There comes a time in everyone's life when opportunity is everything. When that chance came Brett Prahl's way, the 6-foot, 9-inch senior forward for the Milwaukee men's basketball team was more than happy to take advantage of the situation.
 
It coincided with his junior season approaching. Coming into the 2016-17 campaign, he had played in 51 games over his first two years, but posted per-game averages of 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds per contest, while averaging 6.2 minutes on the court each night.
 
With a new coaching staff in charge of the Panthers, Prahl quickly earned a spot in the starting lineup through hard work and dedication – and has not missed a beat since.


 
"I really didn't know what to expect coming in," Prahl said of the start of his college career. "For bigs, I think a lot of time, it usually takes some time to play and get minutes right away and we had some good people in the position when we got here. It was nice to be able to compete against them and learn from them – that definitely helped a lot."
 
The Prahls, Brett and brother Alex Prahl, are one of 29 pairs of brothers currently playing together at the NCAA Division I level this season. Just seven sets are twins and the UWM duo is the only set of identical twins in the bunch.

Following a senior year of high school in which he averaged 19.7 points and was named all-state – with teammate Alex an all-conference honoree who added almost 12 points per game – the twins were looking to continue their careers on the same court in college.
 
"We didn't have a lot of offers coming out of high school but we really wanted to play together," Brett said. "Milwaukee wanted both of us to come and it was close to home, so obviously that worked."
 
Together they joined the Panthers. Year one was spent as redshirt freshmen in 2013-14, as he and brother Alex came to Milwaukee and learned during that first campaign. The experience ended on a high, with the team making a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It's been a lot of fun," he said of continuing to play with his brother. "Al helps me out a lot."
 
Alex, who has appeared in 45 games in his career but has been limited by injury, has been there with him each step of the way.
 
"We are usually guarding each other in practice and he is a tough defender," Brett said. "It helps to get prepared for games. During games, on the bench, he will give me advice and confidence."
 
Brett saw the court in 25 games as a freshman, shooting 53.1 percent from the field. He did even better as a sophomore, sinking nearly 80 percent (.789) of his attempts from the floor in limited minutes over the course of 26 games.
 
Then his junior season came and went, continuing to find his niche on the court down low for the Panthers. He finished the campaign with averages of 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest, seeing the court almost 20 minutes (19.8 mpg) a night. He stepped that up to 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest in Horizon League play.

That play earned him the team Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Improved Award.
 
"A big part of it was the opportunity," Prahl said. "It took a while to get going, but Coach (LaVall) Jordan gave me a lot of confidence. By the end of the season, I was playing pretty well. Omar (assistant/position coach Omar Lowery) helped too, working on post moves every day and giving me confidence."
 
Prahl went on to add his name to the school's record book by shooting an amazing 66.4 percent from the field, making 99 of his 149 attempts on the season. That performance shattered the old mark, set by Adrian Tigert back in 2001-02 at 61.0 percent (86-of-141).
 
The number also led the conference and, more impressively, established a new Horizon League record, topping the 66.3 percent shooting accomplished by Greg Babcock of Green Bay, back in 2001-02. Had he met the NCAA minimum of five made field goals per game, it would have finished as the fifth-best in the nation.
 
"I really wasn't thinking about that at all during the season but afterwards, you look back at it and it hits you that it's pretty cool," Prahl said about the record.
 
He is up to his usual tricks as a senior, averaging 9.0 points and almost 5 rebounds, again shooting over 60 percent from the field.
 
There is one more mark he could still set. If Prahl can get to 400 career attempts, at 63.8 percent for his career (236-of-370), he would not only set a new record for career field-goal percentage, but would smash it by quite a bit. Tigert (2001-06) also holds the current mark … at 57.8 percent.
 
"I just always try to be an efficient player and take smart shots that I think I can make," Prahl said. "This year I have even taken a few more outside shots since Coach Baldwin wants me to do that."
 
Brett has added those attempts from behind the three-point line to his resume this season, taking 13 this winter after attempting only five over his first three years.
 
The evolution of his game continues. In addition, it may just add another entry in the record book and make more history for Prahl.