GREEN BAY — One of the all-time greats in Phoenix basketball history was honored Saturday night before the team’s exhibition game against Bradley.
Keifer Sykes, who played for UW-Green Bay from 2011 to 2015 and is the school’s second all-time leading scorer and a two-time Horizon League Player of the Year, had his No. 24 retired and hung up in the rafters of the Kress Center.
“It feels surreal," said Sykes. "I just feel overwhelmed with love. Overwhelmed with joy. It means a lot for my family. It means a lot for the community here. I feel like I always wanted to be a hero up here for the youth, for this city. To get this accomplishment, to get this moment, it means a lot to me.”
Sykes’ career with the Phoenix on the court may be long over, but now he is the team’s general manager and still plays professionally for Legia Warsaw in Poland.
“Just help recruit, help bring alumni together, help mentor the players,” Sykes said about what his new role with the team entails. “I think it’s very important right now with these players figuring out what they want to do, with them being able to transfer, with all the NCAA rules and how it’s changing. I just want to help and give back and have some influence. I feel like with me still playing and me having a successful career, I could just give a lot of intelligence to them and help.”
Bradley 83, UW-Green Bay 78
Shortly after he was honored, Sykes watched his Phoenix fall to Brian Wardle and Bradley in an exhibition matchup. Wardle was the head coach of the Phoenix during Sykes’ playing days.
The Phoenix utilized many different rotations in the game, as 13 different players logged action.
UW-Green Bay junior forward Marcus Hall had a team-high 15 points and six assists. Two transfers, senior Rob Stroud (14) and junior LeBron Thomas (11), also finished with double-digit scoring efforts.
The Phoenix will host St. Norbert on Oct. 30 in their next exhibition game.
