It has been a season of change for the Cardinals men’s basketball team, and now the team is looking to continue in the right direction. The team is full of talented and hungry players looking to make their mark in the highly competitive Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
Changing of the guards
There has been a lot of change within the team lately. Last year’s leading scorers and All-CCIW honorees, Matt Helwig, ’23, and Mitch Lewis, ’23, graduated from the program. This leaves a huge gap in scoring for the team to make up. There was also the departure of last season’s coach, Anthony Figueroa, who left for Division I’s Northwestern State (LA). This came after he led the Cardinals to a 14-11 overall record and a trip to the CCIW tournament.
The team will now be in the hands of first-year head coach Vince Kmiec, ‘14/M ‘17. He has been with the program for over a decade, first as a player from 2010-2014, and then as an assistant coach from 2015-2022.
Fresh and familiar faces
The Cardinals bring in seven freshmen, with two of them earning spots on the varsity. One of these first-year students is Tyler Swierczek, ’27, who is coming off a stellar senior season at Palatine High School. As a freshman, Swierczek has a lot to learn about game differences between high school and college.
“People are older, stronger and bigger than most people I faced in high school,” Swierczek said. “The shot clock is also a major change from high school to college, but I’d say that adjustment isn’t as big as some people might portray it as.”
The Cardinals also boast a strong veteran presence with returners such as Ethan Helwig, ’24, and Brian Johnson, ’24. Helwig leads the team in scoring with 12.9 points per game so far. John Blumeyer, ’25 follows him with 12.3. Johnson leads the team in three-point percentage, shooting 48% from deep.
More new names
Men’s basketball also has two transfer students in Drew Gaston, ’25, and Ken Thomas, ’24. Gaston was an All-American at the College of DuPage last season. He finished his career as the only player in program history with at least 1,100 points (1,113), 290 free throws (290) and 100 steals (120). Meanwhile, Thomas was a Second Team All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) choice at Albion College last season. He scored 16.0 points a game for the Britons.
These two are already making their mark. Thomas is second on the team in rebounds and leads the team in blocks with four. Gaston has been a sparkplug coming off the bench; he averages 7.1 points per game.
The season so far
The Cardinals started their season in the golden state of California as they split games between California Lutheran and La Verne. The team then dropped their next games against Aurora, Anderson (IN) in close fashion, and cross-town rival Benedictine. The Cardinals have turned it around with back-to-back conference wins against Augustana and Wheaton. They will look to continue their momentum moving forward as expectations are still high.
“I think the expectations are to execute what we talk about in practice and follow through on what we worked on for that game,” Swierczek said. “We also have a lot to prove to many people, so proving people wrong is something we want to do moving forward.”
The Cardinals are looking to make a huge impression on the conference. They look to get into the conference tournament and hopefully get a chance at the NCAA tournament.
