UWGB men's basketball lands Westosha Central's all-time leading scorer

GREEN BAY – Jack Rose finished his high school basketball career in March as the all-time leading scorer at Westosha Central.

As flashy as his numbers were, that’s not what often stood out about the 6-foot-4 senior guard.

“First and foremost, he has a great attitude,” Westosha Central coach James Hyllberg said. “I think any coach that has been around knows that if you have a great player with a poor attitude, it’s going to give you more headaches than anything else.

“His attitude is fantastic. Coachable. He’s really everything you want from a student-athlete. … He was never a kid who worried about his points. He just wants to win.”

Rose announced his commitment Monday to play for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, ending a long and interesting recruiting process.

He received several NCAA Division I offers the past two years, including a Power Five one from Maryland. He also had offers from Toledo, George Washington, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and UW-Milwaukee.

But coaching changes made some of those obsolete. UWM made its offer under former coach Patrick Baldwin. Maryland did it before Mark Turgeon stepped down in December.

The large number of college players in the transfer portal also made things tricky for some in the 2022 prep class, who had to wait their turn while rosters were sorted out.

“I was patient from the start,” Rose said. “I knew that the portal was in full effect and that a lot of schools are going after age rather than high school kids just for the experience and things like that.

“As it’s all unfolding, I stayed patient. I didn’t want to jump on something that I didn’t feel was the best fit or right for me. Luckily, I did wait. I was patient, and I found what I wanted in Green Bay.”

Per NCAA rules, UWGB coach Will Ryan is not allowed to comment on potential recruits.

If Rose turns out to be a solid college player, it could end up being the Phoenix’s gain and the Panthers’ loss.

Rose had interest in joining in-state and Horizon League rival UWM, which is less than an hour from where he played his high school ball.

He had a good connection with Baldwin, who was fired after the season and replaced by Bart Lundy in March.

Rose recently visited the campus and worked with some of the players while also meeting Lundy, but the staff didn’t make a strong move for him and wasn’t prepared to extend an offer.

In the meantime, he also had a chance to speak to Ryan and liked his presentation when Rose made a visit to Green Bay a few weeks ago.

The visit ended with a walk-on offer.

Rose opted to wait to see if there was an opportunity for a scholarship elsewhere. That turned out to be UWGB when Ryan offered one Friday.

“I feel like Coach Ryan, (assistant) Coach (Freddie) Owens, they valued me,” Rose said. “They wanted me to be a part of their team. On my visit up there, I felt it was a perfect campus for myself and that maybe I could have the possibility and chance to step on the court right away.”

Rose put the finishing touches on a decorated prep career by averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals this season, leading his team to the WIAA Division 2 state tournament and being named the Southern Lakes Conference player of the year.

He broke former Westosha Central standout Tim Cates’ program career scoring record of 1,265 points in January and finished with more than 1,600.

Rose played all four years on varsity and averaged 17.5 points or more in each of his final three seasons. He shot 40.5% or better from 3-point range in two of his four seasons.

He saw good minutes as a freshman and had the opportunity to learn by watching former guard Jaeden Zackery, who averaged 10.4 points at Boston College this season.

Hyllberg has compared the two in terms of their strong work ethic on both sides of the floor.

Along with basketball, Rose also plays football, volleyball and baseball at Westosha Central.

“Jack is the ultimate competitor, hates to lose,” Hyllberg said. “He has got a controlled killer instinct to it, which I really love. He goes out there and he plays as hard in practice as he does in a game. To his credit, that is what has made him a special player.

“Whether it’s rebounding, playing defense, playing 3-on-3 or 4-on-4, a shooting drill, he always gives the best of his ability. Those characteristics would be any coach’s dream.”

Ryan and his staff have finished most of the heavy lifting in reconstructing a roster that was decimated by players entering the portal this offseason.

The recruits who have joined since March have been a mixture of college transfers and true freshmen.

It includes former Hawaii forward Brock Heffner, junior college additions Davin Zeigler, Zae Blake, Clarence Cummings III and Garren Davis and prep players in Rose and Racine Case’s Amari Jedkins.

UWGB has one scholarship remaining, although it’s possible it decides not to use it.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UWGB men's basketball lands Westosha Central's all-time leading scorer