Bryce Nze story ...

Here's my WisSports.net article detailing Bryce Nze's commitment to the Panthers ...

BY MARK MILLER
Editor, WisSports.net

In the middle of Bryce Nze's sophomore year of playing varsity basketball at Arrowhead High School, he received a NCAA Division I scholarship offer from Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter.

That early vote of confidence from Jeter resonated with Nze, who called Jeter Wednesday evening and gave the 11th-year head coach a verbal commitment to play college basketball for the Panthers.

"Milwaukee was the first school to give me an offer and I like the atmosphere around the school," Nze said. "It's close to home so my mother and my friends can come to watch me play."

A 6-foot-6 wing forward with excellent strength, Nze selected Milwaukee over Division I offers from South Dakota and Tennessee State along with a Division II offer from Lindenwood. He took official visits to Lindenwood and Milwaukee before choosing the Panthers.

Ranked No. 5 among seniors in Wisconsin by WisSports.net, Nze is a three-year varsity performer for coach Craig Haase at Arrowhead.

He is trying to get healthy after breaking a bone in his foot over the summer while competing with the Playground Elite club program, but his availability for the start of practice on November 16 remains unclear.

"My foot didn't heal like the doctors thought it would from the injury I sustained last summer," Nze said. "I'm getting a CT scan next week."

Nze's return to the Arrowhead lineup is vital for the Warhawks, who enter the campaign ranked No. 7 among WIAA Division 1 schools by the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook.

His ability to score (14.7 ppg as a junior), rebound (8.9 rpg as a junior) and pass (3.0 apg as a junior) are key components for an Arrowhead program looking to capture the Classic Eight Conference title. Nze is the top player in the Arrowhead program that also includes veterans Brian Wilman, Trevell Cunningham, John Mack, Ben Bredesen, Nike Loke and Ben Seefeld.

"I think we'll be able to compete with everybody this season," Nze said. "We were young last season so I think we can surprise people this year."

A two-time first-team all-league pick in the Classic Eight, Nze has a good perimeter shooting stroke, but is at his best attacking the basket off the wing or posting up smaller players in the post.

He'll use all of those offensive strengths when he arrives on the Milwaukee campus next summer.

"Coach Jeter says he wants me to play all over the floor," Nze said. "He wants me to attack from the wing, but he also wants me to take smaller players inside."

Nze, who attended Classic Eight rival Kettle Moraine before transferring to Arrowhead after the first semester of his freshman year, says he is working on his ball handling, his ability to catch and shoot, and his lateral quickness in preparation for his senior season and his career with Milwaukee.

Nze joins Max Curran, a 6-7 forward who attends Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., in the Panthers' 2016 recruiting class. He joins Stevens Point's Sam Hauser (Marquette), Milwaukee Washington's Te'jon Lucas (Illinois), Stevens Point's Trev Anderson (Green Bay), Germantown's Juwan McCloud (Northern Iowa) and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau's Nick Wagner (Northern Illinois) as players from Wisconsin's class of 2016 to commit to NCAA Division I schools.