GREEN BAY, Wis. – Entering its second week of the regular season, the Green Bay men's basketball team will head south to Florida for three games in the 2021 Jersey Mike's Classic in St. Petersburg. The Phoenix will battle three other strong mid-major programs in UNC Greensboro, FIU and Weber State at Eckerd College. 
 
Thursday, Nov. 18 - 2 p.m. CT - St. Petersburg, Florida (Eckerd College)
Green Bay vs. UNC Greensboro
TV: CBS Sports Network
Links: Listen Live | Live Stats | Watch Live 

Friday, Nov. 19 - 7 p.m. CT - St. Petersburg, Florida (Eckerd College)
Green Bay vs. Florida International University (FIU)
TV: PlutoTV
Links: Listen Live | Live Stats | Watch Live 

Thursday, Nov. 21 - 2 p.m. CT - St. Petersburg, Florida (Eckerd College)
Green Bay vs. Weber State
TV: PlutoTV
Links: Listen Live | Live Stats | Watch Live 

SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO
The Spartans have started their season on a roll, winning their first three games of the 2021-22 season. They opened the season with a 57-53 win against North Carolina A&T, followed by a 70-69 win at Northern Kentucky and a 55-48 win against Coppin State. De'Monte Buckingham has been a key cog for UNC-Greensboro, averaging 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0-percent from the field and 41.2-percent from three.

SCOUTING FIU
FIU stared the year at Georgia, narrowly falling to the Bulldogs, 58-51. Following, they hosted Division II Trinity College, beating the Tigers 111-48. The Panthers have three players scoring in double-figures. Daniel Parrish leads the way with 15.0, Tevin Brewer is averaging 14.0, and Denver Jones chips in 10.0.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE
Weber State has started the year 2-0, with a huge 100-60 win over Western Colorado, followed by a 63-59 road win at Duquense. The Wildcats sport a balanced attack, with five players averaging double-figures. Koby McEwen leads the way, averaging 18.5 points on 52.6-percent from the field and 63.6-percent from three. As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 53.3-percent on the year.
 
NICE TO MEET YOU
Green Bay has never played against UNC-Greensboro or Weber State. It will be just the second time the Phoenix plays FIU. The last meeting between the two teams was on March 26, 2019 when GB handled the Panthers 98-68.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Green Bay played in the Wisconsin state capitol last Friday, losing to the Wisconsin Badgers,72-34.

REJECTING AT THE RIM
In each of their first two games, the Phoenix have blocked four shots against Indiana State, four different players collected a block, while Japannah Kellogg III added two blocks of his own against Wisconsin.

MEYER MINUTES
Freshman Cade Meyer has made an impact with the Phoenix. The Monroe, Wisconsin native has scored 14 points in 36 minutes. Meyer's 6'8" frame has helped him contribute mostly in the paint, where he's shooting 50 percent.

CEM IN THE ROUGH
Despite the lopsided loss last Friday, Cem Kirciman was a bright spot for the phoenix. The Bursa, Turkey native tied with Tutu Majok for a team-high five points against the Badgers. He was 2-for-4 from the field and played 17 minutes, second-most in his collegiate career. 
 
MANNY ON A MISSION
Junior Emmanuel Ansong played a leading role in the Phoenix' opener against Indiana State, scoring 19 points while shooting 60-percent from the field, including a career-high three made three-pointers. Ansong also led the Phoenix with eight rebounds on the night.
 
IVORY IMPRESSES
In his first game for Green Bay, guard Donovan Ivory filled up the stat sheet. In 30 minutes, he scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists, and registered a block and a steal.
 
MCGEE MAKING PLAYS
True freshman Kamari McGee was a sparkplug for the Phoenix in their opener, coming off the bench to score 14 points. McGee shot 6-for-13 and 2-of-5 from three-point range.

FRESH PHOENIX FACES
GB welcomes a total of eight new members to the 2021-22 squad, including five transfers.
 
Mitch Listau, a 6-4 guard, is one of those aforementioned transfers, coming to the Phoenix after appearing in 50 games for Belmont the past two seasons. In 2020-21 with the Bruins, Listau shot 35-percent from three and 42-percent from the field.
 
Randy Tucker, a 6-4 guard, spent the past two seasons with the Vincennes Trailblazers - one of the nation's top junior college programs. During his time at Vincennes, Tucker led the Blazers to a 45-12 record, including two appearances in the NJCAA Men's National Tournament. He finished his career with 404 points, 179 rebounds, and 68 assists in 42 starts.
 
Donovan Ivory, a 6-6 guard hailing from Kaukauna, Wis., comes to the Phoenix following a season with Boise State. As a senior at Kaukauna, Ivory was named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and an honorable mention by the Associated Press after averaging 20.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.8 assists.
 
Forward Tutu Majok (6-8) is the fourth transfer GB added in the offseason. The Cairo, Egypt joins the Phoenix from Bossier Parish Community College where he averaged 10.5 points and 10.4 rebounds in 20 games.
 
The final transfer on the squad is guard Nate Jenkins (6-2), who spent the last two years at Iowa State. Jenkins saw action in 10 games last season for the Cyclones. He prepped at Kettle Moraine High School where he averaged 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals as a senior for the Laser.
 
The Phoenix also welcomes three true freshmen to the 2021-22 team, Kamari McGee, Cade Meyer, and Brayden Dailey. McGee, a native of Racine, Wis. prepped at Racine St. Catherine's, whom he led to the 2020 WIAA State Championship. Meyer prepped at Monroe Highschool, where he earned an All-State Honorable Mention nod. Dailey, a Cuba City native, was a three-time WBCA D4 First Team All-State selection.
 
RETURNING LEADERS
Green Bay returns four players that earned starts in the 2020-21 season, highlighted by Horizon League All-Freshman team selection Lucas Stieber as well as Emmanuel Ansong.
 
Last season Stieber was tasked with helping direct the Phoenix offense and ranked seventh in the Horizon League with 4.2 assists per game. The guard played in all 24 games for Green Bay and graced the starting lineup 17 times. Stieber also made a name for himself defensively, leading the team with 20 blocks and finishing fifth in the league with 1.0 blocks per game.
 
Ansong saw action in 19 games for the Phoenix last season, with seven starts along the way. The forward averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and .95 steals in an average of 25.8 minutes per game.
 
Japannah Kellogg III and Ryan Claflin will also look to make large contributions this season after earning starts last year. 
 
PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Clevland State (30) – 502
2. Wright State (9) – 463
3. Northern Kentucky (1) – 406
4. Milwaukee (2)– 396
5. Detroit Mercy (2) – 350
6. Oakland – 340
7. Youngstown State – 214
8. UIC – 204
9. Purdue Fort Wayne – 169
10. Robert Morris – 157
11. Green Bay – 146
12. IUPUI - 85
 
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