Brush, Rinse, Repeat: Milwaukee Downs Colgate 69-60

For the second day in a row, your Milwaukee Panthers played some pretty damn inspired basketball and came away with a convincing win- this time over the Colgate Raiders of the Patriot League.



Behind stellar play from the two senior titans Ricky Franklin (19pts, 4ast, 4rbs) and James Eayrs (15pts, 10rbs), the Panthers (4-2) were able to overcome a sub-par first half (trailed 26-23 after 20 minutes), and drown out the Raiders with a barrage of 3-pointers and unusually stingy defense (hopefully this will become "usual").

But the talk of the game was the eye-popping performance of Lonnie Boga (not to mention Ja'Rob McCallum (5pts, 2ast, 2rbs, 2stl)). Newcomer Boga tallied a career-high 17 points to go along with 6 hard-earned boards and shot 4-5 from ling distance. Boga's triples seemed to come at the most opportune moments for the Panthers, who struggled to separate from Colgate until about a quarter of the way through the second half.

Every game solidifies the notion that we are going to get a lot more production out of these incoming freshman than previously thought. With Tone Boyle's status still in doubt, the added depth to the guard position will be invaluable down the stretch- esp. as minutes begin to wear on Ricky, Jerard, and Deonte.

It was refreshing to see the Panthers play so well on consecutive days. We posted only 8 turnovers (after turning it over more than 20 times last night!) and continued what now may be a "trend" of hot shooting from the field (23-50 (.460)) and specifically from beyond the arc (10-22 (.450)).

Who knows? I suggested that we start a streeeeeeeeeak to, at the very least enter the Marquette game (first (well 2nd considering we played WKU) big challenge of the season) with a respectable record and a little bit of credibility. So far, so good- but there is obviously a long way (4 games more) to go. One game at a time- that is the cliche but oh-so-true motto of winning teams, am I right?

Milwaukee visits Bowling Green this coming Saturday in a game that could either stunt or further bolster this meshing team's confidence before the home stand against UIC and Loyola. Tune in to WISN 1130 and Bill Johnson's ever-excellent (and always hilarious) coverage of the Panthers as they battle the Falcons to keep this streak alive. It's going to be a fight to the end (of the season)- and this figures to be a drawn out sparring brawl of which you won't want to miss a single round!

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Rebounding in the NIT Season Kickoff: Milwaukee Decimates Texas State 96-77

Now this is more like it! Less than 24 hours after I criticized and questioned this team's ability to shut down low-major and D-II non-con foes, your Milwaukee Panthers utterly destroyed Texas State in Fort Worth, Texas as the first of the two final consolation games ended in a Panther route of the over-matched/out-of-sorts Cougars.

The amazing thing is this: we still did not play well (20+ turnovers) and the refs called fouls for even the slightest contact (64 fouls were called, the majority going against UWM). Every time the Panthers began to gain some serious momentum, you could almost predict another whistle to halt the attack. Listening on the radio- it was often hard to distinguish the sound of sneakers squeaking from the ever-blowing whistles of the foul-happy Texas' officials.

We can't complain much about this one though. Milwaukee posted season-best team shooting numbers .521 (25-48) from the field and an amazing .571 (12-21) from 3pt range (amazing esp. in light of the fact we had shot ourselves up a brick house from outside the arc prior to this game).

James Eayrs had a ridiculously accurate career game- 28 points (9-10 FG, 4-4 FT, 6-7 3pt), 5rbs, 2stls in just 19 minutes of floor time! Eayrs could have scored 40+, but obviously he needs the rest for the Colgate finale tomorrow.

Ricky Franklin (12pts, 5ast) and Deonte Roberts (14pts, 5rbs, 6ast) provided all the additional firepower needed to get the blowout started, and Ja'Rob McCallum (8pts) had his first (pleasantly surprising) breakout game. He, Lonnie and others were out there taking full advantage of their extra minutes due to the nature of the lopsided score all game.

The new freshmen are beginning to make a name for themselves. Lonnie and Ja'Rob may turn out to be a lot more productive than anyone anticipated. And we haven't even begun to talk about the best freshman walk-on in the Horizon League (Patrick Souter).

