G PROGRAMS
The Green Bay men's basketball hasn't shied away from tough competition to open the season, taking the floor against back-to-back opponents from the big ten. One of those matchups included the #4 ranked Wisconsin Badgers.

OUR REIGNING ROOKIE
Sophomore Amari Davis was named the Horizon League freshman of the year last season and earned an all-league third-team nod. In result, Davis was named to the preseason all-league first team and will look to build upon last year's success.

JEFFERSON FINDING HIS STRIDE
Redshirt Senior Josh Jefferson saw in-game action at Minnesota for the first time in 628 days. Although it seems like the guard hasn't missed a step, securing double-figure scoring in each of GB's early season games. Jefferson has led the Phoenix in scoring once this season and is tied for first on the team with 14.8 PPG.

PIPES PRODUCTION
With league play on the Horizon, Green Bay is pleased with the performance of its guards through the first four games. Josh Jefferson and PJ Pipes both rank inside the top 10 in scoring, with Amari Davis following closely behind at the 12 spot. Lucas Stieber is coming off the bench and providing quality minutes as well, ranking fifth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 2.4.

RYAN'S FIRST RECRUITING CLASS
Head coach Will Ryan completed his first recruiting class at the helm of the Green Bay basketball program in early November, as three in-state standouts inked national letters of intent to play for the Phoenix during the signing period. Kamari McGee (Racine, Wis.), Brayden Dailey (Cuba City, Wis.) and Cade Meyer (Monroe, Wis.) will all join the roster next season. McGee, Meyer and Dailey are widely considered three of the top-10 players from Wisconsin in the 2021 class.

DOMINANT DAVIS
Amari broke the program's freshman scoring record last season which was previously held by Virginia head coach and hall of famer, Tony Bennett. Davis also left his mark from a league-wide standpoint when he accumulated 10 HL freshman of the week honors, breaking Dikembe Dixson's record of eight set in 2015-16.

WELCOMING WILL RYAN
Head coach Will Ryan joins the Phoenix after a year at Wheeling University where he improved the Cardinal's record from 9-21 to 14-13.

FRESH PHOENIX FACES
Green Bay welcomes a total of 11 new members to the squad in 2020-21 and returns only two players with in-game experience from last season. The Phoenix has eight freshmen on the roster.

IN-STATE RIVALRY ROUNDUP
Green Bay has taken the floor against two in-state opponents in the non-conference portion of its season, falling at #4 Wisconsin, 82-42, and battling at Marquette before the Golden Eagles pulled away down the stretch, 82-68. The Phoenix will open the league portion of its season next weekend against the third and final DI in-state opponent, as GB welcomes Milwaukee to the Kress Center for back-to-back games.
In-State Records
vs Milwaukee: 40-26
vs Marquette: 3-10
vs Wisconsin: 1-25
vs ALL: 44-61

JEFFERSON JUMPING IN
Josh Jefferson, a transfer from Illinois State in 2019-20, is eligible for the 2020-21 season after sitting out last year due to NCAA division I transfer rules. Jefferson averaged 8.7 PPG with the Redbirds and buried 41 triples in 21 games.

RETURNING MINUTES
Green Bay returns two starters from last season, senior PJ Pipes and sophomore Amari Davis, who also happen to be the only players returning to the roster who donned the green and white for the Phoenix. Pipes averaged 27.1 MPG and Davis logged 28.6 MPG, totaling 55.7 of the possible 200 minutes. That's 28% of the team's minutes from last season.

RYAN'S RECORD ON STAFF
Will Ryan joined his father's staff at Wisconsin in 2002 and has made stops at North Dakota State (2007-14), Ohio (2014-19) and Wheeling (2019-20) before taking the helm at Green Bay. His record on staff at previous stops is an impressive 352-221.

Overall Record before GB: 352-221
Wisconsin: 123-42
North Dakota State: 134-84
Ohio: 81-77
Wheeling: 14-13

KRASHING THE KRESS
Since the inception of the Kress Events Center in November 2007, the men's basketball program has taken the floor in official game action 17 times. The Phoenix owns a 12-5 record in those contests, with 10 of those victories spanning over the last two seasons.

PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Wright State (37) – 517
2. Youngstown State (3) – 423
3. Northern Kentucky (4) – 413
4. Robert Morris – 345
5. UIC – 312
6. Oakland – 288
7. Cleveland State – 283
8. Green Bay – 253
9. Detroit Mercy – 185
10. Milwaukee – 172
11. Purdue Fort Wayne – 127
12. IUPUI - 114

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Players Mentioned

#2 PJ Pipes: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#1 Amari Davis: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#0 Josh Jefferson: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Lucas Stieber: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

#13 Ryan Claflin: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

#21 Terrance Thompson: F; 6' 8"; Freshman

#32 Donavan Moore: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#23 Emmanuel Ansong: F; 6' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 PJ Pipes
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Amari Davis
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#0 Josh Jefferson
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#5 Lucas Stieber
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#13 Ryan Claflin
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F

#21 Terrance Thompson
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: F

#32 Donavan Moore
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#23 Emmanuel Ansong
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F