Milwaukee Panther Tracks

Ohhhhh... [hi] Ohhhhh.... Tough Luck on the Road as Milwaukee Drops Two and Falls to #2

2012-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well, more objective Milwaukee Panther fans than myself saw this coming. They knew that Youngstown State is no pushover this season (we are now currently tied with YSU- yes that YSU for 2nd place in conference at 6-3).

Many knew with our (until these past two games*) superhuman 3pt defense that something had to give at some point- especially against a team that shoots the 3 better than anyone else in conference. They also knew that Cleveland State, if we failed to show up, had the potential to knock us out of the park on a good night.

Slocum has done a grade A job turning around the Youngstown program this season- so far.

I applaud the hoop fan vets, number crunchers and skeptics alike who all know how hard the road is in any conference and no matter who you are playing. I graciously admit: you were right. But this is a long season. And 3 League losses are nothing to fret about just yet. If they start to pile up and reach say, 7... well, then we're pretty much destined for a hope and a prayer of a 4 game Horizon League Tourney Championship.

I promise to never phone it in like this again, but going back and looking at the box scores and recaps and re-living those two losses (one, totally winnable @ YSU, and the other, a total blowout @ CSU just as CSU did unto us at our place last season) is not something I am interested in.

It hasn't been like this in the past on this blog- I've man'd up and tried to give an interesting (or at least unique) picture of what happened or what went wrong- when, how, why... etc. when we've had a tough road trip- these things happen all the time in all sports. I just want to look forward to Thursday night and not look back at last weekend in Ohio. That was a Rick Perry "oops, I stepped in it" kinda weekend...

Remember this? How can you not. Expect 90% less drama/excitement, but Thurs. is our test.

It's all a buncha hooey now. Forget about these past two. Go to PantherU.com or ESPN if you want a recap and the final scores and stat analysis. Low and behold, the mighty Journal-Sentinel no longer allows people to read articles unless you pay them money, I do believe.

I think you can read 20 articles a month... but with all the back-handed "respect" they've shown us, I encourage you to find other, free-er media outlets- ESPN.com, PantherU.com, uwmpanthers.com, horizonleague.com are all great sites for substantive Horizon Hoops info (this place too! Just not when I'm too bummed out to write an article about the actual game(s)... (hey! it's free- don't criticize my emotions!!))

Gary Waters is also a great coach. But Coach W, calm down with the Pearl-esque bombast..

In any case... we have a huge opportunity Thursday night as we host Butler, who, if you've been paying attention, is starting to catch fire just at the right time (conference). They ~~may not~~ will not be National Runner-Ups for the third year in a row (not with their '11-'12 team, sorry Dawgs).

They are a talented bunch once their offense starts clicking, but I don't see them doing much in the Dance if they were fortunate enough to dash everyone else in the Horizon's hopes (yet again) and be our League's sole representative (gotta do something about that 1-bid thing Horizon teams- let's all challenge ourselves more in non-con).

But that doesn't mean they aren't riding a (conference-induced) confidence high and seeking to do as much damage as possible in the Horizon and (like us) pin their hopes on just winning the HLT and punching a ticket to the Big One.

Stevens turned down Phil Knight (Nike/OU Ducks) for 2+ million per to stay at BU. 'Says lots.
But ahead of myself- he's an Indiana man; let's see what happens if Indiana rings cell..

We've won 8 of the last 12 games against Butler that were played in Milwaukee. Let's make that 9 of the last 13. Very few games have perfect box scores for the victor, but the victor is virtually always the team who "finds a way to win" (yes, this is Cliche Day here at MPT). But seriously folks- Let's Just Win.

Thursday night at 7pm down at the Cell. Alumni get in for $5 and all attendees get a free Panther camouflage hat. More importantly, this game is being played in honor of our brave and selfless U.S. Military (active duty and veterans), who, with a Military ID, get in for a single green back ($1). Hope some people can get out there and watch us make some noise and turn this ship toward smoother seas.

OUR COACH, will get us back on track at home and on the roads that lie ahead...

*we'll get it back. We'll get that perimeter D back, we'll shoot at least 60% (sad to say that is what our expectations are- but we cannot afford shoot any less than that from here on out..) on a consistent basis from the stripe, and we will get our offense back together (it has NOT been that bad this season despite what these past two Forgettables would lead you to believe... We will- in a pair of words- BE BACK.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT BUTLER!!

Panthers Make it Look Easy in 84-74 Victory Over Titans

2012-01-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

We'll keep this one short and sweet. Your Milwaukee Panthers pretty easily destroyed Detroit this past Saturday night at the Cell improving their season record to 13-6 and taking sole position of 1st place in the Horizon League (6-1).

Has Paris finally arrived? Yes. And Meier can make this an unstoppable 3pt tandem.

The final score of this game belies how much of a blowout this was until the closing (maybe 10) minutes. Ray McCallum Jr's 23pts and Eli Holman's 11 rebounds weren't enough. Detroit shot 42% from the field, while we put aces in the hole all night en route to a 59 percentage from the field (let's make that kind of shooting a larger trend, eh?).

With shooting like that, and the #1-in-conference defense we have already established, this team could do some very big things. Lot's of heavy lifting left yet. These next two games at Youngstown State and Cleveland State are going to be a test of how good we've gotten so far.

Milwaukee led by as many as 26 before dialing it down a bit (and admittedly, slipping up with some unfortunate turnovers) and settling in with a nice 84-74 victory. We also got to the line 34 times to Detroit's 19- and we actually had a decent night from the charity stripe.

We canned 22 of them, good for a "respectable-enough" 65%. Can't wait 'till we can hit around 70% consistently- our offense is based on getting to the line and making free shots.

Paris Gulley led the Panther offensive attack with 26 points on a fire-starting 6-9 from beyond the arc. Joining Gulley in double figures were Haarsma (17pts, 4rbs ), Williams (12pts, 9ast, 4rbs), and Allen (12pts, 3rbs, 3ast).

Panthers, this place was no walk in the park last February. Let's win- in regulation.

A three-point bombing and offensive-minded Youngstown State Penguin team will be ready for this Milwaukee team riding a three game winning streak. The Penguins have dropped their last two- both on the road- against Valpo and Butler.

The 'Guins stand at 4th place in the League and are unarguably the biggest surprise of the '11-'12 Horizon League season (unless you believed the vast majority of sportswriters who picked us to wind up anywhere between 4th and 6th...).

So let's go get #14 and #7 in conference. The more separation we can create, the easier it will be down the stretch in our attempt to not just repeat as "co-champions" of the League, but outright, no-tiebreakers-involved Regular Season Champs (though I'll take winning our final 9 down the stretch again!).

But that's so far down the road. And other than the banner, it won't mean much. Thanks to our "obviously great friend and business partner" the Wisconsin Center District, we won't host the 2nd Round or Semi's even if we were to finish 17-1 in the League.

WCD, in their earnest "partnership" with Milwaukee Athletics, decided to schedule "Disney on Ice" during the 2nd Round and Semifinals of the League Tourney. So basically, if we got the #1 seed we will have a disadvantage relative to the #2 seed. Makes sense? Yeah, thought not. But I suppose that double-bye is still is a huge goal to attain.

100 Years of Service. 1 shady-slap-in-the-face of a scheduling decision. Go Disney!!

Let's just win, win, win. Keep winning. Keep taking care of the little things like- the ball, free throws, help defense, taking charges, etc.- and we can be champions once again, and ensure at least the biggest game of the conference season is played right here in Milwaukee.

WCD can force us to play 6th fiddle to the Wave, Arena Cross, Roller Derby, Disney on Ice, etc., but can't deny us the Horizon League Championship game- ~~should we~~ when we make it that far.

My bet it that we will- and the folks at WCD (or at least the folks at Major's) will wish they (the WCD) wouldn't have made such a short-sighted scheduling slight.

But I digress... If we can't win these next two, winning the League may never happen this season. Let's go Penguin huntin'!!

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT YOUNGSTOWN STATE!!

Milwaukee Steamrolls Over Wright State, Preps for Saturday Night Live With Detroit

2012-01-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

The 600 or so brave souls who (and the the 300 or so cheerleaders, band, US Cell staff, etc.) decided to brave the dangerous icy roads last night to watch the Panthers take on Wright State got to see a Panther team at it's best. It was an unforgettable performance (esp. by our defense).

Ryan Allen is sparking a fire in the Panthers that may be impossible to extinguish.

The gameplan couldn't have worked out much better. Ryan Allen, unquestionably a candidate for Horizon League Defensive POY, completely shut down the one weapon in the Raider arsenal that could have made this a game.

NC State transfer Juilus Mayes, who, coming into the game was averaging 18 points per, was limited to just 3pts on 1-7 from the field. Allen was on Mayes like glue, and Julius could not shake Ryan off.

So with Mayes out of the equation, and our shooting touch heating up quite a bit from some of our recent contests (47% on 47 shots), this one was in the bag before it got it's bar code scanned.

Milwaukee (12-6 (5-1)) cruised to an impressive defensive-driven 58-38 victory and put themselves solely atop the Horizon League standings with their now 5-1 conference record.

Our offense (other than the 16 TOs) was right there to compliment the incredible defensive effort. James Haarsma battled tough down low en route to 13pts and 7rbs.

