Stankowski steps up his game for MTU
HOUGHTON – For every Batman, there’s a Robin. Ben Stelzer is the Huskies ‘Batman’, averaging 22 points per contest. Helping out Stelzer in the scoring department this season is Kyle Stankowski.
The 6’9″ Stankowski is putting up 11 points per game this season. He scored a career high 18 points against Grand Valley State Saturday afternoon. A big factor for Stankowski this year is that he was healthy to begin the season right from day one.
“I was out to start last season, so having that extra month of pre-season really helped,” said Stankowski. “The coaches have been molding me into this role, saying that, ‘You can be a starter for us.’ That’s just really given me the confidence to be a player instead of the guy who just fills in and is not really expecting much.”
“He’s skilled enough to do it. We just have to work on the consistency part,” said Huskies men’s basketball head coach Kevin Luke. “I’m not saying this negatively at all, but we’re trying to teach him how to play longer minutes being a weaker, thinner person and he’s getting it. He’s never going to get any thicker, so we have to teach him how to play that way and that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
Stankowski and the Huskies play at Hillsdale this Thursday at 8 p.m.