Five-year reunion
Monroe High School's 2007 Division 2 state championship basketball team will be
honored at halftime of tonight's game against Darlington. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
PLATTEVILLE - Brad Stangel the assistant coach knew the University of Wisconsin-Platteville basketball team's top returning shooting guard possessed all the tools needed to elevate his game this season.
Brad Stangel the brother had some inside information.
The Pioneers' third-year assistant coach has witnessed up close and personal for two decades how motivated Brett Stangel, the youngest of the three Stangel boys who starred at Monroe High School and went on to play for the Pioneers, gets when "it's his turn."
"Out of the three of us, Brett might be the most competitive - and not just because he was always competing against two older brothers," Brad Stangel said of himself and the family's middle brother, Bryan.
"He just has that natural competitiveness in him."
That trait has come in mighty handy this season for a Pioneers squad faced with replacing two of its top three scorers from a year ago and missing a key returning cog in the lineup.
All Brett Stangel has done is overhaul his offensive game and double his scoring average - all while playing the second-most minutes in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and leading UW-Platteville to a 7-4 start.
A solid contributor as a reserve in his sophomore season and a full-time starter as a junior, the younger Stangel's competitive fire shifted into overdrive as he began preparing for his final collegiate campaign.
"Being a senior, I knew I was going to have to score a little bit more for our team to be successful," he said. "I went in with that attitude that I have to score a little more, and it's worked out pretty well."
That it has.
Through 11 games, Stangel ranks sixth in the WIAC at 16.2 points per game, sixth in free throw shooting at 84 percent and ninth in 3-point shooting at 43 percent. Oh, and those numbers have been produced while playing an energy-sapping 33.5 minutes per game.
Even with the impressive averages, Stangel said he hasn't been the focal point of the Pioneers' swing offense this season.
"I wouldn't say (the offense) is running through me, I'm just looking to hunt my shot more compared to what I did last year," he said. "My teammates trust me more, too.
"The scoring is nice, but it doesn't really matter if I score or not as long as we win."
The 6-foot, 175-pounder was a prolific scorer for the 2006-07 Monroe squad that won the WIAA Division 2 state championship - a group that will be honored tonight at halftime of the Cheesemakers' game against Darlington.
Stangel got to play the role of the opponent's top scorer on the Pioneers' scout team in practice as a freshman, but his senior season at MHS was the last time he's scored at this pace. He opened the season with a career-high 23 points in an overtime victory against Luther College, then topped that by scoring 25 points against UW-River Falls on Dec. 3.
"We ran a couple of plays early on to try and get me going, I hit a few shots and my teammates kept finding me," Stangel said of the career outing vs. the Falcons.
Stangel has been the Pioneers' leading scorer in seven games this season, a fact made more impressive by the fact that last season's second-leading scorer, 6-8 sophomore forward Chas Cross, has yet to play this season due to injury.
The key to Stangel's increased production has been a willingness to do more than shoot from 3-point range. Last season, nearly 50 percent of his total field goal attempts came from behind the arc. This season, 31 percent of his shots have been 3s.
"When he was in high school he was really good in the mid-range game and because he's developed his strength and ball-handling, he is able to do that now at this level," Brad Stangel said. "He has developed through his four years here and kind of found his niche of what he can and he can't do.
"You can see him gaining more confidence and the team gaining more confidence in him as well."
Brett Stangel also has made strides in the consistency department, as he's made the all-tournament team in both of the Pioneers' tournaments this season and was named MVP of the Gabe Miller Tip-Off Classic.
The youngest of Reid and Cheryl Stangel's boys didn't hesitate to show off his all-tournament hardware during a recent trip home.
"I kind of joked around with Brad and Bryan because they didn't have any of those, but they have national championships on me so I can't joke around too much," said Brett Stangel, who plans to graduate next December with a business degree.
One of his UW-Platteville coaches said Stangel has earned the right to brag a little.
"He's a very humble guy until you get him around the family - then he'll tell you all about it," Brad Stangel said. "He's very proud of that stuff and he should be, because he's worked hard.