Kaylon Williams scored just 5pts but dished out 9 assists. Kaylon is currently among the top 20 in the nation in the assists category- even if Ray McCallum Jr-lovers booted him out of consideration for the Cousey award- more fuel for the fire K-Dub, just more fuel for the fire....

Kaylon commands the troops. It was very audible in the sparsely attended game.

Tony Meier (16pts on 4-7 from 3pt to go along with 7rbs) had a great bounce-back game. After some inconsistency since returning from his calf injury, I think Tony is starting to really settle in to his "go-to" shooter self.

If he can rake 3-4 triples for us each game- our gameplan can work to a "T" and you'll see more blowouts like this, than fumbles like UW and Butler (and you could argue UIC and Green Bay- though wins... those were not terribly well-played games by the Panthers).

Coach Jeter removed all starters other than Paris Gulley at about the 6 minute mark and the Raiders still could not eat into the 20 point Panther lead. This game showcased some spectacular basketball, even if it wasn't exactly "thrilling"). Hey, it's not our fault Wright State couldn't handle the "MJD" (Milwaukee Jeter Defense)).

All around applause for everyone on the team. Wright State is not as bad as that loss made them seem. If we can continue to play like that against other conference foes, we could still host at least one very, very important game in Milwaukee on the night of Tuesday March 6th.

Up, up, and away. Allen is one of many reasons Panther fans are hopeful.

Our conference-leading status will be challenged this Saturday night in what figures to be a physical and emotionally-charged game (Detroit cannot be too happy with how low on the totem pole they sit, with them being picked by the "experts" to finish #2 and us (picked #4) so far ahead of them in the standings.

Detroit had some off-court issues that kept Eli Holman out of some games, and they lost starter Nick Minnerath for the season in one of their first games of '11-'12. But they still boast Ray McCallum Jr., Chase Simon, Eli Holman (yes, the ol' jawbreaker himself is back) and a few other players that could go off for double-digits on any given night.

Detroit is a hard team to figure out (much like Youngstown State- but on the opposite side of the winning/losing spectrum). I think they will eventually break out and salvage somewhat of a respectable season.

But the damage has been done, and though they've improved, I know deep down they are still reeling and trying to figure out "what just happened?" [from November '11 to now].

Let's not take this one lightly though. After holding our (now) second opponent this season to 38 points or less (apparently the first time that has happened since the 1950's per Milwaukee SID, Kevin O'Conner), we should be confident and standing tall against this deteriorating Titan squad.

Everyone on the entire team needs to believe we will succeed- or we are sure to fail.

I can tell you one thing- the odds of us holding Detroit to less than even 50 are going to be long. There will be a lot of exciting post play and more than a few thunder-clap throw-downs (mainly our Ryan Allen and Kyle Kelm, and DMU's Eli Holman and Ray Jr.).

We'll have to slow the pace, pick our shots, and, if we play Milwaukee D like we have all season- we can pick up our 6th conference win and start to create some seperation between us and the other League teams currently vying for the title (YSU, Valpo, CSU).

Weather permitting, you should see a lot more fans down at the Cell Saturday night. People in Milwaukee are starting to take notice of this team's positive direction. You can't keep a fast-improving and exciting team hidden forever. No matter how many times people try to knock Jeter and this program.

Let's D-up and shut down Detroit and rain an impressive percentage of jumpers just as we did against Wright State.

Do these things and we'll send the Titans home packing even further buried down in the conference standings. We've reversed fortunes after the Butler meltdown and the Western Michigan reality check. Let's make it 3 in a row and just keep adding to it... Add it up.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

BEAT DETROIT!!

Salute!!!

2012-01-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

In the first contest of our annual in-state and conference rivalry games with Green Bay what else should we have expected? In years past we've had nearly every one go either straight down to the wire or pretty darn close to it.

This past Saturday night's game was most definately of the former variety- and it was your Milwaukee Panthers who emerged victorious after playing possum for about 35 minutes.

Kaylon Williams shows Sykes who got the final salute in this one.

Kaylon Williams (13pts, 4rbs, 7ast) wasn't going to allow a loss to the Phonenix to happen. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

With just 1.1 seconds showing on the Cell jumbotron and down 63-61 (the entire game on the line) and asked, (as any PG would be) to inbound the rock for one last desperation shot, Williams apparently felt that he had the hottest hand in the huddle and asserted, "I want the shot". That proved to be the right choice- for Kaylon and Jeter and everyone who believed he was the most confident shooter on the court in that immensly tense moment.

So instead of Kaylon, Paris Gulley in-bounded the ball and that 1.1 second time frame became a blur. Kaylon caught the in-bound, somehow completely wide open near the East side of the top of the key, and (despite having shot 0-3 from 3pt until that point), drained the biggest game-winning shot since Deion James stunned the UIC Flames at the Cell in late January of 2009.

Milwaukee (11-6 (4-1)) ended a brief but tough 2-game losing streak and a road swing that saw the mighty Panthers humbled from being 9-3 going in... to 10-6 coming out.

It's for games like this thriller that our players run the "Hill". Perseverance pays off.

Alec Brown (8pts, 12rbs, 2stl, 5blks), though obviously with quite a bit of footwork to learn yet, proved to be a little bit (but fortunately not too much) to handle for the Panthers down low. Look for Smith to get better in each of his remaining years of eligibility- he is a big and talented dude in the paint.

The real thorn in the Panthers side all night who nearly willed Green Bay to an upset (we were 8.5 point favorites in this one, folks) was Keifer Sykes (20pts, 3ast, 3stl). Sykes was a mad man somehow machining his way through our defense and getting into the lane when and where he wanted.

And yet, in an ironic twist, the turning of the tide late in this game seemed to be when the Basketball Gods frowned on Sykes', after throwing down a transition jam, giving a mocking military salute toward the Panther student section. "Bone-headed" doesn't really do his "dunk dance" justice. A technical was whistled and we got 2 foul shots (both made and the ball back). Sykes (despite his great offensive performance) may very well have cost Green Bay the game.

Momentum and energy were all with Milwaukee in the closing minutes. The relatively nonchalant crowd who seemed to expect an embarrassing home loss suddenly sounded nearly as loud as it did, late in the Wisconsin game, even though the attendence was less than half. This was a bona-fide thriller.

Sure it would have been nice to win by double-digits and TCOB of a talented but not exactly even Mid-Major Top 25 calibar conference foe. But these kind of game-on-the-line experiences increase our chance of pulling it off when we need to (MU at the Cell last year, UW at the Cell this year, etc.).

Haarsma got back to his usual self in the box score totals (14pts, 7rbs) and Paris Gulley added a nice 18pts, 4ast and 4rbs. Most impressive of his line is that Paris drilled all 8 of his free throw attempts (and yet, we still shot just 11-19 (58%) as a team.. free throws, free throws..).

But no unnecessary complaints from this fan. I think they'll work out the kinks and start making more hay from the line... but man, it is rough to watch sometimes. I think things (the team, overall) are headed in a good direction. These next two conference home games will either lend credence to or cast doubt on that feeling.

Who would you prefer manning your team's point? My money is on Clutch Williams.

Next on the docket is a battle-tested and quickly improving Wright State Raider team again, here in downtown Milwaukee. The Raiders (9-9 (4-2)) are winners of 5 of their last 6 and absolutely crushed Valpo at home and lost to Butler by just a point. They are coming into a Cell that has been unkind to them in the past- but they are heating up as of late and this will be a tough fight.

Every conference game is going to be a battle from here on out. Heck Youngstown State (9-9) already has as many wins as Butler. That says a LOT if you know the Penguins' less-than-stellar Horizon League history.

Let's just stick with the cliches and "focus on one game at a time". What's done is done (can't we at least have the Butler game back?!! Ha), and we are still off to one of the program's best starts in recent memory.

This team has the depth which gives us the fortune of not having to rely too heavily on just a few players. Saturday night was yet another great effort of the next man in stepping up, getting it done and then some.

If only (or maybe "just wait until"?) we got everyone clicking at the same time- night-in and night-out. Thursday would be a good place to start. Let's just keep piling up W's and see how dang good (or not-so-good) we really are when the smoke clears.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT WRIGHT STATE!!

All (Shots) Quiet on the Western Front

2012-01-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well Panther fans, what we wound up with wasn't the revenge we were looking for. In a 72-61 loss to Western Michigan, your Milwaukee Panthers (10-6 (3-1)) just couldn't find the bulls-eye and though closer than the 11 point losing margin, this was a bad loss. We just couldn't get the ball inside and couldn't shoot (10-36 from 3pt (28%), 24-65 overall (37%)).

W. Michigan was the better shooting team this night. But we've many more games to play....

The Broncos (6-8, 5-0 at home) were led by center Matt Stainbrook (21pts, 8rbs). We didn't seem to have an answer for him- he was everywhere. Paris Gulley and Kyle Kelm led the Panther offensive attack with 16pts and 15pts, respectively. Kaylon dished out an eye-popping 12 assists...

TO's have gone down considerably in recent games- I think Kaylon is heating up at just the right time. And Tony Meier rounded out the double-digit scoring Panthers with 12 points.

We did have some good individual performances, but as a team, we just flat-out could not shoot the ball, and got beat because of it. We just couldn't seem to attempt to shoot anything other than 3's, dunks, and layups. What ever happened to the mid-range jumper! Michael Jordan would not be proud...

Not even our usually-stingy D could prevent this tough loss (the refs... well, oftentimes on the road, you have to beat the other team and the refs).

