DE PERE (NBC 26) — After two years off an undefeated state championship, the De Pere boys basketball team is looking to go on another winning streak in March.
Another basketball season, another dominant De Pere team. Head coach Brian Winchester truly believes this year’s group is special.
“This is a very competitive group of players,” Winchester said. “They all have very good basketball experiences. They love to play. They love training. They love games. They also like to compete with each other.”
Senior Pryce Gregoire said the chemistry on this team is unlike anything he has experienced before.
“We are like a family,” Gregoire said. “These are all my brothers. We grew up together and had fun together. We’ve been doing it since we were little.”
Their chemistry translated to the court. De Pere has only lost three games in the last three years.
“When teams come to play us, it’s their Super Bowl and they’re trying to beat us,” senior Zach Kinziger said. “I think that’s a testament to our recent success and our success this year. That’s the biggest compliment you can get when teams always want to beat you.”
No. 1-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran is the only team that has found a way to beat De Pere this season. This loss left the second-ranked Redbirds team feeling urgent about what needed to be fixed.
“We need this from time to time to inform us and keep us in line,” Gregoire said. “So we know we won’t let something like this happen again. We’ll just keep going.”
Since that defeat, De Pere has won six games in a row, including a thrilling one-point victory over Ashwaubenon last Friday that generated a lot of interest from local fans.
“We had a few games last year that were packed with people, but nothing like this,” Gregoire said. “I mean, there was more media there than I’ve ever seen.”
While most scouting reports focus on Wisconsin basketball prospect Zach Kinziger, the No. 3 overall prospect in the state, the Redbirds have three players averaging double figures. They say any player can have a substantial night.
“It’s not just me,” Kinziger said. “We have five players on the pitch at all times who can score, shoot and pass. So we have a lot of depth and I think that will definitely help us get up to speed in the playoffs.”
Winchester knows it has talented players, but it’s the work put in by its team and the love of basketball that sets them apart from other teams.
“Some people look at Zach who’s going to Wisconsin and Pryce who’s going to Northern Michigan and Roan (Demovsky) who’s going to UW-Eau Claire and we have other college players on our team , – said Winchester.
“But it’s not just about talent,” he added. “That’s all the time spent in the summer. This is what happens every day in training. How hard they work. It’s the way they approach every minute of basketball to get the most out of it. That makes them good, apart from the fact that they are very talented players.”
De Pere’s next game is Friday at Pulaski Stadium.
