There’s usually little news to report from exhibition games, and I won’t be doing this for every exhibition, but I have some time, and this is an interesting box score. The Phoenix opened their exhibition season last night with a win over St. Norberts at the Kress Center, 83-63 (box).
This was Green Bay’s one and only exhibition this season. They’re playing a closed, hush-hush scrimmage against Indiana on Sunday.
First, Rob Demovsky had some insightful tidbits from his live-blog of the game.
The Phoenix struggled early (not even relatively speaking) with the motion offense of St. Norberts, which downed their first 7 of 9 from the floor.
Demovsky:
Coach Brian Wardle showed something new defensively, a 1-3-1 zone with Brown in the middle of it. However, the Phoenix has had trouble with some switches while playing man and a skilled offensive team like SNC will make you pay for that.
Something to watch for this season. Later, in the second half, Demovsky pondered where JUCO transfer Sultan Muhammad will fit in.
In between Cougill’s 3s, JUCO transfer Sultan Muhammad also hit a 3. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits into the rotation. He might be a more well-rounded version of Steve Baker but perhaps not as good of a shooter.
Some other notes. Daniel Turner got 10 minutes on the floor after just receiving clearance the day before to return from his ACL injury.
Keifer Sykes, Kam Cerroni, Jordan Fouse, Brennan Cougill and Alec Brown made up the no-surprises starting lineup for Green Bay. Fouse brings undeniable talent as Green Bay’s top recruit. He played more minutes than anyone last night (28) and posted an impressive stat line: seven points, six boards, six assists, four blocks and three steals. Talk about utility.
Brown was up to his usual stuff: 9-7 for a game-high 18 points to go with six boards.
Muhammad, Cerroni and Cougill attempted a team-high four three -pointers apiece, and Cerroni and Cougill made two. Muhammad just sunk one.
Nick Arenz might have been the one disappointment. The 6-8 freshman played 10 minutes off the bench and managed a rebound and nothing else. Ryan Bross, the Phoenix’s 7-1 walk-on, even got in on the action with a minute of play.