More on him in a future post- but I will say this, it seems like everyone including the staff is surprised by how easily Patrick has transitioned to the college level- especially considering the fact he is only a little over a year removed from an ACL injury.

He has some ball control issues to work through (just as Deonte did early in his freshman and sophomore years), but he is as lightning quick as any point guard in D-I, and has looked more like an upperclassmen scholarship player than a newbie walk-on in several games this season.

Tony Meier (8pts, 3rbs) still seems to still be mired in somewhat of a sophomore slump, but I suspect it won't last much longer. Anyone who saw what he did all of last year knows that it is only a matter of time before "Mega Man" Meier breaks out and starts dropping long-range treys and teardrops in the paint- with authority. A lot of it starts with keeping himself out of foul trouble!

All in all, this game has given us Panther fans renewed faith in a team that seems to have considerable depth and potential. A big win tomorrow is essential to keep this thing going. Good teams don't struggle against bad teams- and that is exactly what happened tonight against Texas State. I think it's fair to expect the same energy to light it up against Colgate, but we shall see soon enough...

Same place, same time (only on WISN 1130 radio and ESPN Gametracker). As I said a few posts ago... it is ripe time to start winning in bunches. We have a ways to go before the much bigger non-con challenges against Marquette, North Dakota State, Miami (OH), and Wisconsin. Let's hope, for the second day in a row, this Panther team makes another positive statement with a decisive win.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Milwaukee Edges Hillsdale, But Continued Lackluster Play Against Lesser Opponents Raises Serious Concerns

Some blowout scores from early in this season:

• Wisconsin beats IPFW 75-46
• Marquette beats Grambling: 87-41
• Illinois beats Presbyterian: 94-48
• Ohio State beats James Madison: 72-44
• Detroit beats Alcorn State: 79-59
• Tennessee beats Eastern Carolina: 105-66

• Milwaukee beats Cardinal Stritch (D-II): 74-72
  
• Milwaukee beats Hillsdale College (D-II): 62-54
  

And, outside of Milwaukee's two victory "eggs", the teams on the losing end of these are all D-I, certainly a lot more competitive than teams like Cardinal Stritch and Hillsdale- two teams we seriously struggled against. We won both of those aforementioned games, but the underwhelming and unconvincing manner in which these wins were obtained raises serious questions about the Panthers seeming complete inability to destroy a far lesser opponent, which is a malady that no other D-I teams seem to suffer from.

To be fair- Butler scraped by Evansville this weekend- 64-60. But Hillsdale is no Evansville and Butler has proven time and again- they can beat anyone they play. Yet Butler can have that free pass- we, on the other hand, seem to struggle against almost everybody, even when we win (at least in non-con). Outside of a few anomalies like that, big teams regularly dispatch lesser teams with ease early in the season when these games are played. That is just protocol for 99% of the NCAA teams that are (supposed to) have a chance at being successful in a given season.

If I may draw a completely arbitrary, hare-brained analogy that I think does hold a few droplets of sense- I liken this (expected) obliteration of lesser foes by bigger and better programs to the way extreme sport athletes (skateboarders, freestyle bikers and Arena Cross riders, etc.) test out their best tricks against a simple and forgiving foam landing area. In college hoops, the D-II and other buy-game/bunnies which bigger and better programs are expected to beat- are a lot like those foam landing zones.

The games are expected to be won by the bigger team- but not just won- the game isn't even supposed to be competitive or remotely close in score. It's good to test out rotations, and offensive and defensive schemes, but these games are supposed to be confidence boosters (in the same way you can get pretty confident practicing death-defying tricks if you know you have a landing pad). The players are supposed to get a feel for what it is like to click on ALL cylinders and score early and often and play tenacious D and grab boards down with ease.

Obvious, one can argue that playing someone like Hillsdale may give a team a "false" sense of confidence- bigger foes won't allow the kind of cakewalk that usually takes place in these games. But(!), for a lot of teams and players, if they have no idea what it is like to win- not just convincingly but by a large margin, they will not envision themselves as winners as much as teams who don't struggle against the Hillsdales of the world.

