It’s not often a mid-major can graduate a 7-foot-1 NBA draft pick out of the program and go into the next season with possibly an even brighter outlook.
Make no mistake: Alec Brown meant a great deal to the Green Bay Phoenix. The forward/center was a capable three-point shooter and a fearsome at-the-rim defender. He averaged 15 points per game in 2013-14, adding six rebounds and three blocks.
He was named the Horizon League player of the week four times last season and is the defending conference defensive player of the year. He had a 40-point game against Fairfield and a triple-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks) against Minnesota-Duluth. He was selected 50th overall by the Phoenix Suns, becoming Green Bay’s first draft pick since 1996.
And yet, somehow, Brown was never the face of the franchise, so to speak. That honor has belonged to the diminutive-yet-explosive Keifer Sykes.
Sykes averaged 20 points, five assists and just over four rebounds per game last season. He was named the Horizon League player of the year after a conference-record six player of the week selections. The Associated Press tabbed him an honorable mention All-American.
Oh, and he’s exceptionally young for a senior – he won’t turn 21 until Horizon League play has begun.
Sykes started turning heads his freshman year, starting at point guard for the Phoenix while just 17 years old. He was the youngest player in college basketball at the time.
His legend has only grown in subsequent years. Heading into his senior season, his 10 career Horizon League player of the week awards are a conference record. He’s been named to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given the college basketball’s top point guard, for the third straight season. And if he scores 518 points he’ll join Tony Bennett as Green Bay’s only members of the 2,000-point club.
But what really catches the public’s attention are the dunks.
Yes, this point guard – who might reach 6-feet-tall only if you include his signature high-top fade into the equation – can throw it down. A quick YouTube search pulls up some of his greatest rim-rattling slams in easily digestible highlight reels.
And certainly, his dunks a highlight reel worthy. But the 2014-15 Horizon League preseason player of the year is ready to convince casual fans that there is more to his game than physics-defying aerial feats.
“I always tell our media guy to put out different highlights of my game,” Sykes said with a laugh at the Horizon League men’s basketball media day. “A lot of people just look at my dunks, but I don’t really score the basketball a lot on a dunk … there’s a lot more to my game than just dunks.
“But dunks are fun, though.”
Taking Brown out of the equation means the Phoenix will have to make some adjustments on offense and on defense this season. Playing with a big man who can shoot from beyond the arc and a point guard who can fly through the lane meant more creative schemes were at their disposal. This season, Green Bay hopes to play a lot in transition and to open the floor more.
“We’re going to make some tweaks,” Phoenix coach Brian Wardle said. “Obviously, you want the ball in Keifer’s hand as much as possible. It would be foolish not to do that. It’s a big hole to replace Alec Brown, but I do like the group that we have.”
Green Bay is once again ranked preseason No. 1 in the Horizon League, but the team understands that preseason rankings don’t account for much at the end of the season. In back-to-back years, the Phoenix have been bounced from the conference tournament in the semifinal round.
It’s an experience Wardle hopes his team can learn from, but not dwell upon.
“That’s months ago. I try not to live in the past, and I try not to let the players live in the past,” Wardle said. “I try to teach them that life lesson. We all go through some struggles and some issues.
“We’re excited about the challenge. We’ve been working hard in practice so far. We’ve just got to stay healthy, and we’re looking forward to getting out on that floor and competing.”
Health is an important issue for Sykes heading into his final collegiate campaign. When Green Bay fell 73-66 in overtime to Milwaukee in last season’s tournament semifinal, the point guard was battling injuries.
“With me not being 100 percent and us losing that game, I felt like I failed my team,” Sykes said. “I use it as motivation, to get ready for the season and to make sure my body is physically ready to withstand a whole season, to withstand the postseason. I’m just happy I’ve got another opportunity.”