Nevermind the fact that WMU shot 37 FTs to our 9 (we made just 3 of those 9 free attempts). There is an argument to be made about the unprecedented three 3pt fouls against us, but overall, we just weren't going to get to the line. Why? We couldn't find an inside/outside balance. The Panther offense was essentially a bunch of not-free-and-clear long-range shots. On a good night, this may have worked out.

But those 3's just would not fall... and we couldn't figure out another way to score (slash, kick it to Kyle and James- something!). From run-of-the-recruiting-mill Freshman Anthony Hill of Milwaukee's Bradley Tech H.S. to all-around Horizon League Beast Senior, "Ant" Hill figured out real nicely how to go from Joe Schmo Down Low- to Pro. If only he could (along with Tone) be mentoring our post players.

But they get it- and they continue to show when they put it together, it's gonna be a show. We were not so strong in the paint on this particular night and we couldn't hit the broad side of a Menard's store. But that's just the way it goes down sometimes. Madison didn't expect to get beat by Iowa in the Kohl Center and Marquette didn't expect to cough up that 17pt lead to Georgetown the other night..

Paris Gulley had a breakout performance.. unfortunately on a night when all else was cold..

But this is what makes college basketball so fascinating- the upsets happen far more here in NCAA Hoops than in the brawn-over-craft/skill game of college football. That's not to knock NCAA Football. It's just that the obvious facts (the number of regular season and postseason results not to mention upsets of ranked teams) certainly suggest that D-I Hoops teams are on a more equal playing field than the FBS, FCS, XYZ, etc. compilation of D-I college football teams.

You'll see a lot more Butler's, Northern Iowa's and St. Mary's beating Kansas, Villanova, Wisconsin, Pitt, Michigan State and Kansas State and Syracuse and Gonzaga, etc., etc., etc. in the NCAA Tourney than you will Appalachian State's beating Michigan- and that just in a relatively inconsequential regular season college football game.

It's just the beauty of the game- like it or love it. But don't quit. Some of the best seasons happen because of adversity.

I think the the team knows they should have had that one- and the Butler game, but you don't win them all. Maybe Ol' Father Stats will shine down more kindly on us after we have all but put forth some of the worst shooting games we could possibly have this season.

Translation- seriously- it can't get much worse than this offensively. Let's be clear- our "D" is killer... but it is way too obvious our "O" needs to step up and get those shots (2's, 3's, and Freebies) to fall more consistently.

This team can shoot from anywhere- once they realize that... Big things could happen.

If we can regroup and regain that swagger we had just 3 weeks ago, I think we will have a fun time charging through the Horizon League.

In any case, this Saturday, our real in-state rival Green Bay comes to the Cell to take on a team that seems on the verge of erasing the memory of a heart-breaking loss and a frigid shooting night in Kalamazoo.

Get down there and support your local state university hoops team. This should be a good one. We should win, but we also should have won at Western Michigan, and at Butler...

Warhawk Matt reminds us all: "NO EXCUSES".

Things don't always go according to plan. But at 10-6 (having endured two very winnable losses) with a good chance to reel off a lot of conference wins starting here in this 3-game home stretch, I still like where the plan's (the season's) outcome is headed.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT GREEN BAY!!

Milwaukee Splits a Pair of Games in Indiana, Looks to Western Michigan

2012-01-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well this current four game roady is only three games in, but we still have a chance to manage 2-2. After losing at Marquette we picked up a very close win in Valparaiso, IN we headed off to Indianapolis to face a resurgent Butler team.

The Valpo game was a tough battle, with Valpo's best showing Milwaukee why the Crusaders are a contender again in the Horizon League. Milwaukee started out slow, but finished strong and made some key shots (it was almost the same style of Butler game, only we were on the Butler end... but that is discussed below).

Tony Meier led our attack with 17pts on (3-5 from 3pt). Kaylon Williams continued his near-average triple double lines with a 10pts, 9rbs, 7ast night. And James Haarsma added 10. Overall, it was a good game to show our resilience and get back into games and hold on, but then there was Butler...

At Hinkle. we started out hot and managed a to stay well ahead (5-8 points) until the end. But what seemed like a sure thing for our 4th conference win.Unfortunately, we let Butler continue to creep back and eventually they grabbed the lead on a Chase Stigall three pointer with just 42 seconds left and we, who had fought so hard all game, ended up on the losing end. 54-50 was the final.... The one that got away.

You'll always have a few of those, I guess. But this team? I thought for sure we'd prevent a Butler come-back.

You can say what you want about making free throws, but this team has just been shooting the rock pretty bad in general. Until we get consistently hot, we can be the best in League.

If Ja'Rob McCallum came back that would help, but we have some great shooters who are just not getting the best open looks or aren't shooting anywhere near as good as they normally do (a couple of threes by Evan or Paris and we hold on to the Butler game.. a couple of 3's in the MU game- and we could have been right there with the Eagles).

The bottom line is that our defense is playing championship worthy. Our offense is being run correctly and people are getting shots, but until those shots start to fall a lot more... our chances to be great fall as well.

Go can win with good defense, but you have to have an above-average offense to match it. Point margins are what ultimately decide games- not the amount of points your opponent scores. f you play enough 2 point games, you're going to have a lot of losses that coulda/woulda/shoulda been wins.

We have the shooters. And they will have dozens and dozens of additional chances to prove they can change games (or in the case of Butler hold on to games). We won a games and lost one. Not bad for the road, but not what we wanted of course.

On to Kalamazoo and our final game in this early road trip to play the Western Michigan Broncos of the MAC Conference. Western Michigan (5-8), have played some tough teams (their 8 losses included #5 Duke and #19 Gonzaga).

I don't buy that this game is a "trap" game or unimportant because we should only be focused on conference now that any pipe dream of an at-large bid resume have evaporated. Yes, it may be true that this game at WMU doesn't mean much in the conference standings.

But every win builds confidence, and that's something you need to sustain winning streaks and maintain the mentality that no one can beat you. The Green Bay Packers are currently playing mostly 2nd string key positions players against Detroit in a similar ("non-essential" win). Maybe they can afford to do that.. but they started their season 14-0-- we didn't.

Let's get to 11-5 and come home to grab some more W's.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT WESTERN MICHIGAN!!

Missed Shots Lead to Big Missed Opportunity

2011-12-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't as bad as the score might lead you to believe. The Marquette Golden Eagles sent your Milwaukee Panthers (9-4 (2-0)) home with their third loss in four games with a 64-50 ugly victory in a match-up that pitted two very good teams potentially [playing] at their worst.

The game started out pretty much as expected. MU (11-1) knocking in a few, us keeping within about 5-8 points of striking distance for the first 10 minutes.

You have to give MU credit. They shot well enough and played great D.

We went into half down by just 5, trailing the Eagles 31-26. We had shot pretty awful up to this point, but 20 minutes remained and we were down by just 5 points. Good things could happen, right? I thought for sure we would get a few 2-3 triples or tough shots made in a row and we'd be fine.

It just never happened. Marquette continued to extend their lead to 11 in the opening minutes of the second half. It was 15 by the time we were down to 4 minutes and topped out at 16 points (61-45) with just 1:45 remaining in the game. That's when you know it's all but over.

Our defense showed up this night, but our offensive couldn't get going.

What really makes this loss tough is that if we were going to beat MU on their home floor- last night was the night. They were far from terrible, but we held them to just 39% from the field, 18% from 3pt, and just 64 points (MU averages 80.3).

Their were some positives, but our shooting.... It was, well this was (let's hope the only one), our "gong" game. We did hit our free throws at a better than average (our average) clip (14-19 for 74%). But MU was even better (90% on 18-20) this one wasn't even close to coming down to free throws.

Tony Meier, our (virtually) always-accurate go-to sharp-shooter since he was a freshman in '08-'09, had an o'fer (0-10, 0-8 from 3pt). He just couldn't get rhythm and had one of those games. If he's hot like usual and 4 or 5 of those 10 go in.. we might have had a very different outcome. Evan Richard (1-6 from the field for 3pts in 25 minutes) also did not have his best night.

In fact, we just flat-out couldn't shoot. As a team, we shot a dejecting 27% on 16-60 from the field overall and 14% on 4-23 from behind the arc. You won't win too many games if you can scarcely score.

Ryan Allen and Kaylon Williams kept us in this game. They played tough. It just wasn't enough.

For me, the silver lining is that, if we can play a ranked team that close (holding them to relatively few points) all game on a night which "showcased" one of our worst shooting performances in the past two season's, we can get increasingly dangerous.

If we can just start to consistently shoot the ball better (ie. around or above 40%- from the field, 33% from 3pt and bare minimally 68% from the FT line)- from here on out this season, we can win a bunch (> 20) of games.

Probably one of the most under-rated players in Division I college basketball: Ryan Allen

I wanted to win this game against Marquette (last in the most recent 4-1 series) more than the hardest of the hard-core, die-hard Panther fans. But as it turned out, we had a shot to defeat a great team playing so-so, and we ended throwing too many shots too far away from the goal. Our poor shooting was the difference.

Kaylon Williams (11pts, 8rbs, 3ast), Kyle Kelm (10pts, 4-4 from the FT line) and more than anyone else- Ryan Allen (16pts, 13rbs, 6blks), prevented this game from getting out of control. Had it not been for these three and the bright spots they shown on an otherwise ugly game to watch, we would have gotten beat by 30 points.

