Dancing Phoenix

Last March, I was driving home from work listening to JMV, one of the sports talk radio shows in Indiana. One of his guests on the show was Linc Darner, the head coach of the Florida Southern Mocs, who had just led his team to the Division II championship. Little did I know, just a few weeks later, Darner would be named the head coach of Green Bay to replace Brian Wardle, who accepted the head coaching job at Bradley.

I liked the hiring. There is a lot of basketball talent in the state of Indiana, and Darner could help with recruiting in that area since he was a Purdue player in the 1990s. I also liked the style of play he would bring to the table. Recruits love playing in this style and I think he would thrive coaching in a mid-major program like Green Bay. Darner has also won everywhere he has been, which was also a big plus.

However, Green Bay has had major heartbreak the previous three years in the conference tournament. I was beginning to think the Phoenix was a cursed program, constantly getting its heart broken and not having made the big dance in 20 years. Darner had to come in and try to reverse the curse. It would also be a challenge for Darner to get the players to buy into his system after having played in a completely different one under Wardle. The system Darner calls RP40, which stands for Relentless Pressure for 40 minutes. The Phoenix also lost one of its top young players, Daeshon Francis, as well as its entire recruiting class.

I admit, after the first three games under Darner, I was unimpressed. The defense was downright awful, having given up more than 90 points in all three games and more than 100 in two of them. Yes, the team was scoring, but could not stop anyone. The defense was not watchable. Then, Green Bay trailed Division II Minnesota-Duluth 39-38 at halftime at home. Ugh. Green Bay turned it on in the second half and went onto win by 20. The second half output helped the Phoenix to 10 wins in the next 12 games.

After an 18-point loss to Oakland on February 13, the Phoenix stood at 7-6 in conference play, but had five games to end the year at the Resch Center. Green Bay went onto win four of the five. The one thing that changed was the Green Bay defense. If you include the postseason, the Phoenix allowed seven of the nine final opponents at 70 points or fewer. That is a far cry from the first three games of the season.

Green Bay entered the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 4 seed. Green Bay did not play well, but was able to get past Cleveland State. Going against Milwaukee, I honestly did not think Green Bay was going to win. Milwaukee is a talented team, led by senior Matt Tiby and one of the top assist men in the country, Jordan Johnson. After trailing 52-46, the Phoenix used a big run which would lead the Phoenix to 70-61 win.

That would bring the Phoenix to a rematch with Valparaiso. The Crusaders have been a major thorn in the side of Green Bay. Last year, it was Valpo that beat Green Bay in the conference championship and earn the auto bid. Three years ago, the two teams met in the semifinals. With Green Bay ahead by two and after an Alec Brown missed free throw, Valpo dribbled up the court and Ryan Broekhoff buried a fadeaway 3-pointer with a hand in his face to beat the Phoenix 70-69. Then, a week before this past game, Green Bay led by one late in the game, but Valpo's Shane Hammink hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to break Green Bay's hearts again.

Going into the game, I thought Green Bay had no shot, personally. I know the Phoenix went toe-to-toe with the top seed the week before. But that was in Green Bay and a lot of people thought Valpo was a possible Sweet 16 sleeper. Sound familiar, Phoenix fans? Green Bay knows the feeling, having been the best team in the conference two years ago by a wide margin, but lost to Milwaukee in the semifinals. That Phoenix team and this Crusaders team are very comparable.

We thought it would happen again when Alec Peters caught a long pass and scored on a layup to send it into overtime. I thought Green Bay would be crushed in the overtime period. The Phoenix choked down the stretch during regulation and Valparaiso had all the momentum going into the extra session. But Green Bay showed tremendous heart and toughness in dominating the overtime period and leading the Phoenix to the upset win.

Going into the championship game, I know Wright State is a solid team, but there was just something about this Green Bay team that made me think the Phoenix were not going to lose. This was just a formality. It is like when the Boston Red Sox had terrible luck and could not get past the New York Yankees, but then in 2004 they slayed the beast, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to beat New York. It was just a formality that Boston would beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

Green Bay jumped out to a huge lead and dominated the game. The Phoenix led by as many as 19 points and much like the Valparaiso game, when Wright State tried to make a run to get back into the game, Green Bay always had a response. The Phoenix hits its free throws to seal the deal and make the long overdue trip back to the tournament.

It was cool to be on Twitter last night and see the congratulatory tweets by people such as former Green Bay standout and current Virginia head coach Tony Bennett, Packers WR Jordy Nelson and former Packers WR Donald Driver, not to mention a good luck tweet by two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.

I am an alum and a fan and I am still in shock. I can just imagine how seniors Carrington Love and Jordan Fouse feel. Coming so close the last two years makes this one really sweet. Not a bad way to go out. It is just a shame that Keifer Sykes was not on the team this year.

After 20 years of heartbreak, this one is special. After the game, I had so many thoughts flow through my mind. There was the Broekhoff 3-pointer. Then the loss to Milwaukee after a 16-2 conference season. And then there was loss to Valpo in the championship game after having a late lead last season. I think that having those heartbreaking endings makes this tournament win that much sweeter. Just incredible.

At the beginning of the season, I had my doubt with the style of play and the poor defensive performances. If you were to tell me after the 0-3 start that Green Bay would make the tournament, I would have thought you were crazy. It is a tribute to the coaching of Darner as well as the leadership of Love and Fouse. Green Bay has won eight of its last nine, with its only loss being the last-second loss to Valpo. The Phoenix is peaking at the right time and will be a tough out for whichever high seed Green Bay ends up playing.

This season, I have learned to trust the system. I cannot wait for RP40 to wreak havoc in the NCAA Tournament.