Garrett Etzel-Gov. Mifflin

Garrett Etzel was an All-County guard at Gov. Mifflin who averaged 19 points per game as a senior. The 2003 graduate has returned to Shillington as the Mustangs’ new varsity boys basketball head coach. “I got a lot of responses from people within the community that are excited for myself and also the basketball program. I’m really looking forward to it,” said Etzel. He’ll be coaching in the Governor Mifflin Athletic Community Center which opened in early December. “This facility is great. You’ve got everything you need here to become a winning program,” replied Etzel. The Mustangs haven’t had a winning season since 2019-20. They went (15-29) over the past two years under Brian Wrobel. He became the head coach after Kyle Conrad passed away from cancer. Gov. Mifflin is part of a highly competitive Division 1 in the Berks Conference. The Mustangs finished (3-8) in league play a season ago. “It’s very tough, and you can tell by the past several years how far some of these teams go in State’s. This is some of the best basketball in the state,” emphasized Etzel. He spent last year as the head coach at Wyomissing. The Spartans ended up (11-11). Etzel was an assistant at Wyomissing for five seasons. He also served as an assistant at Alvernia, his alma mater, for one year. Etzel was named the PAC Player of the Year in 2007. He led Alvernia to conference championships in 2006 and 2007. The 2008 graduate scored more than 1,000 points in his college career. Etzel mentioned that his coaching staff will be finalized soon. They’ll have an experienced group to work with in the upcoming season. Gov. Mifflin’s top five scorers were all juniors including Matt Koehler. The 6’3 wing averaged 11.5 ppg. and connected 43 times from beyond the arc. Point guard Andrew Galantuomo reminds Etzel of himself. He provided nine points a night during the 2023-24 campaign. UConn baseball commit Bryce Detwiler added nearly eight points a contest. Jahmair Johnson, a 6’3 forward, is also part of an athletic junior class. The Mustangs allowed 56 ppg. last year. Etzel will be focused on that end of the floor. “The identity that I need for this team is gonna have to be on the defensive end,” he stated.