A .500 season may be called a success when it includes road defeats at Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Massachusetts and two conference losses to Butler.

Green Bay split its schedule directly down the middle, finishing 15-15 overall and 9-9 in the Horizon League. That was good enough for a fourth-place tie in the conference, but not good enough for the Phoenix players and coaches.

"There were a lot of games we were in that swung the other way because of turnovers late in the games or mistakes," junior Terry Evans told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Those games stick in your head."

In Green Bay's season-ending 75-67 loss to Valparaiso in the first round of the Horizon tournament, the Phoenix committed 21 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Crusaders.

The mental mistakes should decline as this squad matures. The Phoenix will be one of the league's most experienced teams next season, with nine players back who averaged at least 13 minutes per game in 2007-08. The team's top 10 scorers and top six rebounders all return for a squad that loses just one senior.

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