5 Key Takeaways From Green Bay’s Winning Week

It wasn’t the prettiest week, but the Green Bay men played 3 games in 5 days, bookending the stretch with a pair of wins. The Phoenix got one of its biggest non-conference wins against St. Thomas on Sunday afternoon before dropping a game to Northern Iowa, and then came home to around 3,000 screaming children on Education Day against NAIA opponent Viterbo.

Each of the games had their own stories. Sunday’s win over the Tommies was a balanced scoring attack, led by Ahmere Carson, as 4 Phoenix players finished in double figures. The loss to the Panthers saw an unbelievable first half shooting effort by Northern Iowa. Friday’s win over the V-Hawks certainly wasn’t pretty at times, but Green Bay came to life in the second half, and took home a 20 point victory.

All to say, it was 2-1 week, lifting the Phoenix to a 3-2 record overall. So let’s look back at the week that was, and some of the main takeaways from the week that was:

1. Rotations are still a work in progress

One of the realities of mid-major basketball these days is that with the constant roster churning, figuring out the best 5 on the floor is going to be a work in progress. Minutes have been in flux for a number of players over the week, partially due to it still being early in the season, as well as Orlando Lovejoy missing Friday’s win due to illness, and Ne’quan Brown missing the same game for disciplinary reasons.

Still, head coach Doug Gottlieb addressed the challenge in the postgame press conference after the Viterbo game, stating that these are all guys he recruited but finding the best five to be on the floor at the same time can be tough. Christian Burnett was a prime example. In Friday’s win, Burnett logged 8 minutes, and was a spark plug for Green Bay’s offense to close the first half. He is still figuring out the system. He didn’t play in either game earlier this week.

Without Lovejoy, LeBron Thomas got the start against Viterbo, and starred. He led the team with 14 points, and was a calming presence on the floor for the Phoenix–this coming after limited action earlier in the week. Gottlieb credited Thomas’ effort to being ready mentally, and his familiarity with returning players like Mac Wrecke and Marcus Hall.

2. Scheduling giveth, and scheduling taketh away

Another reality of the early part of the season, especially for mid-majors: you take the games you can get, and you try to make it work in your favor as much as possible. Green Bay played a three city road trip that started last Thursday against Cincinnati, St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday (flying to both those games), then a bus to Cedar Falls, Iowa for Tuesday’s game against the Panthers. The Phoenix got back to campus Wednesday morning around 3 AM after the bus trip home.

Gottlieb mentioned that due to the late night/early morning return on Wednesday, the team didn’t practice that day, and had a lighter practice on Thursday as Green Bay hosted Viterbo for an 11 AM tipoff Friday morning. The team did have a light practice Friday morning prior to the game, but the Phoenix looked weary to start the contest. It showed, as Green Bay held just a 24-23 lead at halftime against their NAIA opponent. Threes weren’t falling; the squad was 2 of 13 in the half. They were late to rebounds.

Having nearly 3,000 kids at the Kress Center did have its perks. The crowd was electric, and postgame, both Gottlieb and Thomas cited the energy boost of the fans. The team forced three shot clock violations, and it was evident that the energy boost lifted the Phoenix to finish out the game with a 20 point win. Getting this win in the books early Friday afternoon will give the team an extra half day to recover, as it braces for another three city road trip.

3. Shots will fall, even if they didn’t on Friday

Green Bay shot a blistering 59% from behind the arc in the season opener against Lawrence University last week. In my takeaways piece, I wrote that while they were playing a D3 school, this was very encouraging, as it is something that is certainly replicable regardless of opponent, though it may not be to that same clip.

In the win at St. Thomas, the Phoenix knocked down 9 of 30 from deep, and were 26 of 60 from the field in total. They cooled a bit in the loss to Northern Iowa, hitting just 7 of 27 from deep but still hitting 30 of 64 from the floor. Friday’s win on tired legs saw Green Bay shoot just 37% from the floor and 7 of 33 from deep. The looks were there, they just didn’t fall.

Truth be told, it may still be too early to declare what the norm will be for the Phoenix. Obviously, 15 of 26 against Lawrence from deep wasn’t going to be happening every game, but 7 of 33 seems to be an extreme on the other end too. Seeing how the team responds against West Florida on Tuesday, with Lovejoy and Brown likely back in the mix (and after some much needed rest) should put Green Bay closer to its true state.

4. Defense standing out

Early season can be tough to make out what the true identity of a team will be. That is a common theme at every point in these takeaways. Whether it be the media, coaches, or fans, we find ourselves trying to discern what patterns are going to repeat, and which are unsustainable. This can be even tougher for mid-majors, as they will face non-D1 opponents and buy games against power conference opponents, both of which can present far extremes of opponents that won’t be the norm when Horizon League play opens in December.

Offense will come and go, as pointed out above. Steals and rebounds will too. Often it comes down to the eye test, which comes down to the beholder. Is the positioning right? The instincts and flow? How does the team look against like-opponents? St. Thomas may have been the best test for the Phoenix so far. Green Bay had 8 steals in the contest, and blocked 5 shots. Even in the loss to Northern Iowa, the Phoenix forced 6 steals, and forced 13 turnovers. The Panthers were red hot from behind the arc in that game, making 10 of 19 threes, and shot 67% from the floor in total.

The defensive positioning was great against Viterbo, as it “should be” against an NAIA team. Green Bay used its size advantage to block 4 shots, nab 8 steals, and ultimately force 19 turnovers–this coming without two of its better defenders in Lovejoy and Brown. As with the offense, West Florida will be an interesting test after a couple days to rest.

5. Looking ahead

Green Bay is back on the road for another 3 city tour. First up is Tuesday’s game against West Florida, who lost on Friday to Cleveland State 69-67. Then the Phoenix will make some money with a buy game against Florida State next Friday, and will play the Kansas City Roos the following Tuesday to round out the road trip.