Gotta move on and play our game. You won't see 27%/14% shooting again this season.

We have to just move on. Much like the Western Michigan (home) game, Cleveland State (home) game, Wright State (road) game, Loyola (home) drop or Valparaiso (road) game last year- it's done. It's over. The games ahead will bring much, much better shooting performances and in time we can just look back at this game and wonder how we could have played that bad. That wasn't your Panthers "A" game we saw last night (heck our shooting alone made it look like we were on our "C-" game).

We have a week off before we play at Valparaiso next Thursday night at 7pm. Hopefully everyone can get back home to their families, have a great Christmas break and come back refreshed and ready to trudge forward into the conference games that we need to win to put ourselves in the same position as our early-March League Championship run of last season.

It was a tough loss. But our great defense was there. The shots will begin to fall.

Valpo (8-5 (1-0)) just lost 97-88 at IUPUI today. But despite Brandon Wood's departure for Michigan State, they boast a very talented and experienced squad. Ryan Broekhoff, Kevan Van Wjik and Erik Buggs form the dominant core of the Crusaders.

And after their loss to the Jaguars (whom we beat) you know they'll coming into this game with the same kind of chipped shoulder as we are.

Nowhere to go but up from here. And though we didn't reach our goal of a non-con upset, I think the hardest games of our regular season are behind us. At 9-4 after the first 13, we are still in a position to win a lot of games.

Regroup and Reload. This one just wasn't in the cards. Many more will be however....

And take comfort in the fact we didn't play incredibly terrible, It was just a matter of offense and defense not showing up together. That has been the story in all but one (UNI) of our non-con losses this season.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

BEAT VALPO!!

The Game

2011-12-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Though the vast majority of posts you'll find here at MPT are on the never-ending-journey-type length of reading material, I will take a turn toward brevity, if only for a moment.

Tall order for K-Dub & Co. tomorrow. But, I think it's fair to say we're up for the challenge.

Tomorrow we play Marquette at the Bradley Center downtown and will attempt to end our seemingly unendable streak of futility in the UWM-MU D-I series... (currently 38-0 in favor of the Golden Eagles). But, I have to pipe up and a remind folks- the match-up this season is different.

Ask Buzz Williams- he knows this '11-'12 Milwaukee Panther Hoops prowl can quickly turn into a howl/growl/stomp-thou, if MU isn't careful and slips in any aspect of their game.

Win tomorrow, and you'll see several thousands of dormant Panther fans emerge from the woodwork. Lose, and the series is likely over (MU will insist on a 4-1 which hamstrings this program and should not even be considered by the Milwaukee AD).

But I'm sure most MU fans have chalked up a win, and most UWM fans (stung by the crushing defeats in the last three times we've played the Eagles at the BC since the series resumed) expect an embarrassing loss..

Wake up. This game (Vegas currently says Milwaukee will lose by 14pts) will be a lot more interesting/entertaining than you think.

Our town. Our school. Our team. Other plans for tomorrow night?

I'll just leave you with a quote I found, perusing the discussion board of the UWMFreaks:

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."

What do you think?

GO PANTHERS!!!!

BEAT MARQUETTE!!

UWM Obliterates UNO, Improves to 9-3 Ahead of Cross-Town Contest @ MU

2011-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well, Nebraska-Omaha, welcome to Division I, I guess. Though the Mavericks beat Northern Illinois (as did we) and played against Michigan State (as did we), your Milwaukee Panthers were clearly- far and away- the better team this past Saturday night at the on-campus Klotsche Center.

The Panthers got it started from the get-go and did not let up until the regulation time buzzer sounded.

Looking at the ESPN Game Flow (point-tracker throughout the game), one can clearly see that this one was all but finished with about 1:38 in the first half (we were up by 30pts, 48-18 at that point). Granted UNO is a provisional D-I team, new to the block, so to speak and the fact that most of us expected a pretty big win- I don't think anyone predicted that we'd play as lights out as we did.

From the starting 5 to the end of the bench, Milwaukee (9-3 (2-0)) put on a Harlem Globetrotters event of a win for the small but packed crowd of 2,446. None of our starters had to play more than 24 minutes and on average our first 5 played about 20 minutes each (sounds right considering the half-time score I just mentioned, right?).

Tony Meier led the way with 19pts on 5-12 from 3pt and 7rbs. James Haarsma had a quiet night statistically but was every bit as important in this win as Tony and the others. Kaylon put up his usual stat line: 17pts, 6rbs, 8ast and just a single turnover. Paris Gulley poured in 12 on 4-5 from 3pt (once Gulley gets going consistently from game to game (let's hope it starts this Thursday)- watch out.

Our Achilles heel reared it's ugly head yet again (9-17 or 53%), but hey, if that's the biggest problem, I think most Panther fans will take it. But those free throws... Gotta get up to a level of making at least 65% a game or so, or it will come back to bite us as bad or worse than it did in the game vs. Wisconsin.

One of the highlights of the night, was after an off-the-backboard block by Demetrius Harris on a Maverick FG attempt that bounced about 30 feet away from the hoop, Shaq Boga picked up and carried the ball down the court and lobbed up one of the sweetest Panther-to-Panther-alley-oop jams I have seen since 2006 to Ryan Allen (this team can jump and score with authority).

86-60 was your final here. The most amazing part was that, for the first time in my 5 years of attending every Panther home game, I saw many Panther fans exiting the game with several minutes left in the second half- and not for the usual reason! We actually blew the game so wide open our own fans got board with satisfaction! Now that is a stunning turnaround from the Western Michigan "problem" we encountered last season.

It was great to get the bench a ton of quality minutes- and they did not even come close to letting UNO back in the game. Shaq Boga (6pts, 7ast, 4stl and just two TOs) seems to be slowly but surely shaking off his new-to-D-I jitters and showing us flashes of what he is going to be capable of in a Milwaukee uniform.

Mitch Roelke and Evan Richard added 6 points apiece to top off our awesome bench effort. Very, very solid effort by the next 5-8 up... I think those minutes will prove very valuable down the stretch when we will need to count on 1-2-3 or more of them to help us win when the game is on the line.

So after 12 games, Milwaukee has already collected 9 wins. That's a good start by any measure, but wins over the next four road games (@Marquette, @Western Michigan, @Valpo, @Butler) are not going to be easy. That's not to say we can't win each and every one. We've had a chance throughout at least the first 30 minutes in all of our losses except the Northern Iowa game (UNI (esp. Jake Koch) was just flat-out nails that night).

Let's put our best game on the floor and see where the chips fall. But make no mistake- we can win this game.

We have a shot. And pssssst, 'we can shoot. That, combined with the expected return of sophomore paint-beast Kyle Kelm and our stifling Milwaukee Defense, could hold the key to a big "road" victory.

We can talk about respect and how the Journal-Sentinel and local anti-everything ranting yahoo Dave Begel of OMC treats Milwaukee Panther Athletics as a joke and how J-S Sports gives Panther Hoops less coverage than prep high school basketball teams 100 miles away, but that's for another conversation...

Right now, just win. 9-3 is nice, but nothing to beat your chest about. 10-3 would certainly be a different story with this tough non-con schedule we are battling through.... But one win (or loss) does not a season make.

We just need to treat each game like it's a sudden-death tournament test. If we utilize our experience, depth, talent, athleticism, renewed sense of urgency on defense (and make- those- free throws!)..... very good things could be building for us on the Horizon.

But I have to come clean for those who haven't read this blog in years past.. All this "just-win", being said, I won't deny that this game is a whole lot more than "just another tough road non-con game" to many die-hard Panther fans and other UWM alum and students.

And imagine the implications for the team. It would be the biggest kind of mid-season confidence boost possible to come out of Thursday with a victory. You cannot assign a number or measure confidence-laden momentum, but it is a very real thing as we showed in our amazing '10-'11 season-ending streak. But we will have to get past and/or shut-down DJO for any kind of upset to even get off the ground.

This is modern hoops warfare right here, and we have yet to show our cross-town neighbor that we can hang with them in their own gym. We can (and I think we will), but it will take a lot of Milwaukee cheering to make the underdogs feel right at home.

This particular "road" game is being played across the street and in the city that our jerseys represent, know? Hopefully we will have a sizable sea of black and gold Milwaukee Panther garb covering the Bradley Center's upper-deck cheap seats Thursday.

The BC could become a very unfriendly echo chamber of alarmingly loud, long-buried and finally audible UWM pride to the ears of the Eagle faithful- if our team can just assert what they already know they have and have shown they can do- and hold the #10-ranked team in the country in check and then some. Make it a good game, but aim even higher the Golden Eagles expect.

Make it good enough.... and we'll be seeing some pretty forlorn MU fans looking up at us and our entire program, if only for a passing, but unforgettable moment. Crazier things have happened in the history of college hoops- don't count us out before the shots have even begun to fly.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT MARQUETTE!!

Milwaukee's Bigtime Second Half Rebound Not Enough to Topple #14 Wisconsin

2011-12-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

In a game-ending sequence eerily reminiscent of last year's fumble against Marquette at the Cell, your Milwaukee Panthers came up short in their earnest bid to beat the Wisconsin Badgers for the first time since 1992.

Coach Jeter came soooooooo close to the biggest regular season non-con win in UWM history..

The game started out with the Panthers shooting colder than a Polar Bear's toe nail. Milwaukee (8-3 (2-0)) just wasn't completely on their game- and a savvy observer would understand why. We were playing without two of our '11-'12 projected starters.

