Kinziger brothers to host second annual youth boys’ basketball camp

DE PERE – Johnny and Zach Kinziger are household names in the Wisconsin basketball circle. 

Using their knowledge of the game and success on the court, the De Pere brothers are continuing their mission to give back to area youth basketball. 

On Saturday, Aug. 15, the Kinzigers will host their second annual youth boys’ basketball camp at De Pere High School. 

Highlighted by a trio of three-hour sessions based on grade level, Zach – a sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s basketball team – said there will be something for everyone. 

“Third and fourth graders will go from 8-11 a.m., the fifth and sixth graders will come in next from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and grades seven and eight will finish out the day from 3-6 p.m.,” he said. “It’s a full day, but we enjoy giving back to De Pere basketball.” 

Johnny – a senior member of the Illinois State University men’s basketball team – said both he and Zach will be on hand all day. 

“Our dad (Jeff) and older brother Jake – hopefully – will also be there,” he said. “We’re also working on a few other guys to help out. We want to make it a fun camp for the kids but also want them to take something from it. We’re bringing back things from college and showing them what some of the drills are like and what has helped Zach and me become better players.”

Running the camp last year, Zach said the plan is for each session to run similarly to what it did 12 months ago. 

With a series of stations and drills, he said the fundamentals taught at the camp are similar to what he and Johnny grew up with. 

“I think a lot of these kids look up to us, so it’s doing things we did at their age,” Zach said. “John and I both had successful careers at De Pere and are now playing in college, so if it worked for us, it can work for them.”

It’s not all work and no play, though, Zach said. 

“Even though I officially ran the camp last year, John was also there,” he said. “We want to make it competitive for the kids with some games, so John and I will compete with them. I know last year, the kids really enjoyed that – especially the younger ones – when we actually played in the games with them.”

The importance of fundamentals, the brothers said, is not a lost art, but the game has changed at certain levels, which makes teaching fundamentals more difficult. 

They both said in their own personal experiences at De Pere and college, the fundamentals are still being taught at a high level. 

“In the most successful programs, they always come back to the fundamentals – the connectedness and the execution,” Johnny said. “I think a lot of kids these days who watch the NBA see a different game compared to high school and college. The NBA is flashier and has more one-on-one play. What they don’t realize is that college consists of a lot of fundamentals. Every day you’re learning something new – it’s team basketball.”

Johnny said he feels the teaching of fundamentals depends on the coaching you receive during your youth days. 

“Zach and I were blessed to have great coaches – my dad, [De Pere] Coach [Brian] Winchester, etc.,” he said. “They instilled those fundamentals in our games. Coaches at the youth level need to preach that fundamentals are key – kids can definitely still develop those skills.”

The brothers said there are several ways to sign up for the camp – mainly through Instagram and Facebook. 

“You can navigate to both of our Instagrams,” Zach said. “Also, if you get on Facebook and search for ‘De Pere Redbird Basketball’ and scroll down a bit, there is also a link to sign up through Genius.” 

Johnny’s Instagram handle is johnny.kinziger, while Zach’s is zach.kinziger. 

With about 115 campers taking part in last year’s camp, the Kinzigers said sign-up will be open until approximately the end of July. 

With the need to order t-shirts, they said they’d like to get a firm number before Aug. 15. 

“Our goal this year is to get more than 115 participants,” Zach said. “So far, the numbers are encouraging.” 

Illinois State success 

Being a senior at Illinois State, Johnny – and Zach, too – were both integral parts of De Pere’s historic state championship run during the 2022-23 season. 

They were on a team that finished a perfect 30-0 on its way to a WIAA Division 1 state championship. 

“We lost a lot of players from last season, so it’s different territory for me,” Johnny said of this year’s Illinois State squad. “I’ve always been on a team where we’ve had a lot of guys come back, so this summer has been spent getting to know the new guys and helping them learn our system.”

With the Redbirds advancing to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) semifinals last season, Johnny – who is studying finance at Illinois State – said it’s a “refreshing” change taking the younger players under his wing. 

Eager to lessen the chaos of the transfer portal era and court fights with players trying to extend their careers, Johnny said the NCAA recently approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over five years.

“The eligibility begins with your full-time enrollment or the academic year following your 19th birthday, whichever occurs first,” he said. “Instead of being given five years to complete four seasons of competition, this is a new rule. Because of that, I currently plan to come back for a fifth season of competition [after this next season].”

A first year in the Big Ten

Because Zach – who is studying business at Wisconsin – said he figured the NCAA would make the eligibility rule change at some point, it made his decision not to redshirt his freshman year easier. 

He said the decision to use a year of eligibility was a process in itself. 

“Before the season started, the plan between Coach [Greg Gard] and me was to redshirt almost game by game,” Zach said. “I told him, ‘If it’s a time when the minutes aren’t very valuable, I’d prefer to stay out of those games.’ If the minutes I might get were more valuable and could help the team, I wanted the opportunity to play.”

In NCAA Division I college basketball, a player can compete in up to four games during a season and still be eligible to redshirt – provided those games occur before the midpoint of the season. 

“About nine games into the season, I started finding myself a little bit in practice and playing well,” Zach said. “Coach came to me before our Villanova game and asked me if I was comfortable taking the redshirt off. Because I figured the NCAA would make the rule change, I didn’t think redshirting really made much sense anymore. I wanted to get the experience and play as a freshman.”