These are supposed to be practice games, yes. But when our guys don't treat them seriously, we run the risk of losing valuable floor time experience (if a player sinks a few shots against Hillsdale, the hoop may look bigger when we play Butler).

Hillsdale was the foam landing zone. They were supposed to be a confidence booster for the players (and for the fans- you should hear how many people now tell me that we will "absolutely lose by 30+ to MU this season after watching this car wreck of a game this past Saturday"). Lot's and lot's of points should have been scored and we should have gotten a lot of our players comfortable in what was supposed to be a non-challenging environment.

I guess we just expect more from a team who many had high hopes for coming into this season. 2-2 ain't bad. But the next two games against Texas State and Colgate in Texas State will be crucial for setting the tone of the rest of the non-con slate and to silence a lot of the growing and noisy criticism that is starting to swirl around Pantherland.

Many thought this team was for real and that we had a good shot against anybody on the schedule. I don't think you'd find more than 20 die-hard fans who would agree with that statement after watching the Hillsdale game.

We did win- 62-54, but we should have won by no less than 30. Hillsdale made Concordia St.-Paul look like Duke. Outside of Hillsdale's Brad Eaton who went 6-11 from 3pt land (and we still can't or won't guard the perimeter apparently....), they did not have a ton of talent on the floor against us. What they did have, was some well coached plays and a kind of passion and enthusiasm not seen in our guys until about the final 5 minutes of the game. Hillsdale, despite their valiant effort, is not remotely close to the talent level this team has amassed.

And if we don't throttle some of these lesser foes out of the coach "clemency/respect" factor, well then our starters should not have logged the minutes they did, and we should have beaten them with our bench. That didn't happen. Now we have a not-fully-rested Ricky Franklin and James Eayrs- our two Titans who must shoulder the load in the NIT Consolation games this coming Monday and Tuesday.

The sad fact of the matter is- Ricky and James had to play in this forgettable contest. Had Ricky (12pts, 10rbs, 7ast) and James (21pts, 8rbs, ) not been kept in the game as much as they were forced to, we very well would have lost the 4th game of the season to D-II world-beaters, Hillsdale College.

For a game summary, the J-S has you covered, but I am too disappointed right now to even attempt to remember this terrible performance by your Milwaukee Panther basketball team. Something has got to give. Players, coaches, fans, administrators, and everyone involved in making this thing successful need to step up- or risk losing this season that (still) seems to have so much potential.

It is early yet, yes. But we may start losing a lot of winnable games (and a lot of once-loyal fans) and really screw up our season unless the team's work ethic on both ends of the floor (for all 40 minutes) makes a quick 180. If the team is going to get serious about this thing called NCAA D-I Hoops, they must man-up, leave excuses in the practice gym, and forget about running any town (or even campus for that matter), until, with a renewed fervor: WE GO TO WORK.

Let's Start a Winning Streak, Shall We?

With the upcoming game against Hillsdale Saturday afternoon, and subsequent contests against Texas State, Colgate, Bowling Green, UIC, and Loyola (all winnable games if this team is who we thought they were!), this Milwaukee Panther team has a chance to set themselves up very, very nicely for the always hotly-debated UWM-Marquette face-off in early December....

Could we actually win this year (or at least make a game of it)? Dunno. But I'll bet this year's Western Kentucky could beat this year's rather short-bench and inexperienced MU 4 out of 5 times... and we came a possession away from a victory over the Hilltoppers. I like our chances- I will say that at least.

With that in mind... I leave you with the very cool new starting 5 intro video for Milwaukee Panther home games at the Cell. If this doesn't get Panther fans and players completely amped before a game- nothing will:

GO MILWAUKEE PANTHERS!!!!

Panthers Kick Off Preseason NIT Tourney With.... a Thud

It is not with great pleasure that I report (rather late) that your Milwaukee Panthers did not care care of business in either Game 1 (lost to WKU 69-65) or Game 2 (lost to ISU 79-63) of the NIT Season Kickoff in Baton Rouge, LA. To be fair we played a perennial contender in Western Kentucky and an Indiana State team who seems on the rise.