"The (tournament MVP) is something Bryan never won here and something I never won here. The same thing with his state championship (at MHS). When he gets a chance, he'll bring that up."
Brad Stangel the brother had some inside information.
The Pioneers' third-year assistant coach has witnessed up close and personal for two decades how motivated Brett Stangel, the youngest of the three Stangel boys who starred at Monroe High School and went on to play for the Pioneers, gets when "it's his turn."
"Out of the three of us, Brett might be the most competitive - and not just because he was always competing against two older brothers," Brad Stangel said of himself and the family's middle brother, Bryan.
"He just has that natural competitiveness in him."
That trait has come in mighty handy this season for a Pioneers squad faced with replacing two of its top three scorers from a year ago and missing a key returning cog in the lineup.
All Brett Stangel has done is overhaul his offensive game and double his scoring average - all while playing the second-most minutes in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and leading UW-Platteville to a 7-4 start.
A solid contributor as a reserve in his sophomore season and a full-time starter as a junior, the younger Stangel's competitive fire shifted into overdrive as he began preparing for his final collegiate campaign.
"Being a senior, I knew I was going to have to score a little bit more for our team to be successful," he said. "I went in with that attitude that I have to score a little more, and it's worked out pretty well."
That it has.
Through 11 games, Stangel ranks sixth in the WIAC at 16.2 points per game, sixth in free throw shooting at 84 percent and ninth in 3-point shooting at 43 percent. Oh, and those numbers have been produced while playing an energy-sapping 33.5 minutes per game.
Even with the impressive averages, Stangel said he hasn't been the focal point of the Pioneers' swing offense this season.
"I wouldn't say (the offense) is running through me, I'm just looking to hunt my shot more compared to what I did last year," he said. "My teammates trust me more, too.
"The scoring is nice, but it doesn't really matter if I score or not as long as we win."
The 6-foot, 175-pounder was a prolific scorer for the 2006-07 Monroe squad that won the WIAA Division 2 state championship - a group that will be honored tonight at halftime of the Cheesemakers' game against Darlington.
Stangel got to play the role of the opponent's top scorer on the Pioneers' scout team in practice as a freshman, but his senior season at MHS was the last time he's scored at this pace. He opened the season with a career-high 23 points in an overtime victory against Luther College, then topped that by scoring 25 points against UW-River Falls on Dec. 3.
"We ran a couple of plays early on to try and get me going, I hit a few shots and my teammates kept finding me," Stangel said of the career outing vs. the Falcons.
Stangel has been the Pioneers' leading scorer in seven games this season, a fact made more impressive by the fact that last season's second-leading scorer, 6-8 sophomore forward Chas Cross, has yet to play this season due to injury.
The key to Stangel's increased production has been a willingness to do more than shoot from 3-point range. Last season, nearly 50 percent of his total field goal attempts came from behind the arc. This season, 31 percent of his shots have been 3s.
"When he was in high school he was really good in the mid-range game and because he's developed his strength and ball-handling, he is able to do that now at this level," Brad Stangel said. "He has developed through his four years here and kind of found his niche of what he can and he can't do.
"You can see him gaining more confidence and the team gaining more confidence in him as well."
Brett Stangel also has made strides in the consistency department, as he's made the all-tournament team in both of the Pioneers' tournaments this season and was named MVP of the Gabe Miller Tip-Off Classic.
The youngest of Reid and Cheryl Stangel's boys didn't hesitate to show off his all-tournament hardware during a recent trip home.
"I kind of joked around with Brad and Bryan because they didn't have any of those, but they have national championships on me so I can't joke around too much," said Brett Stangel, who plans to graduate next December with a business degree.
One of his UW-Platteville coaches said Stangel has earned the right to brag a little.
"He's a very humble guy until you get him around the family - then he'll tell you all about it," Brad Stangel said. "He's very proud of that stuff and he should be, because he's worked hard.
"The (tournament MVP) is something Bryan never won here and something I never won here. The same thing with his state championship (at MHS). When he gets a chance, he'll bring that up."
