GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — In a year when more than 2,300 men’s college basketball players entered the NCAA transfer portal—a new record—one Wisconsin native is choosing to stay.
Johnny Kinziger, a former standout at De Pere High School, is returning to Illinois State for another season with the Redbirds. While the college basketball landscape shifts around him, Kinziger said his decision came down to one thing: loyalty—to his teammates, his coaches, and his community.
“This team is is the main reason I like, is the whole reason I stayed,” Kinziger said. “The the coaching staff, the players that are returning, like, these are my best friends. I wouldn’t wanna play with anyone else. And then the fans too. You know, they’re just always in our corner.”
Kinziger acknowledged the support of the Illinois State community as a major part of what made his decision easy.
“This community is like a basketball—it’s a basketball school, I’d say, and they just wanna really support us,” he said. “So we just gotta do our best to stay together and win.”
Even as rumors swirled and many hoped for a possible reunion with his younger brother Zach, a senior at De Pere committed to Wisconsin, Johnny Kinziger chose to remain with the program where he’s built his foundation.
“We just really wanna accomplish what what I came here to do, win the MVC tournament and make March Madness. You know? That’s been our main goal,” Kinziger said.
He praised his coaching staff for maintaining team continuity during a transfer-heavy offseason.
“Coach did a really good job,” he said. “Like, we retained pretty much everybody. Our roster’s all set, and, you know, we’re ready to go with that. It’s really nice just only having to bring in one guy, like, get him used to the system. Coach has just done a really good job of bringing in the right pieces.”
Beyond the roster and the fanbase, Kinziger said the culture of connection and brotherhood within the team mattered most.
“I just got out of a lift, and I sat in the locker room for two hours talking to my guys on my team,” he said. “Just having that and knowing I’ll have that next year is a great feeling.”
Kinziger noted that he’s worked hard to define his place on the team.
“I’ve established, like, my role here,” he said. “And, obviously, that can change just based on who’s playing well and who’s not, but I’m really determined to keep working hard to keep that role.”
Kinziger also reflected on the possibility of playing with his younger brother.
“It would have been cool to play with him and everything,” he said. “But, you know, we’re on two different paths, two different things, so I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”
Still, the older brother will be watching.
“Yeah. I mean, whenever he’s on and I’m not playing, I’ll be watching him for sure,” Kinziger said. “Probably yelling at the TV a little bit, you know, just encouraging him.”
He added that Zach supported his decision either way.
“He was just happy with whatever decision I made,” Kinziger said. “Obviously, you know, we’d wanna play together. That’s like a dream. But like I said, everything’s different. He’s happy for where I’m at, and he’s he’s happy where he’s at.”
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