The first game was as exciting as they get. The Panthers traded barbs with the Hilltoppers all night- even taking several leads that seemed to confirm the optimism many UWM fans had coming into this season. But eventually the highlight reel that is AJ Slaughter (30pts) wore us down to the ground.

Victory against the Hilltoppers essentially came down to a possession or two at the end (there was a mix-up between Tony Meier and Riley Walker that was indicative of early season jitters and likely won't happen later in the season when things are clicking on all cylinders).

The next contest was a bit of a downer. I think most Panther fans thought we were a better team than Indiana State and were going to come out fairly comfortably on top (though the line was -1.5 ISU). But in a twist of early season fate, the Milwaukee defense was out-hustled to death and got virtually nothing from our two best players (Eayrs was a dismal 4-18 from the field and Franklin only contributed 5pts, 2ast, and 3stl). Deonte Roberts was one of the lone shining stars with a 13 point, 7 rebound effort. But bottom line- we played like crap in this one.

A Panther team that would've shot better than .353 from the field and .250 from 3pt, probably would have won this, or at least gotten a little less embarrassed. Credit should be given where credit is due though. State absolutely killed us with their 9-15 (.600) perimeter attack and amazing touch from the field (.577 on 30-52) ISU completely out-muscled and outplayed the Panthers and wanted the win more. That killer instinct that Jeter has been talking about needs a little more sharpening it seems.

But... the reality is that, while these games are important- and winning at least 1 would have been considered a minor success, the season goes on- 26+ more games on. That being said, if the Panthers lose against Hillsdale this coming Saturday at home or lose one or (gasp!) both of the remaining NIT Season Kickoff games next week:

Texas State, Monday, November 23rd 6:30pm

Colgate, Tuesday, November 24th 6:30pm

....it could spell trouble for the season, but really only in terms of any hopes of an at-large NIT or other postseason tournament. As has been the case these past 3 years- we can always pin hopes on Horizon League Tournament Championship (Autobid) or bust!). But it's too early for defeatist talk. I think the team will rebound nicely at home against Hillsdale and should pick up a couple more wins in Texas to finish out the NIT Season Kickoff. We did just lose against some pretty tough competition, know? That experience was not lost on these guys and I'm sure they are ready to roll.

It hasn't been an ideal beginning to the season, but there will be a lot more chances for these Panthers to prove that they are contenders (contenders in the Horizon League at the very least!). Losing both games in Baton Rouge won't do much to bolster the lethargic ticket sales at the Cell, but regardless- if you are a true UWM fan- get out and cheer this team on to a 2-2 record this Saturday afternoon. We all need to support this team in high tide and in low tide.

GO PANTHERS!!!!


Saturday, November 21st, 1pm
US Cellular Arena, Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee vs. Hillsdale
Regular Season Game 4

Concordia-St. Paul Kept Well at Bay, Bring on the NIT Season Kickoff!!

Friday, November 13th, 2009 7pm
US Cellular Arena, Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee vs. Concordia-St. Paul
Regular Season Game 1
Milwaukee 89- Concordia-St.Paul 73

Though this was supposed to be the final tune-up before Western Kentucky and the NIT Season Tipoff that begins in a little over 24 hours- and for that it served it's purpose well. But it was technically a regular season game. I think we all hope that some of the rust has been dusted off, but also that this team will improve dramatically over the following few weeks.


UWM committed only seven turnovers against Concordia- this alone is probably the stat Rob Jeter is most proud of. Each game since we kinda sputtered out of the gates against Stritch (sans Ricky Franklin mind you!), turnovers and ball possession (esp. ball hyandling and the making of intelligent passes that fit the Swing) have gotten tremendously better. So many games last year were lost on our inability to get a good shot or use a critical possession, because we turned the ball over so much.

While the usual play-makers had great performances- Ricky Franklin went off (21pts, 6rbs, 4ast) alongside James Eayrs who double-doubled things up with 20pts 10rbs, there are still some gaping holes in the team's game that could be dreadfully exposed in Baton Rouge if certain things things that haven't been going great in all prior games (perimeter D, foul trouble from Meier, bad FG shooting, bad 3pt shooting, and turnovers) are a repeated.

