KAUKAUNA (NBC 26) — Ice in his veins, Keegan Van Kauwenberg has etched his name into Kaukauna basketball history, dropping a record 56 points for the Ghosts to clinch at least a share of the Fox Valley Association conference title.
“I don’t know if it really surprises us anymore because we’ve seen a lot of different things from him,” head coach Mike Schalow said. “He can score at all three levels. He’s one of the most special players, in terms of scoring a basketball, that we’ve had come through our program.”
Van Kauwenberg said he’s had some big games, but nothing quite like that night.
“I’m going to keep shooting it,” Van Kauwenberg said. “If it keeps going in, I’m going to keep shooting it again. There are a lot of emotions running through your head. Halfway through the game, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m kind of getting close.’ Oh, well, now I’m two shots away. Oh, it’s mine. Sweet.”
His clutch performance propelled the Ghosts to their first conference title since 2016, an achievement Van Kauwenberg had set his sights on from the start of the season.
“It was the greatest feeling I’ve had in a long time,” Van Kauwenberg said. “I sprayed a lot of water on coach Schalow, and I thought that was pretty sweet.”
Schalow believes the team’s success stems from its unselfish mentality.
“You need to have unselfish players in order to accomplish not only a team goal like this—winning a conference—but also have a player within the team who can go and get 56 points on a night,” Schalow said.
The stage is set for an exciting regular-season finale. Kaukauna has the chance to clinch the FVA title outright on senior night.
“We’re gonna celebrate a conference championship on Thursday night, and it’s just a matter of, are we gonna be sharing it, or is it gonna be ours alone?” Schalow said.
As he enters the final stretch of his career with the Ghosts, Van Kauwenberg hopes to leave a legacy with the program similar to former Kaukauna star Jordan McCabe.
“I want people to look up to me—people in the hoops club to look up to me,” Van Kauwenberg said. “If you look on the wall, there are a lot of really good teams, and I feel very honored that we’re going to eventually be on that wall.”
Van Kauwenberg said he’s excited to continue his career at UW-Green Bay, but he will certainly miss suiting up for the Ghosts.
