With
all five starters returning,
UW-Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk knows this could be
his best Phoenix team yet.
Shawn Siegel (CHN): What
should we expect to be the strengths and weaknesses of next
year’s team?
Tod
Kowalczyk (TW): I think one of the strengths of our team is
the fact that we have everybody returning. In addition to the
experience factor, I like our athletic ability. This is the best
team that we've had in the five years that we've been here and
we feel very good about the upcoming season. As far as
weaknesses, I'd like to see what kind of depth we have on the
perimeter. That is probably my biggest concern.
CHN: Talk about
a player or two that stand out as being an unsung leader and
contributor?
TW:
There are three players that stand out as unsung leaders or
contributors. The first person is Ryan Evanochko who is one of
the best players in the Horizon League. He is a guy that has
come a long way in his career, can really defend and at the
same time is a very good point guard. I think Josh Lawrence
being a four-year starter is a guy who leads by example. He's as
tough of a guy as I've been around. Then there is Terry Evans
who is a redshirt sophomore. This is his third year in the
program and defensively he's one of the best players in our
league and his offense keeps on improving.
CHN: Discuss the
incoming newcomers. Who do you think will make the biggest
impact?
TW:
We have two newcomers who are eligible to play: Troy Cotton from
Milwaukee Rufus King High School and Chase Sukut. I expect both
guys to have an opportunity to play quite a bit and really add
to our perimeter depth. That's what we were looking for and
hopefully they can fulfill those roles.
CHN: How does
this year's schedule compare to recent seasons in terms of its
difficulty?
TW:
Our schedule starts out this year with six of our first seven
games on the road, which will be a challenge no matter who you
are playing. You throw on top of that the fact that we have road
games at Wisconsin and Michigan State. I think that our
schedule year in and year out has been one of
the most difficult in mid-major basketball.
CHN: Are you
pretty well settled with your starting lineup? If not, what
should we expect to be the biggest battles for a starting
position?
TW: I
don't want to say that our starting lineup is locked in stone,
but we do return all five starters from a year ago. I'm not
saying that we're not going to change it, but right now I feel
really good about the five guys that we have coming back. I
think all five guys did a really good job of preparation for our
trip to Spain and had very good off-seasons. The chances of us
having the same starting five the first game is pretty good.
More 2006 College Preview:
Head Coach Interviews