But the Panthers battled on the defensive end. James Haarsma battled no-holds-barred with Wisconsin's bigs. I have no doubt he (and Hags and Meier) left a lasting impression on the Bucky Big Men.

Stunt man Ryan "Hags" Haggerty played tenaciously in the absence of Kelm

Oh well. One half does not determine the end result. Wisconsin put up their usual plodding 30 points and led 31-20 after 20 minutes of play.

Although some kind of inspiration obviously happened in the home team's locker room, it wasn't clearly evident in the early goings of the second half. The Badgers slowly extended their lead to as many as 17 before the Panthers saw that despite their being 16 minutes left in the game, a run had to commence- lest we let the game get too far away.

And that is when we started to really dig in defensively and pour it on offensively.

It was at about this point that UW fans realized that the Panthers came to play.

Slowly but surely the Panthers chipped away at the Badgers 17 point lead. With threes and dunks and And-1's, Milwaukee tied it all up 48-48 on a lane-storming Tony Meier lay-in with 5:22 left. The largest home crowd in UWM regular season history of 10,000+ went bananas.

This one was going down- to- the- wire.

Down just 3pts with the clock winding down, we still had a good chance to at least take this to OT. But the Badgers' point man dribbled to the Panthers' top of the key, stepped out, and rolled in a crushing trey bomb.

The veins on Bo Ryan's head certainly indicated the entire Badger bench was worried out of their minds that they might let this one slip.... but they looked very relieved when Taylor's shot rang true.

And so that would be all she wrote for this year's UWM-UW game. 60-56. Better luck next time, I guess..

James Haarsma was a lot to handle for UW. What does that say for the Horizon?

A great game to watch overall and the student section held things down strong (esp. the blue section). But our free throws.... well the numbers don't lie (7-17). Just 3 more makes and this one may have turned out in our favor.

We must make more of our free shots or we are going to lose a lot more close games like the one we saw Tuesday night. Our three point shooting seems to vary between red hot and ice cold, but on average has been pretty decent for the season (33%). If we could boost our free throw percentage by just 5-7%, it could mean a big difference.

There are a few other things/stats one can to point to in explaining our "almost" win, but that's just the way it goes down sometimes. Would people rather we had shot 90% free throws, 50% from FG, 40% from 3pt and still lost by 10? Our guys showed real fortitude out there.

We love Bo here at UWM (coach '99-'01), but seeing him livid late was pretty special..

As this was the final game of a 3-1 contract with UW-Madison, let's hope the series continues (hopefully with a more equitable and respectful 2-1 deal). This loss against a very good team (UW will be in the Dance, yet again- count on it), has made us better already. Wait until conference rolls around..

I think it's a great matchup and pits not only two great D-I schools (albeit with Major differences in budget and historical success), but also a ton of friends, relatives and co-workers who are fans of one or the other (or in many cases- both) teams.

It's a win-win situation for all involved and only irrationality and/or pride will get in the way of renewing the series (the same goes for the series with our Navy & Gold neighbors across the block).

This photo pretty much captures the effort put forth by both teams. Tough.

Onward we march as a Panther Nation. Up next is a provisional (read- "new") D-I school- the University of Nebraska-Omaha. But make no mistake- though Vegas odds will likely be favoring us by double-digits- the UNO Mavericks (4-7) are going to come ready to play. They played Sparty as well (even if they did lose by 42 points..).

We all remember what happened last time we played a regular season game in the Klotsche.. Let's erase that memory by getting the big W #9 against UNO to close out the week on a positive note.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT UNO!!

NIU Keeps Milwaukee Out of Striking Distance, Our Panthers Fall 67-51

2011-12-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

The game was a lot closer than the final score would indicate, but it is true that though Milwaukee kept the pressure on and had NIU's lead between a manageable 8-12 points for much of the game, it just wasn't enough.

Koch and Co. were just too much for Milwaukee this past Saturday

None of Milwaukee's stats jump out as horrible (other than perhaps the 26% from 3pt on 19 attempts- but even that isn't downright terrible). We just couldn't keep up with a very talented and well coached Northern Iowa team. Jake Koch (21pts) led the NIU offensive charge and was easily the best player in this game.

Although we didn't play terrible, there were definitely some things that can't be repeated (esp. against teams like Wisconsin and Marquette) if this team is going to be as good as I think they can be this season. Needless to say, we'll have to shoot a whole lot better (esp. from 3pt.), guard the perimeter, protect the ball (14 TOs against NIU), and most importantly- get those offensive rebounds for second chance points.

We had just 5 offensive rebounds against UNI. We have to kick it up about 3 notches. The entire month of December is going to be a tremendous challenge. I think we can escape with just a couple losses at worst, but it will take some really concentrated effort on fixing the little things that have been hampering an otherwise stellar early '11-'12 season for Milwaukee.

So, it stings, yeah. But so what. This was a game we weren't supposed to win- and we still made it competitive until the final 5 minutes. UWM lost for the first time since we dropped the ball in East Lansing against a formidable Michigan State team. All is not lost though. Milwaukee (8-2 (2-0)) was an 8 point underdog and Northern Iowa is going to compete for the MVC crown.

It would have been a key road victory, but if nothing else it's a teachable loss. Maybe this will spark the team to an unprecedented upset of Wisconsin this coming Tuesday (by the way- tickets are moving fast so reserve a spot- that should be a pretty good battle in the Cell if Rob Jeter's Panthers can shoot the ball like they did vs DePaul and defend well).

Up next is (yet again) the biggest challenge of the season thus far. Make no mistake- UNI is a team that could battle Wisconsin to the wire. And there is no reason we can't do the same. Tuesday is not a make-or-break game for the Panthers' season.

But in a lot of people's minds, it does hold the potential to (for a brief period of time) remind themselves that Milwaukee Panther Basketball is alive and well and can actually still stick around with the big budget boys.

Contrary to popular belief, Bucky isn't the only competitive state D-I school. And Marquette Basketball isn't the only college hoops game in this town.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT MADISON!!

Panthers Exercise the Blue Demons in 87-76 Rout of DePaul

2011-12-06T16:32:00.001-08:00

It couldn't have been planned any better. After storming out to a 35-15 1st half lead fueled by a blistering 80% shooting, your Milwaukee Panthers took a deep breath, a little stock in what they had accomplished in so little time- and never looked back.

Oliver Purnell was just informed by Blue Demon's mascot that, "Milwaukee ain't no joke".

Milwaukee was on pace for a 35pt blowout before DePaul quickly began to exploit the Panthers’ biggest weakness- floor-to-floor pressure D (that is, our biggest weakness right now- after this game, I think we will see stark improvement).

We turned it over 17 times (still less than DePaul’s foes were averaging), but on the bright side- just one of those TO’s came from our play-calling play-maker Kaylon Williams (21pts, 3rbs, 5ast)..

But our offensive barrage was scorching. Though I wish I could have made the trip to the AllState again this year, I had to settle for cheering my lungs out at the TV while watching the great broadcast by Daron Sutton and Panther legend Adrian "AT" (for the uninitiated) Tigert. What a great way to help people completely forget about the UIC win that almost got away…

There were so many great Panther performances to mention last night it's impossible to list them all.

The return of Tony Meier continues to wow Panther fans who were just happy to see him start to get integrated back into the lineup. Meier (20pts, 2stl) shot a perfect 7-7 from the field, including 5-5 from three point range. And he played all of just 22 minutes to do so..

AllState Arena all- a'ruckus....

As if that weren’t astonishing enough.... Paris Gulley (19pts, 4rbs), who has gotten significant playing time in this early season, but hasn't yet left a huge impression on fans hoping we’d see his much-touted perimter shooting abilities, shot a perfect 5-5 from 3pt as well.

I don’t even know how to react to that. I will say the chances of that ever happening again in our program’s history (two players 5-5 from 3pt against a quality D-I opponent) are next to nill.

James Haarsma ignored the "conventional wisdom" that insists taller forwards always win out. Though a lot of his performance wasn't reflected in the box score (4pts, 4rbs in 29 min.), James was a huge reason we won this game.

He routinely muscled the ball away from DePaul’s much bigger post men like they owed him money. Whether he was credited or not, much of what he did turned the tide at many points in this game when DePaul seemed to be creeping back.

All of these positives... and we are still not at full strength. Ja’Rob McCallum remains sidelined along with Lonnie Boga.

We really could use "all hands on deck" to show the nation what kind of depth we really have- but healing is first. When they are ready, we will welcome them back and watch them add that much more to The Show.

Up next is Nothern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA.

Maybe not this kind of 2.5k student section, but next Tuesday's turnout hinges on this Saturday

Don’t even mention the game next Tuesday. We’ll size up that contest well and good when we get past this next one. One at a time- the steady reel hand gets the big fish. And then another, and then another…

Let’s see where we stand after facing MVC’s best to offer this season. These NIU Panthers (Corn-fed maybe, but not as Milwaukee-Tough as us, I suspect) are going to have their hands full- and they should know it.

We, on the other hand, are also going to be seeing our toughest foe since Michigan State.

But make no mistake- just because UNI’s McLeod Center will be packed to the gills with purple power trying to shout down this team we have begun to elevate above “eh, maybe we’ll be OK this season”, does not mean that we are not dead-set on keeping the streak alive and bringing home another huge W to Mil-town.

Better believe that.

