Men's Basketball 12/3/2020 10:36:00 AM

Green Bay Welcomes Eastern Illinois for Home Opener Saturday

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay men's basketball season is set to take the floor at home for the first time in the 2020-21 season on Saturday, as the Phoenix (0-2) welcomes Eastern Illinois (1-3) to the Kress Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

GAME INFORMATION
vs Eastern Illinois // December 5, 2020
Kress Center // Tipoff at 2PM
Watch Live on ESPN3

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Following three tough games on the road to open the season, Eastern Illinois played its first home game on Thursday against Chicago State and claimed a 78-56 victory in the in-state pairing. EIU has early season road losses at No. 7 Wisconsin, Marquette and Dayton.

HOME SWEET HOME
Over the past decade the Green Bay men's basketball team has been successful at defending its home court, owning an impressive record of 117-34 which equates to a .775 winning percentage.

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.

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.

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 16 times. The Phoenix owns a 12-4 record in those contests, with 10 of those victories spanning over the last two seasons.

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. 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. Jefferson scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half against the Gophers. He followed that performance up with a 12-point outing at Wisconsin.

PIPES PRODUCTION
PJ Pipes ranked 11th in the horizon league in steals last season, totaling 39 and averaging 1.26 per game. He also ranked 10th in three-pointers made with 55. Pipes also finished second on the team in assists with 73 while only surrendering 30 turnovers.

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.

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#2 PJ Pipes

#1 Amari Davis

#0 Josh Jefferson

Players Mentioned

#2 PJ Pipes

#1 Amari Davis

#0 Josh Jefferson