De Pere star Johnny Kinziger wins co-Mr. Basketball award
Move over Tony Bennett, you have company.
De Pere senior guard Johnny Kinziger’s decorated high school basketball résumé added perhaps its most prestigious honor yet Friday when he was named the co-recipient of the Mr. Basketball Award along with Pewaukee forward and Iowa State commit Milan Momcilovic.
The award has been presented by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association since 1982 to the most outstanding senior player in the state.
Voting is conducted by a panel of WBCA Hall of Fame coaches after six nominees are determined by a committee of WBCA executive board members.
Along with Kinziger and Momcilovic, the nominees included Lakeside Lutheran guard-forward Levi Birkholz, Middleton guard Gavyn Hurley, Brillion forward Jeremy Lorenz and D.C. Everest guard and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay commit Marcus Hall.
Kinziger is the second area player to be named Mr. Basketball and the first since Bennett in 1988 after he led Green Bay Preble to the state tournament.
The 6-foot Kinziger is averaging 18.8 points, 5.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals, leading De Pere to the WIAA Division 1 state tournament for the first time since 2011 and to the brink of its first title since 1934.
De Pere is set to play Kettle Moraine in a state semifinal Friday night at the Kohl Center in Madison.
“John has had a remarkable senior season and career filled with many milestones and honors,” De Pere coach Brian Winchester said. “Being named Mr. Basketball by the WBCA, and in the same company as Tony Bennett, is the ultimate individual accomplishment.
“Through his career, John has been a tremendous teammate and humble as all of the individual accolades have come his way. This award will certainly be appreciated by John, but I know he wants nothing more than to help his team win a state championship this weekend.”
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Kinziger became the Green Bay metro’s all-time leading scorer last month in a win at Green Bay Southwest, surpassing the former record of 1,986 points set by former Northeastern Wisconsin Lutheran star Samuel Meerstein.
The Illinois State recruit then became the 49th player in state history to record 2,000 career points and scored 500 or more points for the second straight season.
“I like the way he plays,” said Kettle Moraine coach and former University of Wisconsin guard Trevon Hughes. “Very poised. To me, that’s the traditional point guard. He picks and chooses his spots in a game, when to attack when his team needs a bucket.
“Even on the defensive end, he is savvy.”
Kinziger was named the Fox River Classic Conference player of the year in helping to lead his team to the conference championship for the second straight season.
The Redbirds have gone 91-15 since Kinziger’s freshman season, the most wins any De Pere player has been part of during their time with the program.
“Johnny might be the best leader I have seen,” longtime Bay Port coach Nate Rykal said. “He is just so good at getting guys to do what they are supposed to do. He just has such a not going to lose attitude.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: De Pere star Johnny Kinziger wins Wisconsin's co-Mr. Basketball award