Tune in to WISN 1130- this one is only being carried on radio as far as I know (subject to change if someone clues me in). Saturday could be a harsh reality check. It could also a major confidence boost setting up the table nice, and ensuring a big guest list for the you-know-what.... ("the party") next Tuesday...

For the first time since late last season, these Panthers have achieved what brings joy to so many of themselves and us die-hard Milwaukee fans- they have effectively silenced the haters who never seem to know when to shut up about how “mediocre”, “inconsequential” or “ irrelevant” UWM and/or the Milwaukee Athletic community is.

We’ll let the play on the court further determine the direction of popular conversation. Right now, we’re lookin’ pretty dang good. Even in the eyes of the haters.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT NORTHERN IOWA!!

Panthers Mop up Loyola, Get Taken to the Wire by UIC, Hit the Road for Two Big Tests

2011-12-04T19:06:00.001-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers were able to fend off both Loyola and UIC Thursday and Saturday afternoon. One win came easy, the other one, was a real nail-biter.

Kaylon is leading our troops to a "T" and doing great showing Shaq the ropes.

The Loyola game was played close throughout the entire first half. Walt Gibler (13pts, 5rbs) was able to get to the line with relative ease and converted most of his free points. Ben Averkamp (12pts, 2blk) served as Gibler's main supporting cast.

Milwaukee went into half leading 22-18. Things were looking shaky on offense, but our Big Milwaukee "D" was holding down the fort and forest in keeping the Ramblers to just 18 points through 20 minutes.

Then came a huge second half tsunami by the Panther offense, and we stretched the lead well into double digits en route to the decisive victory 59-41. FG% (Milwaukee lead Loyola, 44% to 36% on the night and got off 13 more attempts) and a huge rebounding advantage (38-19) were the determining factors in this one.

We got 13, 12 and 14 points from Kelm, Williams and Allen, respectively, and Evan Richard chipped in 7 points. Tony Meier (3pts, 0-4 from 3pt in 18 minutes) made his '11-'12 season debut as he is being slowly eased back into the rotation as he shakes off a little rust and gets back to being the most dependable shooter on the team.

Ryan Allen- Milwaukee's X-Factor. Have you noticed his improved shot? It's night and day.

It didn't take Tony too long to shake the rust off.

In Saturday's contest, a game in which these Panthers were favored by 15 and 1/2 points over the UIC Flames, Meier (9pts on 3-7 from 3pt in just 16 minutes) showed that it won't take long for him to get back into his normal sniper-style shooting form. That was the good news. The bad news is, we came about a half a foot from losing this game.

UIC played tough- make no bones about it. But Milwaukee did not play the suffocating D that has become there staple this season during regulation- and this led to an equally shaky overtime. As a team overall, we didn't shoot terrible from the line as we didn't shoot incredibly terrible.

But as has too often been the case, we did miss some very key free-throws that could have provided the dagger- in regulation- we needed to put out the Flames and escape with victory.

Fortunately, with a huge Paris Gulley three in the closing seconds of OT and a huge Ryan Allen block, coupled with just enough free throw cash-ins by James Haarsma and Kaylon Williams, we secured a razor thin margin of victory, 73-71.

Kyle Kelm had a huge game (18pts and 5rbs) . K-Dub equalized his 2-9 from the charity stripe by scoring 13, grabbing 5 boards and dishing out 5 assists. Haarsma provided a big time post punch adding 14pts and nabbing his average of 9 rebound (man, if that average can go even further up- watch out Horizon League! ...heck, watch out Wisconsin and Marquette!).

As good as all this news is, once the team gets a huge piece back in Meier, Ja'Rob McCallum (missed both UIC and Loyola) is listed as day-to-day as he aggravated a wrist that he had surgery on during the off-season. Here's to hoping he gets all the rest he needs and can get back on board making this Panther team as deadly and deep as it has the potential to be.

Also, Lonnie Boga remains sidelined with his shoulder injury. Some rumors had it that he may be considering a red-shirt. You can never trust rumors, but if it were true, we do still have depth at the shooting (or in Lonnie's case strong/shooting) guard position, but it would be a big loss. Lonnie (a Junior would have 2 more instead of 1 more years of eligibility if he red-shirted this season) would also be able to play one additional year with brother Shaq, who is slowly coming into his own in this, his freshman NCAA season.

Seeing those two on the same team for an entire additional year could be a big-time advantage for the Panthers. Everyone who has ever seen a team grow, mesh, get momentum and start routinely crushing opponents- chemistry is 90% of the formula. Those brothers could be a sight to see once they get on the floor together.

Kaylon is slowly putting together an even better season than his first as a Panther

The Panthers (7-1 (2-0)) have now moved out to their best record since the '92-'93 season, a season which interestingly, wasn't as successful as 2005, but also was the last season this program beat the Wisconsin Badgers- in Madison no less, at the then-home to the Badgers, the old UW Fieldhouse.

Those Badgers will be coming into a raucous Cell on Dec. 13th, but whether the Panthers will have enough bite to make that a great game will be easier to predict once we see how they handle the next two big road challenges.

First up is at the All-State Arena in Rosemont, IL against the DePaul Blue Demons of the Big East. Make no mistake- DePaul is a lot better than their 4-2 record might make them look- they lost their 2 games by a combined 3 points- to Minnesota and Ole' Miss. After that, we travel to Iowa to take on a 7-1 Northern Iowa.

No reason we can't just keep punching it through in the winner's lane, though. UIC made us look pretty bad at times, but we battled and kept the momentum alive. We have just finished shaking the rust off.

We now see that this team is very capable of winning the games they are supposed to win. That is big part of success. But we are going to find out real quickly whether this team is also capable of pulling out victories- on the road- and at home, that are against the odds.

If this team proves they can, you can be sure that there will be a lot more optimistic UWM fans in the Cell when Bucky comes to town. If I were a betting man, my money's on Rob and the Milwaukee Panther World Class Wrecking Crew.

Keep it tough (esp on D- but points are needed to overcome inevitable defenses lapses!), and they'll keep it up. No question in my mind about that.

GO PANTEHRS!!!!
BEAT DEPAUL!!

Milwaukee Overtakes UALR 59-54, Improves to 5-1

2011-11-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

In a road game that had many Panther fans on edge, your Milwaukee Panthers came out on top, 59-54. Some of us were on edge, not only because it was a road game, but because UALR won their division last season and appeared in the NCAA Tournament (something we "almost" accomplished last season, but haven't achieved since March of 2006).

But we were prepared, and we played with poise.

Free-throws continued to be a problem (11-21 for just 52%...), but our 3pt shooting was on fire (12-24 for a deadly 50%)- without our hot hand from beyond the beyond, we likely would have lost this one.

UALR kept it close throughout, thanks to some impressive post play by bench player Will Neighbour (15pts, 8rbs, 3blk). Chuck Guy added 9pts and 3stl and the Torjans as a team turned it over just 10 times (we turned it over 13 teams, which, while not too bad, is nothing to be proud of - it is actually our season low!! ....need to start getting those single digit TO games to keep on winning..).

Once again Haarsma was the bull leading our scoring charge (James had 17pts and 5rbs). Kaylon Williams (8pts, 7ast, 4rbs), and Kyle Kelm (11pts, 8rbs) and Ja'Rob McCallum added considerably to the winningn effort. We didn't score in bunches, but it was a slow-paced kind of a game. I have little doubt we'll score well over 60pts this Thursday- but I could care less if we score 59 again and just win.

This Milwaukee Panther team is off to it's best start 5 years. And I don't think it's a fluke. Ok, I'll concede it's a fluke and we are just another "middle of the road" mid-major if we get swept or even split with Loyola and UIC this coming Thursday (7pm) and Saturday (1pm) down at the Cell. But I don't think that will happen.

After these next two games, we will begin to see the percentages (FG, 3pt, FT, etc.) start to balance out and we'll begin to really see if this team is up to the grand challenge of holding the torch for the Horizon League in '11-'12. We managed to do that in a sort of 3-way-tie-ish way for the second half of last season. But let's show college hoops nation that we aren't just a good Horizon team- we are a good NCAA Men's Basketball team- period.

I listened to the UALR game on the radio (great call by Bill and Kevin once again), and that's about all I can take away- we are still on the right track. Sorry such a short post- I'll have much more to discuss after we get a feel for how this Panther squad will fare against fellow Horizon League foes (even if those foes will likely wind up in the bottom of the conference- heck, we almost lost to Youngstown State in OT in the last regular season game last season- nothing is guaranteed in this sport!).

By all means we shouldn't (and won't) be afraid of playing Loyola or UIC. But we also didn't appear too fazed playing MSU on their legendary home turf. Call us Krazy, but I think we should play with that same sense of belonging and chance to win when we play Wisconsin and Marquette in the coming weeks... and did I mention, by that time, we will have Tony Meier back?

We may have Tony back this Thursday night vs. Loyola. If it's not incentive enough to get down to Goolsby's and/or the Cell to see a team that has strung together an impressive 5-1 record without their best player who is likely to return Thursday, then there isn't anything that will ever get you out to a Panther game.

But if you still think this team is a second-rate red-headed step child forever destined to look out at UW-Madison like a dream that will never come true, it's your right to feel that way, even if it couldn't be further from the truth.

Some day in early 2012, you might be wishing you would have seen some of these games that you plan on "skippin". Get out and treat yourself and your friends and family to some great college basketball in downtown Milwaukee this week and weekend- you only live once.

