For the first time in a long time, the De Pere boys’ basketball program enters a season surrounded by question marks, and that’s exactly what makes this year intriguing.
The Redbirds are coming off a conference title season and a deep postseason run that ended in the Sectional final against Oshkosh North.
However, the program also graduated one of the most decorated classes in school history, including Wisconsin star recruit Zach Kinzinger (24.4 ppg), Pryce Gregorie (16.2 ppg), and Roan Demovsky (11.4 ppg) along with seniors Connor Hutjens, Caden Krutz, Malachi Merriman, Nathan Bonfigt, and Bennett Wall.
It leaves De Pere with a massive amount of production to replace, but not a lack of confidence.
“I think it is a brand new team,” Head Coach Brian Winchester said. “In terms of we don’t bring back a lot of scoring or a lot of minutes, so it’s going to be interesting seeing guys take on new roles. The faster we can mature into those roles, the better we’ll be earlier in the year.”
Still, Winchester isn’t lacking options.
Seniors Jack Bookter, Noah Maniscalco, and Bennett Riemer are expected to anchor the team’s leadership, while juniors Will Krueger and Isaac Herlache headline a young but promising group of returners.
Sophomores Javon Miller, Silas Cohen, and 6-foot-7 forward Xavier Hansen also give the Redbirds new talent ready to contribute.
“We lost Zach, Roan, and Pryce and those are three really huge losses,” Winchester said. “But I think we have really good players stepping into those roles. Will Krueger is an emerging player as a junior, we have good seniors in Jack Bookter and Noah Maniscalco. Isaac Herlache played quite a bit for us last year off the bench, and then Bennett Riemer who I think will have a very good year for us as a senior. And then we have some young guys in Javon Miller and Silas Cohen (who) I think are going to be very good as well.”
One point of emphasis this season is physicality, especially on the glass.
“It’s going to be a constant theme with us in terms of being able to finish defensive possessions in rebounds,” Winchester said. “We don’t have a lot of size, Xavier Hansen is a sophomore for us that is 6’7, but he’s gotta mature into his role as well. We are going to have to rebound very well from the guard position and be able to finish out stops and I think that was an issue for us at times last year.”
Senior Jack Bookter believes defense and communication will help define this group.
“I think that we are very disciplined on defense and we communicate really well. Even though it might seem like we have lost a lot of seniors and experience, I think that the way our program has been run, we still have good communication, and we are very hungry to play, because we have been waiting our turn.”
Offensively, De Pere expects to space the floor and rely on its shooters.
“One of our biggest strengths is sharing the ball and shooting it,” Bookter said. “We’re scrappy, too.”
Herlache, Cohen, and Riemer were all mentioned as players who could surprise people with expanded roles.
“I would say Isaac Herlache who came off the bench last year and surprised a lot of people with his shooting ability will have to step into a bigger role. Underclassmen wise, Silas Cohen is very talented, he is a sophomore, he can shoot it and we can see he is starting to develop better, along with Bennett Reimer, he plays very physical, he is a senior this year, he hasn’t gotten a lot of time but is ready to prove himself and has been working a lot in the gym” Bookter added.
Another senior, Noah Maniscalco, echoed the excitement surrounding the team’s chemistry and patience over the years.
“I think that we are all just really excited to play together, and we have been waiting for this time, all of us are kind of stepping up, finally we waited our turn to play, and our chemistry– we have been playing since we were in second grade together, and I think that really brings us together and we know how each other play and how to complement each other’s play styles.”
Maniscalco also believes De Pere’s up tempo style will be a key identity.
“We are going to play really fast this year, and that will help us get our shooters in the corner, push the ball, get fast break buckets and catch some teams off guard,” He said. “But then I think we are going to be a really scrappy team, we are small but are going to surprise some people with how physical we are and how hard we play on defense.”
Despite all the graduation losses, De Pere’s expectations haven’t changed.
“The expectations stay the same,” Winchester said. “Compete for a conference championship, a regional title, and have the opportunity to play in the Kohl Center.”
For the players, success goes beyond winning.
“I think success– obviously there is the winning part of the game, but I think having fun and building relationships with our teammates and also just growing together as a team off the court is going to help us on the court.” Maniscalco stated.
With a new group, a fast pace, and the same high standards, the Redbirds enter the season with something to prove, and a group hungry for its turn.
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