Hartland Arrowhead basketball star Bennett Basich is UWGB's first 2024 recruit

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball coach Sundance Wicks has been busy assembling a team since being hired in March, overhauling a roster that won just three games last season.

With his work all but done on the 2023-24 squad, it’s time to look toward the future.

UWGB landed its first 2024 prospect last month when it received a verbal commitment from Hartland Arrowhead senior Bennett Basich.

The 6-foot-4 guard received an offer from the Phoenix after visiting campus in June and announced his intentions to play for the team a month later.

UWGB arguably has landed Arrowhead’s two best players in back-to-back seasons after previously signing incoming freshman guard Mac Wrecke.

The duo helped lead the Warhawks to the WIAA Division 1 state tournament last season, when they lost to De Pere in the title game.

Basich scored 19 points and shot 7-for-14 in a state semifinal against Neenah and followed with 11 points against De Pere.

He is extremely active on both ends of the court and at times is an unstoppable and versatile force on offense. He scored a career-high 38 points against Muskego in December, a game in which he shot 15-for-20 overall and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.

It was one of three times last season he hit five 3s in a game.

Basich showed off his defensive prowess against Neenah at state, coming up with a steal in the closing minutes and completing a three-point play to put the Warhawks up double figures.

He stole the ball again on the following possession and sealed the win with another basket.

Basich averaged 15.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 50.5% overall, 41.5% on 3-pointers and 80.8% from the line.

He was a first-team all-conference selection in the Classic Eight for the second straight year and enters his senior campaign needing 103 points for 1,000 in his career.

Basich also was offered a DI scholarship from Southern Illinois.

UWGB assistant coach Pat Monaghan was part of the staff at SIU recruiting Basich, and that prior relationship helped in getting Basich to Green Bay.

Basich felt he had developed a close bond with Monaghan, and when Monaghan was hired by Wicks and Wicks reached out to Basich after the state tournament, it all felt perfect to him.

“It was the coaches and the people and the culture they are creating,” Basich said about his decision to pick UWGB. “I feel Coach Monaghan and Coach Wicks and the rest of the coaching staff are all like great fits for my personality. I’m an energetic guy. I know Coach Wicks is. Loves it, always has energy, always is doing something.

“My parents always told me go where you are wanted. Every live period game there was always a coach from Green Bay there. All the coaches were always checking in with me on a weekly basis. It just felt like a very welcoming and very good culture I’d like to join. I know the bonds I build there will last a lifetime, and I feel like those are the right people I want to build that bond with.”

Per NCAA rules, Wicks can’t comment on Basich until he signs his letter of intent this fall.

But those who know him best believe UWGB is getting an impact talent.

“He’s a high-energy player who brings shooting and a winning mentality to a team,” Wrecke said.

Basich could have waited a bit longer to see if other offers came his way after the AAU season, but he didn’t feel it was necessary.

He spoke to Wrecke about his early experiences with the Phoenix and received positive reviews. Wrecke told him the staff and players were amazing and that he loved the culture being created.

It just solidified what Basich already felt.

His role with Arrowhead likely will become even larger this season with the graduation of Wrecke and fellow guard Austin Villarreal.

He wants to be an even bigger leader and set the tone for “greatness” for a team he believes can return to the big stage.

As for his game, he still isn’t satisfied despite now being a future DI player.

“I’m still working on everything,” Basich said. “You can never be too good at one thing. Always working on being a good all-around player. Working on my strength, working on my athleticism, working on my shooting, dribbling, defense. Just a little bit of everything.

“I just want to be the best player I can be when I arrive there.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Arrowhead's Bennett Basich is first 2024 UWGB men's basketball recruit