Things are about to get very, very exciting.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT LOYOLA!!

After a Strong First Half for Milwaukee, Sparty Wakes Up and Ends Panther Upset Bid

2011-11-25T08:54:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately (it had to happen- and there is no better learning experience than to have it happen early)- your Milwaukee Panthers are no longer undefeated. But we lost to a B1G foe, on the road at their place, who isn't exactly one to be ashamed of losing to.

Add Tony Meier subtract Draymond Green from this game.. and we'd have won

This game went a lot like I and many who follow the program (and the folks in Vegas apparently- the line was -13.5 MSU) figured it would. Milwaukee, still lacking key scorer and senior floor leader Tony Meier, would fight the good fight, and then eventually get worn down by the much bigger Spartans on their home-floor in front of 14,000 wild and crazy MSU fans- the Izzone was largely empty due to Thanksgiving break, but East Lansing still draws well over 14,000 fans for every game- even games against "Mid-Majors" like the Milwaukee Panthers.

But the outcome was a bit more positive than that. The Panthers came out battling tough and never trailed by more than a couple of possessions throughout the entire first half.

But in the end, the no-holds-barred physicality of Draymond Green (18pts, 8rbs, 2ast, 3stl, 2blk), Derrik Nix (who added 11) and some incredibly whistle-friendly-against-visiting-team B1G referees were too much for us too overcome.

Haarsma, despite his sleight height disadvantage is proving he can bang with the best

Despite Draymond and despite those inconsistent referees (you have to be used to that- it happens in 90% of road games) we still could have won this game- were it not for our recurring shooting woes, which returned at the worst time, to engulf our otherwise solid defensive game in a big black cloud.

We played MSU virtually even throughout the first 20 minutes, but things went south (not too badly though) in the second half when the Spartans began to realize what was on the line for them- they couldn't lose to the lowly Milwaukee Panthers, right?

Michigan State slowly but surely asserted their home-court dominance over the final 20 minutes and cut down your Milwaukee Panthers to capture the victory 68-55. So there you have it, our first loss of the season. But many of us expected a road game against MSU to be a loss. So it's not as devastating as say a home loss to Loyola (which happened- last year, in fact).

Some guys who haven’t shown up in the box score much this year got some very valuable experience in this one. Shaq Boga had 8pts, 4rbs and 2ast to go with a pair of TO’s. Noticeably absent were Evan Richard, Kyle Kelm and Ja’Rob McCallum. They added some points and a few rebounds, but it wasn’t a typical game from any of them (Ja’Rob was 0-5 from 3pt, which happens rarely).

As a team we shot just 39%, an abysmal 20% from beyond the arc, and only got to the line 13 times… Of those measly 13 chances we were given we made just 6 for 42% free throw percentage. Sparty got to the line a whopping 36 times and made 61% of their free shots.

K-Dub had an average night (a stellar night for some PGs), but he needed more help

We really have to focus on shot selection (don’t force things) and nailing down those free throws- it’s the easiest shot in the game of basketball- all it takes for a 67% or so average is practice. Muscle memory will take care of everything else.

Haarsma (13pts, 8rbs) and Williams (14pts, 4rbs, 3ast) displayed the leadership we need right now, and those two almost made this upset happen... But the rest of the team seemed a little rattled by the big show environment and two guys cannot do it alone- everyone from the starting five to the end of the bench- must believe.

"Maybe we can keep it close". "Let's just fight and see where the chips fall". "I'll be happy with a strong effort that gets us experience". I could go on for hours with cliche excuses that cause countless games to be virtually forfeited before the ball is even tipped. It's about mindset.

Since '06-'07, we've been building something tough here in Milwaukee; building something that isn't going to lay down for anyone regardless of their conference or past-success or where they stand in the almighty AP or RPI Top 25. Assistant Coach Chad Boudreau said it best after the game:

"We don't get into moral victories or anything like that here. We expected to win, as we do every game.”

He’s right, and that's what most of us like to hear.

There is some very bright news that should perk up every Panther fans ear- rumor has it that Meier has been recovering well from his calf injury and should be back in action by the Dec. 1st early conference-opening home game vs. Loyola.

While we may have missed a huge opportunity to upset a legend of the B1G (even if they seem to be in an off-year), the experience was invaluable and should flow into our next, very-winnable games starting with another road contest at Arkansas-Little Rock. After that we begin the early portion of the Horizon League season with two home games vs. Loyola (12/01 at 7pm) and UIC (12/3 at 1pm).

I think Coach Jeter was a little surprised by the lop-side foul calling. Both teams played physical

But first thing's first, while winning the league again (Regular Season Sole Possession and H-League Tourney this season) is our primary goal, the more decent non-con wins we can rack up the better our chances are of helping establish the Horizon League as a perennial multi-bid conference- there is no reason it shouldn’t be (I don't think 2 H-League bids per year on average is far-fetched).

The Horizon League’s success in the NCAA Tourney over the past 11 seasons is pretty astonishing- and unlike me, numbers are not opinionated (see the above link if you doubt the damage the Horizon has consistently done in the month of March).

If we manage to do the unthinkable and upset Wisconsin or Marquette (which I still think we will- esp. once we have Meier back... and considering both are essentially home games) and string together a 1st or 2nd place finish in the H-League (with a record of 20+ regular season wins) but somehow lose the H-League Tourney Championship game again (perish the thought!), a loss to AR-Little Rock could be a big deciding factor in the NCAA Committee's decision to let us into or exclude us from the 2012 Big Dance as a high-seeded at-large.

We cannot, should not, and will not lose this game Saturday night. No “losing streaks” this season. Let's have whatever losses we have to concede occur few and far in between.

Heads should be held high because the team that we saw almost take Michigan State to a frantic finish, is a team that once fully healed, is going to take the Horizon League and the nation by storm. Let’s get back into the winner’s lane Saturday night.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK!!

Panthers Down IUPUI, Drown Texas Southern to Stay Unbeaten at 4-0

2011-11-21T19:15:00.001-08:00

What a difference a couple of games can make.

Your Milwaukee Panthers cruised to victory in both of this past weekend's contests against IUPUI (Friday night) and Texas Southern (Sunday afternoon). My-oh-my how things have changed since my last post.

The team is figuring out its chemistry real fast and the results are showing up on the floor, on the scoreboard and in the box scores.

Anyone who saw Ryan Allen completely shutdown Alex Young (who was very limited due to foul woes from the get-go), or saw our huge rebound advantage in either of these past two games can agree with me when I say with confidence- our defense is better than it’s been in a long time (even going back to last season).

Granted the competition has not yet been at the level we will face in just two short days over in East Lansing… but you get the feeling that our guys are playing aggressive defense like never before and they are taking every opponents’ possession deadly seriously.

But another nice development is taking shape- our offense. You wouldn’t recognize the Panther shooters, slashers and postmen that went all in on Sunday if you had only seen the Parkside and/or SW Minn. State games. We are making strides, and just like most of us figured, the shooting percentages had to go up, and that they have.

The Panthers effectively flattened IUPUI in the first weekend contest, 62-49. The game was never really in question as the Jaguars shot an abysmal (looked like us in the first two games) 30% from the field while the Panthers bounced back quite a bit from Northern Illinois to shoot 44%.

NBA prospect Alex Young was limited to a measly 5pts and 3rbs in 15 minutes. He may have been a little too amped for the NBA scout audience and gottena bit too aggressive on the defensive side, but I witnessed it and honestly our Panthers made Alex Young look like just another average D-I player. We locked down the Jaguars in this game.

K-Dub continued his penchant for evenly distributed and ridiculously productive games (6pts, 8rbs, 8ast, 2stl). And Williams had 4 TO's, but that's because he is the man with the ball 60% of the time during our offensive possessions.......8ast to 4TOs? I'll take that 2-1 any day of the week. Just wait until the TOs decrease...

Kyle Kelm (14pts, 5rbs, 3stl) showed off a newly polished game with some seriously sick post moves. Haarsma only played 22 minutes and still managed 11pts and 7rbs. Evan Richard added 10pts and 4rbs to continue his impressive debut as a (redshirt) Freshman on this Panther squad. Ja'Rob McCallum played limited minutes in what will probably be his least productive game of the season... but then there was the Texas Southern game on Sunday..

I'll spare the details- in a word: annihilation. Panther fans were given a 40 minute display of what this team is capable of that Sunday afternoon. Texas Southern (who shot just 35% (note- better than IUPUI)) was just totally outplayed in every regard in this one. Our defense limited the Tigers to just 38 points (we toasted the Tigers, 73-38). I may stand corrected, but I believe that is the biggest Panther beatdown of an opposing team since we slaughtered Prarie View A&M in 2004.

So yeah, Sunday was pretty big for this program. Everyone got playing time and everyone went in with fury and the results were pretty stunning. I can't even rattle off all the great individual performances (though I will mention that the Shaq Boga to Demetrius Harris alley-oop jam near the end of the second half was the most entertaining moment), but you can see them here.

The best thing about being 4-0 right now, is that we are 4-0 while still lacking our best returning player in Tony Meier and without playing to our full potential (though I think we got pretty close against Texas Southern- esp. with that dead-eye 42% (11-26) 3pt percentage.

