GREEN BAY – Brock Heffner’s first college basketball stop was 4,000 miles from home. His second is fewer than 100.

The former Grafton star committed to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball program Thursday after redshirting his first season at Hawaii.

“It’s awesome,” Heffner said. “Didn’t expect to be here so quickly, but I see it as a blessing in disguise. It’s going to be awesome being able to play in the state again, playing in front of people who supported me all my life growing up around here.

“I’ve had a lot of support already, telling me they are going to come out to games. That’s going to be really cool. Family. Friends. They are all going to be coming out to watch.”

The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward is excited to join a Phoenix team that features one of his former Wisconsin Playground Club AAU teammates in forward Cade Meyer, who will enter next season as arguably the Phoenix’s top player after being named to the Horizon League all-freshman team.

Heffner liked what he heard during his discussions with UWGB coach Will Ryan and the “hard-working dudes” he will be surrounded by when he arrives on campus.

He is the seventh player on the Phoenix roster from Wisconsin, joining Meyer (Monroe), Brayden Dailey (Cuba City), Nate Jenkins (Kettle Moraine), Amari Jedkins (Racine St. Catherine’s), Donavan Short (Denmark) and walk-on Zane Short (Denmark).  

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Heffner will provide additional size for the Phoenix, joining the 6-8 Meyer and 6-10 Donavan Short.

“I think we are getting another player kind of like me, he kind of plays the same style as me,” Meyer said. “He is very aggressive. He really wants to win. I feel like we can kind of be a clone of each other and really work off each other.”

Meyer made his own recruiting pitch to his old friend. He told Heffner that although UWGB’s 5-25 record last season might not be pleasing, he believes the Phoenix is a building team with a lot of upside.

Per NCAA rules, Ryan is not allowed to comment on Heffner until all his paperwork is filed, but the staff told Heffner how he could be utilized.

“They believe I’m pretty skilled, I believe that as well,” Heffner said. “I’m a hard-nosed player. They believe I can play the three through five. They want to see me and Cade on the court at the same time. They are really looking at a pick-and-pop guy, maybe get a rebound, push it up the court.

“They really are honestly looking for a lot, and that’s another thing. They had a lot of trust in me over a lot of other schools talking to me. Ultimately, I just want to be at a place I’m wanted and where I can make an impact right away. Green Bay is giving me the opportunity. It’s up to me to see if I can take that opportunity.”

Heffner didn’t generate a ton of interest from the Division I schools in Wisconsin during his high school career, but it was a different story this time after he entered the transfer portal.

He said the UWGB coaching staff contacted him soon after, as did several other schools.

Heffner thought when he committed to Hawaii in April 2021 that he’d spend his entire career on the island of Oahu. He originally committed to IUPUI but reopened his recruitment and liked everything about the Rainbow Warriors.

It didn’t work out exactly how he envisioned, but there are no regrets. He learned a lot about himself living on his own so far from home.  

“I took the redshirt year really seriously,” said Heffner, who has four years of eligibility remaining. “From that point on, I had great leaders around me. Great teammates. Great support all throughout the way over there. Just really getting better every day was the goal.

“It got to a point, however, at the end of the year Hawaii decided to move in other directions trying to recruit better. It is unfortunate in my position, but like I said, I look at it as a blessing in disguise. I don’t know if I necessarily would want to play at a place that wouldn’t want to use me. It was a great location, great teammates. No hate over there. But it’s just time in the process to move on, and I’m pumped to get this thing going.”

Heffner had a big senior season with Grafton, averaging 21.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 34.7% from 3-point range. He had 10 double-doubles and was a first-team all-conference selection in the North Shore.

His redshirt season at Hawaii not only helped him get acclimated to DI, but also allowed him to return to full health.

Heffner had left knee surgery after his freshman season at Grafton because of several dislocations that summer and missed his sophomore year.

He still battled stiffness in the knee during his junior and senior seasons despite it not impacting his performance.

It won’t be an issue at UWGB.

“Right when I got to college, being in the weight room every day and around great trainers, stretching, all that stuff,” Heffner said. “I’m fully 100 percent healthy and I’m fully 100 percent ready to go.”