For kicks, here is a small outline of what I think Milwaukee will need to do in order to compete well (win 2+ games) in the NIT Season Tipoff :

Improve Shooting % from 3pt Land: 3-24, .125 - those were the "less-than-admirable" 3pt shooting percentages Friday night vs. C-SP at the Cell. At one point we were on an 0 for 15 stretch from beyond the arc!! It is heartening to see that we still won by nearly 20, but c'mon Panthers! Effectively shooting the tried and true (esp. in college basketball) lead-cutting, and momentum-building 3 point shot is going to a big piece of the (if not the) key to success for this team.

Continue to Wear Teams Down With Our Depth
In each of these first the games, we have seemed to show a confident ability to hold an 8-10pt advantage throughout mugh of the game, and then just leverage our depth down the stretch. Nobody but Franklin is playing more than 31 minutes, and against CSP- we had 9 players score (4 in double digits!).

Even the Stritch game seemed in hand for most of that season-opening night, despite the fact that it almost was a devastating loss. Wearing down the likes of WKU and some other contenders in the NIT, will be harder, but not impossible. Everyone sucks wind.. and when we boast more experienced bench players to jump in at a moments notice- that definately gives us an added advantage.

New Guys Stepping Up Need to Continue to Step Up
Ja'Rob McCallum has not broken into the rotation much, and seeing as his did not play in last Friday's game- he may redshirt for another year. On the other hand walk-on Patrick Souter, Lonnie Boga, and Jerard Ajami have exploded on the scene. Souter is a bit raw in some of his skills- but man, is that player fast!!!!!!!!

He reminds you of a taller, lankier Chris Hill at times. If Souter is only a freshman, he will only get better and may be the starting floor general at some point in the near future. In any case he, Ajami, and Boga are looking very confident and comfortable out there. If there can continue to improve (the trial by fire in Baton Rouge will be a huge test), we should have a solid guard core to rely on this season- even if Tone and Ja'Rob are to redshirt.

Ant Needs to Climb That Hill, Effectively Assert His Post Presence
This seems like a broken record (wanting Ant realize his full- huge potential!), but it must be said yet again. If we are going be a dominant team, we need dominate forwards. We have a lot in Big James, and Tony, and Averkamp, but those guys can only battle against certain sized match-ups. To beat a major- we have to have our guys (esp. Ant) step up in the post without fear. A big part of this will start when Ant, should he decides, begins that big climb.

Visualize Success
Cliche yes, but the guys (probably know a lot more than we do) that this game against Western Kentucky is big time- and it will be a huge challenge to knock off the Hilltoppers. WKU is lead by the three-headed monster guard that is AJ Slaughter (he scored 16ppg last season and at many times willed his team to victory with sheer dominant athleticism).

And Slaughter isn't the only major weapon, I am told that Western Kentucky is a very athletic team- top to bottom. We will likely see, or hear, on the radio, ; ( several dunks if we allow them to play their aggressive, slash through the post style

Ant? Big Lumber? Tony? You guys ready?.

WKU returns 4 of 5 starter's from last year's Hilltopper squad that reached the 2nd Rd. of the NCAAs- losing to Gonzaga on a buzzer-beater.



Western Kentucky has a long and proud college hoops history, and we are happy to have them on our schedule. This should be a good game- hopefully not a blowout either way. Let's hope that our Panthers can prevail tomorrow afternoon. Anything is possible in college basketball... and this budding experience and confidence the team seems to show each game, may put us over the top in a game like this.


Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
G. AJ Slaughter, 6'3" SR
G. Anthony Salley 6'2" SR
F. Sergio Kerusch 6'5" JR
F. Steffphon Pettigrew 6'5" JR
F. Jeremy Evans 6'9" SR

Key Hilltopper bench players:

C. Nemanja Milosevic 6'8" SR
F/C. Cliff Dixon 6'10" JR
F. Jordan Swing 6'6" FR
G. Jameson Tipping 6'5" FR
G. Jamal Crook 6'3" FR


Milwaukee Panthers
G. Ricky Franklin, 6'1" SR
G. Deonte Roberts 6'3" JR
G. Jarard Ajami 6'2" SO
F. James Eayrs 6'7" JR
F. Tony Meiers 6'8" SO

Key Panther bench players:

F. Anthony Hill 6'8" JR
F. Jason Averkamp 6'6" SR
F. Michael Tyler 6'5" JR
F. Ryan Haggerty 6'8" FR
G. Lonnie Boga 6'3" FR
G. Patrick Souter 6'2" FR


Milwaukee vs. Western Kentucky
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Baton Rouge, LA 4:30pm CST
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Radio: WISN (AM 1130), TV: None
Regular Season Game 2


EDIT: I don't have time to do a writeup for every game of every team in the NIT Season Kickoff, but I will do my best to cover (and hopefully even preview like this) all the games that Milwaukee plays in.

Panthers Improve All Around with Franklin's Return, Drop Parkside 63-50

It was once again not a "memorable" performance by the Panthers, but a win is a win and the exhibition season is now in the bag. The Panthers and the Rangers were at loggerheads for about the first 11 minutes, and then Milwaukee pulled away and seemed to toy around with a 6-8 point lead for the rest of the night.

The final tally (63-50) is not completely reflective of the closeness of the game. This one was never in doubt after half. That at least is something to chalk up as an improvement. After nearly losing to Cardinal-Stritch last Wednesday.... this team needs to learn how to put it in cruise control on weaker opponents.

Milwaukee's looming Preseason NIT date with Western Kentucky is starting to look slightly less intimidating... esp. when you consider that Jeter's teams always seem to play "up" to their level of competition (unfortunately, as evidenced in these exhibitions,they do the same in playing "down" when the opponent is a bit weaker).

The biggest highlight of this final tuneup was Rick's return. Franklin (21pts, 6ast, 6rbs) appears to have picked up exactly where he left off at the end of last conference season. With the question mark still lingering about the availability and healthiness of Tone Boyle, we won't be able to afford too many bad games from our guards.

As always, the offensive fortunes of this Milwaukee Panther basketball team will come predominately from the perimater (even in Big James and Tony Meier- we have great post guys, yes, but they are shoot first and you know they will get the bulk of their points from outside deception). It was then obviously good to see Jason Averkamp (we still have a JAvo!) cooly knock down 3 triples (3 for 3, actually).


Rick's Return: There is no question that Franklin not only contributes hugely, but he makes the guys around him play better- more effectively. He seems to have really settled into an effective point (who needs Nafis Ricks anyways? lol)- even if some of the things he does appear more shooting guard than point guard (the Swing on offense forces everyone to post up though). How Ricky does this season will probably have the biggest impact on this team's fortune's (other than Roberts- we have little to no depth at the point).


Big Lumber: The big guy has big time D-I talent. He showed it last year, and that was merely the "opening" act. Prepare to see Big James in his prime this season, assuming he stays healthy (he was hampered by some knee issues late last season). His stroke looks spot on, judging by the exhibition games, and he seems to have gained a step or two (which results in more unreal atypical post moves that leave defenders looking baffled). Big Lumber will need broad shoulders to help carry this team through an unforgiving non-con schedule and on into the Horizon.

Meier's Climb: Tony Meier seems to be the first player to go from freshman D-I novice, to league force in the span of a dozen or so games. This rare transformation occurred last year, and since Meier put on another 30lbs of pure muscle, he has only gotten better. Meier played limited minutes in the exhibition games, mostly due to foul trouble but I think also due to the fact that Meier is a player least in need of a tune-up. Jeter knows it will be wise to rest a player who, like the two above, can either lead this team to failure or the promised land.


Got Size?: The tremendous increase in the average size of this basketball team is very noticeable. While we often found ourselves over-matched at the post position in games last year, and tried to make up for the inability to penetrate by primarily attacking the perimeter (at least always as last resort shots), things should change this season. With Big James, Tony Meier, Ant, Averkamp, Michael Tyler, Ryan Haggerty- we've got most matchups covered. Christian Wolf (6'10") and Mitchell Carter (6'11") are transfers not eligible until next season, but opposing teams don't know that during warmups! lol. Being a bigger team definately has a psychological effect to say nothing of the obvious play advantages.

