Men's Basketball 12/30/2020 12:25:00 PM

Green Bay Returns to Ohio to Face Youngstown State

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay men's basketball team returns to Ohio this weekend to ring in the New Year with two games against Youngstown State. The Phoenix will tip-off at 3 p.m. on both days inside the Beeghly Center, with Friday's game streamed on ESPN+ and Saturday's on ESPN3.

GAME INFORMATION
Friday at Youngstown State // January 1, 2021
Beeghly Center // Tipoff at 3PM
Watch Live on ESPN+

Saturday at Youngstown State // January 2, 2021
Beeghly Center // Tipoff at 3PM
Watch Live on ESPN3

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
The Penguins enter the new year on a two-game losing streak after falling to Cleveland State on the Road. YSU was picked second behind Wright State in the league's preseason poll and is led by Naz Bohannon who averages 14.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG.

BEASTS IN THE BACKCOURT
With league officially underway, Green Bay is pleased with the performance of its guards. Amari Davis (17.8PPG), Josh Jefferson (15.3PPG) and PJ Pipes (12.6PPG) lead the Phoenix in scoring and all rank inside the top 20 in the Horizon League. Lucas Stieber is coming off the bench and providing quality minutes as well, ranking second in the conference with a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio.

THAT'S (AMARI)
Amari Davis is coming off one of the best games in his young career, pouring in a career-high 35 points in his return to Dayton last weekend. Davis currently ranks 4th in the Horizon League in scoring with a 17.8 PPG average. In league games only, he ranks third with 21.8 PPG.

NO TIME FOR TURNOVERS
The Green Bay men's basketball team has really been taking care of the rock 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.

ANSONG ELIGIBLE
Forward Emmanuel Ansong had his NCAA waiver request officially granted on Tuesday, Dec. 22 receiving immediate eligibility to play this season for the Phoenix. Ansong didn't technically qualify for the blanket waiver the NCAA Division I council approved, as he transferred from Wheeling University (a Division II institution) with the waiver only applying to those who transferred from a NCAA Division I institution to another. Ansong played under Coach Ryan at Wheeling.

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 set by Hall of Famer Tony Bennet in 1989, but he sank his first career three-pointer in the second half of GB's matchup at #4 Wisconsin this season. Davis has since added shots from deep to his repertoire, shooting an impressive 45.8% (11-24) from long range.

YOUNG PHOENIX FLYING
Green Bay started three freshmen and one sophomore in its weekend finale at Wright State. The lineup aided the Phoenix to a hot start, which led to a three-point lead (39-36) at the half over the Horizon League favorites. Lucas Stieber, Ryan Claflin and Terrance Thompson all received their first career starts this past weekend. The trio chipped in 16 points in Sunday's matchup.

THOMPSON HANGING TOUGH
Freshman Terrance Thompson received his first career start and set a new career high with six rebounds in Sunday's matchup against Wright State.

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. The Phoenix also took the hardwood against Marquette after their upset over the Badgers, battling the Golden Eagles to the end before falling 82-68.

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 all six of Green Bay's games this season. Jefferson is coming off a career-high 21-point performance against Milwaukee and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 15.3 PPG.

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.

DAVIS' DOMINANT FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
Not only did Amari Davis cement his name in the Phoenix record books, he 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

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 19 times. The Phoenix owns a 12-7 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