DE PERE — First place De Pere boys basketball took a hold of the Fox River Classic Conference with a buzzer beater over second place Notre Dame on Tuesday and last Friday they beat Ashwaubenon who at the time was also in second place.
“They did a great job putting themselves back in a position to control the conference with two games to go,” said head coach Redbirds head coach Brian Winchester, on his team bouncing back from a loss to Bay Port last Tuesday with wins over conference foes.
The Redbirds wouldn’t be where they are now without junior guard Johnny Kinziger, who is averaging 21 points per game.
“He runs us," Winchester said. "He’s so dynamic with the ball. He can get us buckets when we need buckets. He can distribute the ball well. To have a player of his caliber with his maturity, his ability and to do what he can do with the basketball, it makes life easy as a coach.”
The maker of the game winner 6'8" big-man, sophomore Will Hornseth could be the missing piece for the Redbirds. He adds size and opens up offense for Kinziger, an element they lacked last year.
“I can post up, I can screen for him and that really helps," Hornseth said on how he can help Kinziger and the offense. "I mean, growing up, I had good guards, but nothing compared to John. It’s just a really good feeling to be able to play with him and use my ability and his ability together.”
Despite having one of the best scorers in the state, De Pere thrives off of their defense.
“We really make life difficult for the opposing team on the defensive end and that translates to our offense," Winchester said. "We start our scout everyday with defense. That’s what our identity is – we’re on the defense end of the floor.”
From here on out in order to win the conference and advance through the playoffs, De Pere has to win every game. However, they’re ready for that kind of pressure, especially after their last two matchups.
“Pressure is good. You want pressure – it means you’re in the top spot. We all know that this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for our team so we all have to go out there, play our hardest – know that this might not ever happen again. Leave it all out on the floor,” Johnny Kinziger said.
De Pere took down Green Bay Southwest on Friday night and have their last regular season game against Sheboygan North next Thursday.