If 3 or 4 of the above turn out to our advantage, we could be near the top of the pack in the Horizon. If not, well.... there is always next season. Though next season can wait(!). Let's get this train out of the station this before the real bullets start to fly!

Friday, November 13th, 2009 7pm
US Cellular Arena, Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee vs. Concordia-St. Paul
Regular Season Game 1

Sketchy Win Over Stritch in the Books, Rangers Coming to Town..

The Panthers didn't exactly bring down the house at the Cell Wednesday night with their 40 minute display of what was supposed to be D-I college hoops entertainment. The Panthers scraped by their first exhibition opponent 74-72, and sadly, were playing from behind most of the game. That isn't to say there weren't some highlights and things to be exited about- heck we won the game right?!, but..

You have to give the Cardinal Stritch Wolves credit. The apparently unstoppable Kody Braddux nailed 5 three point goals en route to a 28 point performance and the Wolve's Brandon D'Amico posted up 18pts on our supposedly "revamped" defense. Holes in perimeter D and an almost equally porous post raise question marks that noone wants to see this close to the regular season.

Tony Meier looks to raise the bar for the Panthers this season- this is just the first step. Shaky? But steady, first step.

Much of the discombobulation had to do with the fact that two of our best players- Ricky Franklin (ankle) and Tone Boyle (back) were out with injuries, and Tony Meier was used sparingly- though these are exhibition games and we do know what we have in guys like James and Tony and Ricky and Tone.

This is the time to find out what we have in some other guys who seem primed for big or at least significant minutes: Deonte, Ant, Tyler, Boga, McCallum, Ajami, Averkamp, Haggerty, Walker, etc. And by the way, where was Burliegh Porte at this game?

I hope we can utilize his unique game as we were able to at key times last year- he's no offensive force, but his role as a defensive post specialist which can often come in handy in close games.

Jason Averkamp (11pts) and Deonte Roberts (7pts) had very solid games, and Big James scored 20 and pulled down 10 boards. Souter, Ajami, and Boga were both out of control and completely in the zone at varying times.

Tyler seemed to be non-existent (as a defensive or scoring factor) for the most part- but his presence is formidable. I'm sure once he starts to feel comfortable at this level, we will see some highlight-worthy athletic plays out of him (and probably some distance shooting- he shot almost .400 from the 3 at Pratt last year).

Jason Averkamp will be heavily relied upon this season for his senior leadership and wealth of Horizon League and D-I experience.

McCallum didn't get much floor time, but looked comfortable- at least on D and seems that he is poised to play at a high level in this league. Haggerty and Walker too had some fine moments.. but overall... The offense (and defense at times) looked sloppy and we turned it over 22 times!

It's a must that this team finds out how to play at a very high level consistently, well before say- Western Kentucky and the Preseason NIT!

I am not saying that I am overly concerned.. but if we play like this again tomorrow vs. Parkside (Rick is likely out again- minor injuries reportedly, but as a precaution, and Tone is out again too*), I think I will be biting my nails on whether our Horizon-contending chances are as serious as many have hoped.

Parkside vs. Milwaukee- down at the Cell at 7:00pm. It could be a pretty good show if this talented bunch wants to make it so.

This is (finally) the "rebuilt" future- we gotta seize the moment and never turn back.


GO PANTHERS!!!!


*Word on the fan chatter circuit is that Boyle may take a medical redshirt due to his back issues and just shut it down with hopes to help lead this team next year. I was sad to hear this development but I have full confidence things will work out for both Tone and the program this year and next regardless of what happens. It sure would be nice to have him healthy this season, though.

**(EDIT: 11/07/10:38am) One last very important thing that I just found out from uwmpanthers.com: Ricky Franklin has been officially cleared by the NCAA to play this, his final season of eligibility for Milwaukee. Whether or not Rick plays at all tonight (he probably shouldn't if there is any lingering injuries), this is huge news. The Panthers now at least have one of their major leaders returning for this (what should be an incredibly tough yet exciting) '09-'10 campaign.