By Chad Zutter, Sports Reporter
When asked what sparked Greg Van Grunsven to make the move from Bloomer, where he won over 100 games in seven years and a Western Cloverbelt conference title a season ago, he responded “I wanted to lead at the highest level”. The Big Rivers Conference is arguably the peak of high school basketball in northwestern Wisconsin. Van Grunsven added, “a good core has been set by Riley.”
Matt Riley, who moved into the athletic director role at Menomonie High School, stepped down after 10 years on the bench for the Menomonie Mustangs boys basketball team. Van Grunsven will take the reins from Riley with 23 years of varsity coaching experience, including a decade in the Big Rivers at Eau Claire Memorial and two BRC conference titles under his belt.
Van Grunsven inherits an experienced Mustangs squad with the top two scorers returning - Issac Ellison and Brody Thornton. Ellison, a first-team All-BRC selection a year ago, brings back an 18.4 scoring average and a vast amount of varsity experience. Ellison is no doubt the best glass cleaner in the Big Rivers as he averaged 9.6 rebounds per game last season, two more than anyone else in the challenging BRC. Ellison, who visited the free throw line 145 times, three times more than any other Mustang, a season ago can help the Mustangs win games by improving that part of his game. He shot 54.5% from the charity stripe in the 23-24 campaign.
Thornton, a long range threat, knocked down 62 3-pointers a season ago and contributed 12.9 points per game. As on the football field, Thornton is also an excellent defender and has the versatility to take on forwards or guards.
The other returning starter, Brady Johnson, led the Mustangs up the floor a season ago as the point guard. We shall see the other guards that play alongside Johnson, as Van Grunsven commented, “there is a good core of JV players” that will have the opportunity to fill some of those spots.
Van Grunsven said about the strength of the Mustangs this season, “I love our length”. Ellison and Thornton will be complemented by a sophomore Trevor Robert, who stands at 6-7, and saw sporadic varsity minutes as a freshman last season. A challenge will be, “acclimating to a new system”, commented Van Grunsven. He added, “It will take time” when talking about the system the veteran coach looks to install with the Mustangs.
To view the 2024-25 Mustangs varsity boys basketball schedule visit the Menomonie Mustangs athletic website - https://menomoniemustangs.com/.
Livestream Games can be viewed on Mustangs TV.
Varsity Roster:
Blake Behrens - So.
Max Branch - Jr
DJ Butler - So.
Issac Ellison - Sr.
Brady Johnson - Sr.
Ian Kistner - Jr.
Tyler Nelson - Jr.
Issac Nielsen - Jr.
Trevor Robert - So.
Jacob Rue - Jr.
Brody Thornton - Sr.
AJ Zydwosky - Sr.
Season Notes:
Head Coach: Greg Van Grunsven 24th Season: 1st Year at Menomonie (Overall Record: 299-230| Eau Claire Regis (6 Yrs) | Eau Claire Memorial (10 Yrs)| Bloomer (7 Yrs)
Matt Riley Record at MHS: (10 Yrs: 122-169)
Menomonie’s last BRC Conference title was 2006 when it was shared with Eau Claire North and Rice Lake.
Menomonie has only won two BRC titles in boys basketball and has never won a conference title outright.
Issac Ellison needs 207 points to become a member of the 1,000 point club. He enters the season with 793 career points. According to research done by Keith Moessner, only seven MHS boys basketball players have accomplished this feat. The last to enter the club was Noah Fedderson who ended his career with 1,051 points.
