Curtis DeCora knows a thing or two about building a basketball program, especially in Sawyer County. That’s because in the last four years he’s resurrected two programs – the Hayward Hurricanes and Winter Warriors.

He’s about to do it for a third time after accepting the head coaching position for the LCO Migizwag Eagles boys’ basketball team.

DeCora understands that taking over a basketball program isn't about reinventing the wheel; it’s about establishing an unrelenting standard of excellence from day one. It starts first and foremost with building a culture rooted in discipline, resilience, and a relentless passion for the game.

DeCora approaches every drill, every film session, and every possession with a championship mindset, because winning isn't an overnight outcome—it's a daily habit. It’s those hallmarks, along with an exciting, up-tempo, run-and-gun Grinnell College inspired offense, and tenacious full-court defense that helped the Winter Warriors capture their first Lakeland East – Conference title and WIAA Division 5 Regional Championship for the first time in the same season in over 40 years.

DeCora laid down a foundation that earned the Warriors respect on the court while setting a new benchmark for what a program can achieve. That led to four players scoring over 1,000 points in their careers, multiple all-conference honors, including Player of the Year, the top rebounder in the nation and the top three-point shooter in Wisconsin.

In DeCora’s first year with Winter in the 2022-23 season, he took over a program that had not experienced a winning season in a decade, and was a perennial 3-20 program. Under DeCora, Winter finished 13-13, and averaged 70.2 points per game, putting them 4th in the entire state of Division 5 teams behind Heritage Christian, Ithaca and Pacelli.

Winter also finished with an average 44.2 rebounds per game, putting them 1st in the entire state of Division 5 teams. The Warriors 16 assists a game was good for 9th in the entire state across all Division 5 teams. They also averaged the second most steals in the entire state of Division 5 teams and their 65.19 shot attempts per game put them 2nd across all D-5 programs in Wisconsin.

Year Two saw even bigger and better things for Winter. Now armed with a full season under their belts, the Warriors attacked the 2023-24 season with relentless energy. The Warriors set a program record of 20 wins, finishing 20-8 overall, culminating in their D-5 Regional title. Their record of 13-3 in the East Lakeland secured them the conference title outright, their first since the 1990s. They also set a new program record for most points in a game with 112, which was broken just two weeks later with a score of 116-87 in a victory over Lake Holcombe to secure their conference championship.

These milestones were made possible by an aggressive, opportunistic defense and fast-hitting, high-octane offense that led all of D5 in scoring at 80.25 points per game. Winter also finished first among all D-5 boys basketball teams in assists (20.9 apg), steals (16.8 spg), rebounds (43.2 rpg) and 72 shots per game, ten better than the next closest team.

That led to senior Gunnar Greuel to be named Conference Player of the Year, and a WIAA D-5 All-State recipient for twice leading the nation in rebounding. When the boys basketball head coach position at Hayward High School opened up later that spring, DeCora applied and was chosen to lead the Hurricanes in a new direction.

Once again, DeCora took over a flailing program that had achieved little success over the last decade. The Hurricanes struggled to score, put together wins, play defense or generate excitement. That all changed once DeCora stepped on the court.

The first year was a total rebuild. DeCora scrapped the slow, methodical approach that had defined Hayward boys basketball, and led to six consecutive losing seasons, in favor of the style that transformed Winter into a D5 powerhouse.

The Heart O’ The North was a tough conference in 2024-25, featuring multiple teams that would win regional titles. The conference also featured Cumberland’s Gavin Gores, a 6-10 NCAA D-1 commit to Wyoming and a finalist for Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year.

Under DeCora, Hayward swept the season series with Cumberland, and posted their most wins in seven seasons. In his inaugural year with the Hurricanes DeCora’s system led to a huge turnaround, and the numbers tell the tale of the tape that season.

After averaging just 46.9 points per game the over the last 7 seasons, Hayward suddenly began to score at a high rate. When Hayward’s 2024-25 campaign was over, they finished with an average of 69.8 points per game – good for 20th in all D-3.

Other accomplishments include an average of 65.9 shot attempts per game, putting Hayward 1st in the entire state of Division 3 teams. Hayward averaged 35.0 rebounds per game, putting them 11th in the entire state of Division 3 team, and they averaged 17.8 assists per game, putting them 7th in the entire state across their division. Their 13.5 steals were 3rd best in the entire state among all Division 3 teams.

Much like with Winter, Hayward took a huge step forward in Year Two, finishing 16-8 – the Hurricanes’ first winning season in eight years. Lucas Hanson finished with 1,000 points in his career and was named Conference Player of the Year.

Once again, the Hurricanes finished in the top five in multiple statistical categories in Division 3, ranking 4th among all D3 teams in scoring, with a season average of 81 points per game. Hayward would finish second in the state in their division assists (20.3 apg), rebounds (39.8 rpg) and steals (13.3). Their 73.1 shot attempts per game was top in the entire state in Division 3. They took set a school record for most points in a game when they secured a victory 111-78 over Cameron.

The number of records set by Winter and Hayward in these four years is almost too long to list, but when it is all counted, DeCora’s system and coaching philosophy lead to a combined 27 program records.

Now he’s bringing his philosophy to LCO and has plans to replicate the same kind of success he created at Winter and Hayward. DeCora knows that there is work to be done, and it’s not going to be easy. But after scaling two mountains, a third should be a piece of cake.

His message to his newest roster of players is the same he preached to Winter and Hayward; outwork everyone, be extremely coachable, and always lift one another up with positivity and encouragement.

"My goal has always been to create an environment that is fun, where kids love coming to the gym because they know they're going to have an opportunity to put on a show, break some records and win some games but do it all while having a great time with their teammates,” DeCora said upon his recent hire. “We've never prioritized individualized stats, but we do prioritize effort, accountability and owning your role. When kids do that, they find themselves in the record books using our system."

The Lac Courte Oreilles Migiziwag looks to make some improvements on a program that went 5-19 in the 2025-2026 season. While putting up just 26.2 points per game, they also gave up a 56.4 points per game, which comes out to an average margin of -30.2 points.