By Greg Bates
Sports Editor
DE PERE – A coach never forgets when his players provide a water bottle shower in the locker room following a game.
That signifies a special moment.
St. Norbert men’s basketball coach Gary Grzesk received a celebratory bath following his team’s win in Milwaukee on Jan. 17.
“I was pretty drenched,” Grzesk said. “It was a very close, hard-fought game against MSOE. We had not played really well and then we turned it on a little bit in the second half and played a little bit better. It was a great win to begin with and then you had that moment in the locker room with the 300th win with the guys, which was pretty special.”
Grzesk picked up his 300th coaching win at St. Norbert. In his 16th season at the helm, Grzesk has built a solid Division III program for the Green Knights.
“It wasn’t really on my radar going into the game,” said Grzesk about his milestone victory. “I knew it was close, but just the way this season has gone, we’ve been in a lot of close games. We’re in the middle of the conference race, so I haven’t really put a lot of thought into it. However, after the game, it was a
pretty special moment in the locker room with the guys. After the fact it kind of makes you kind of reflect and look back, 16 years and all those wins and all those kids and coaches that were a part of it.”
The individual accolades are nice, but Grzesk is a true team-first coach.
During his tenure, Grzesk has won 10 conference championships — nine Midwest Conference and one Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference — and appeared in seven NCAA Division III Tournaments.
Grzesk, who played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, will always remember No. 300 because of how his players gutted out a victory.
“It was a pretty special memory just because it was a good win on the road, and then having my son (Garrett) be a part of the team as a sophomore adds even more meaning to it,” said Grzesk, who is St. Norbert men’s basketball program’s all-time winningest coach. “Really, it’s just a testament to the guys in the program and hopefully the fact that we’ve had sustained success over a number of years. We’ve competed and played at a pretty high level for a number of years, and that’s the mark of a good program.”
After going 51-13 in three seasons, 2004-06, at Lakeland, Grzesk came to St. Norbert. In his first season with the Green Knights, Grzesk’s squad went 9-13.
Early in his career, Grzesk wasn’t looking ahead to capturing any milestone career wins, he was strictly concentrated on getting his guys to improve one day at a time.
“At the beginning you’re just trying to build the program the right way, brick by brick,” Grzesk said. “If you’re going to do it the right away, there’s no shortcuts. There were some tough times those early years, but looking back at it now — when you get something like a milestone record, it forces you to kind of look back and reflect. Some of those years where our record wasn’t great and we were building (the program) were some of the most rewarding years because those kids laid the foundation for the success to come in the future.”
One big moment that helped catapult Grzesk and the St. Norbert men’s basketball team’s program happened on Dec. 30, 2008. At the St. Norbert Christmas tournament, No. 1-ranked UW-Platteville came to town and the Green Knights pulled off a stunning 70-68 victory.
“That was really a moment where you could see we were turning the corner as a program and really got the kids to buy in,” Grzesk said.
Grzesk’s program has been so successful over the years that every time the head coaching position opens up at his alma mater Green Bay, his name is tossed around as a possible candidate.
With the Phoenix letting go of coach Will Ryan on Jan. 24, Grzesk’s name has come up again as a replacement. But Grzesk isn’t worried about landing a Division I gig.
“I haven’t been contacted by them,” Grzesk said. “I’ve got a great job where I’m at and I’m just trying to get this team to hopefully reach their potential and win a conference championship and hopefully have a chance at the NCAA Tournament this year.”