So we face some very long odds in this next match-up on the road against Michigan State. We will probably be 12 point dogs. But underdog status is a position we should relish. The Spartans are probably just happy to finally have a “decent” non-con opponent that they can steamroll over to prove they are still worthy of at least being considered in those "Next 15-20" always mentioned underneath the AP Top 25 "Status Roll".

I have unafraid hope for what could be the biggest victory in UWM history and a precursor to something much, much bigger... But like any other realistic fan, I will be content if we just play extremely competitive, keep it close and give ourselves a chance to win in the final minutes... keep MSU rightfully respectful of the Horizon League, know?

It will be a great test regardless of the outcome, but I won’t be thrilled with a close loss. And no Milwaukee fan or player or coach should. We absolutely can beat this Michigan State team- maybe not by 35 points- but we can win this.

The game is free on the radio via Bill Johnson and former Panther Jerard Ajami’s call on WISN 1130 or for $9.99 on btn.com. You have to subscribe to Michigaan State video for 1 month- bummer… but if you want to see the game and can’t drive to East Lansing, it’s not a bad price to pay to see what should be the best gauge of how well this 4-0 team really is in the early goings of ’11-’12.

I know the odds are long… but how many times has Vegas been wrong? How many upsets happen every single week in college basketball? Why not us?

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT MICHIGAN STATE!!

Two Up, Two Down (albeit in ugly fashion)

2011-11-15T17:12:00.001-08:00

Despite the somewhat tense moments late in both of our first two '11-'12 regular season contests that lead to closer-than-expected final winning margins, your Milwaukee Panthers can lay claim to an as-of-yet untarnished record at 2-0.

The first game this past Saturday started out pretty much as expected. The Panthers essentially handled Southwest Minnesota St. throughout the first half and went into the break up by double digits, 33-24.

But after the break, the Panther defensive ranks began to break down considerably. The Mustangs, namely Jordan Miller (16pts, 9ast, 11rbs), who nearly tallied a triple-double on the afternoon, began to drive wide-body classic cars through our defense straight to the bucket- time and again.

Each time down the floor another barely-contested Mustang would zip past our defense and score via lay-up or from 4-6 feet out.

We looked like we were trying out there, but the implementation of our (zone and man) defensive strategies has not come together as a whole yet. The 7 defensive of Harrsma's 17 rebounds went a long way in stemming the tide away from the sieve that was our Panther D in Game 1.

It is early in the season and we have a lot of new faces and returning faces playing considerably more minutes than they have ever before in a Panther uni. But even though we held our visitors to 65 points, it was about 15 points too many- we will get destroyed playing D like that against established D-I teams.

Alas, we prevailed and were able to fend off the press in the final minutes to get the win in the end, 71-65. But play another game like that against a Wisconsin or Detroit or CSU or Marquette, and we will get torched for more points than we can match.

This first foray into the season was nowhere near as bad as the home beat-down at the hands of Cleveland State last season (gulp), and we actually dominated pretty well in the first half. There were also several individual bright spots…

Ja’Rob had 16pts, 3stl and 3rbs. Haarsma pulled down 17 boards- good for a tie with Marcus Skinner as #2 all time for a Milwaukee player in a single game.

Senior Ryan Allen tallied 16pts on 7-8 from the free throw line. Evan Richard scored 10pts on 6-6 from the line. Walk-on Mitch Roelke, who was team manager just a few seasons ago, drained two crucial threes to keep the Panthers on top for good. Never thought Mitch would help save a game for us one day, but it was awesome to see it happen.

No more excuses would be given when we rolled into DeKalb with Kaylon Williams back, right? This Husky squad was coming off an embarrassing 50+ point loss to Purdue.... And us, with our starting PG back, had swagger. No problem, right?

Wrong.

Kaylon Williams put up his usual filled out stat line (8pts, 5rbs, 6ast), but unfortunately had 5 TOs to go with it. But turnovers (we won the TO battle handily 14 to NIU's 24) were the least of our problems last night...

As a team, Milwaukee again struggled epically with shooting (36%- same percentage we had from 3pt). Free throws, which saved us against SWM St., would not drop last night as the Panthers managed just 13-25 from the freebie line.

The Panthers tallied a total of 4 bench points (only Paris Gulley (10 min) played more than 8 minutes) which was a big part of the struggle. We are down with Lonnie and Tony and Christian sidelined. But we are not down and out to the point where our team is still not deep with talent. The experience will come…. But will it come soon enough?

A lot of those missed free throws came in the closing minutes when we were hacked relentlessly by the Huskies who knew they had the odds what with our evident shooting woes.

We survived a half court buzzer beater scare, but managed to secure the victory- barely, 59-57. It was rough, but at the end of the day do we get that much more out of beating a team by 20pts? Nope. A win is a win is a win.

Here are Milwaukee’s numbers after these two games (very, very small sample):

36% FG Percentage (wow)
36% Three Point Percentage
64% Free Throw Percentage

This is just a two game sample, so not a whole lot can really be read into. But considering who we played, they (outside of 3pt shooting which is a bright spot) are pretty dismal figures. There is nowhere to go but way, way up from here.

If we continue to win, and begin (starting Friday night) winning in convincing fashion, no one will remember the ever-so-slow and choppy first pair of games.

So let’s be thankful the guys eeked these two out (though NIU was much more of an “eek” than SWM St.), and move forward. Up next is IUPUI who sports an NBA prospect in 6'6" wing-man and Summit League Pre-Season POY Alex Young. IUPUI will be our biggest challenge yet (by far).

It is a home game, and the Cell crowd should be a lot more energetic than in the SWM St. game. You could almost hear a pin drop at that one- where are the reliably loud and boisterous UWM students? Many, must have slept in that Saturday.

I would be ashamed that we drew so few people, but I understand why that was (D-II opponent, UW football game (if only UWM had it's own football team..)), and news that season ticket sales are at an all-time high at 1,600 leads me to believe that if this Milwaukee team can continue to win, the crowds will get exponentially bigger as the season rolls on. That's how it has always worked.

So this Friday night at 7pm vs. IUPUI of the Summit League may be the first game of the season that we see a complete or near/more-complete Panther performance. Maybe our offense will click and we’ll get back to shooting in the 46-49% range. Maybe our defense will step up and take charges and fly to the ball or the man we need to double-team.

We have seen early struggles the past few seasons… yet the team always seems to figure things out and become a formidable force come conference time.

This season however, I think we get it all working a whole lot earlier- even before Meier returns (when he gets back we will be more than formidable). I say this team shows fans Friday night just how good they can be.

After all, a team, like a machine, is the sum of its parts. If we cop out of even having the chance to be great until Tony Meier returns, what does that say about our confidence in the rest of the team? Haarsma and McCallum and Allen and Williams and Kelm have all shown they are ready. But we knew they would be ready.

Some others have shown flashes of extremely valuable contributions, but need to play within themselves and compliment the team's offensive and defensive strategies in order to make it all work in unison. I sure hope we see it all (or mostly) come together for a big W on Friday night. It will not be easy against a big, deep and talented Jaguar team.

A so-called "statement" win would go a long way to assure everyone (esp. new fans who haven't seen what veterans of this team have already done) that our first two close wins against not-so-great teams were early-season hiccups and not reflective of the way this team will play all season. But I think from here on out, no matter the margin- we'll take every win we can rack up.

Remember Panther fans- 2-0 is not a bad place to be in right now considering what could have happened…. We got Luck-y. But we cannot rely on luck- we must play better basketball. We won't be so lucky the next time.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT IUPUI!!

Sans both All-Horizon League Seniors, Panthers Edge Parkside in Exhibition

2011-11-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

We knew that no game is ever a gimme in the game of college basketball (see: Butler vs. [insert any BCS foe they have slain over the past 5 years]). But if there were just one "gimme" game on Milwaukee's schedule this season- this was supposed to be it.

How easy it is to forget that wise, age-old adage- "never count your chickens before they hatch".

Your Milwaukee Panthers were without not only their premier senior wing Tony Meier but we had to face a not-to-be-dismissed and tough D-II Parkside Ranger team also without fellow Pre-Season All-Horizon League Panther point guard and assist-extraordinaire, Kaylon Williams.

But with all the depth and talent on the roster, no Milwaukee fans seemed particularly concerned about the Parkside game. What we forgot about, was that Tony and Kaylon (and Lonnie Boga, who figures to be a huge piece of the puzzle this season and is also out with a shoulder injury) represented a lot more than just the top players on a team chock-full of talent.

They accounted for a huge chunk of the gametime experience on this team. Tony and Kaylon started every game last season. and Anthony Hill and Tone Boyle (the other two regular starters on that Championship team) have graduated.

Queue- Ja'Rob McCallum.

After the Panthers runned and gunned themselves out to an early 10-3 lead, two of the three referees seemed to take issue with the physicality being asserted by our two biggest new paint cogs- James Haarsma and Demetrius Harris (Haarsma played just 14 minutes).

Maybe the fouls were warranted, maybe not (it sure seemed inconsistent calling to me, when in the second half the refs essentially swallowed their whistles and let the guys in the paint bang around- as it should be!). But in any case, slowly but surely, the Panthers surrendered that early lead, and saw themselves down 37-34 heading into the break.

After the first half, things didn't immediately get better. Milwaukee was down by as many as 9 points (49-40) early in the second half, before the defense stepped it up and began creating turnovers galore and forcing Parkside into some awkward shots and the offense finally got back into their rhythm.

McCallum (lead all scorers with 17pts on 3-8 from 3pt land and pulled down 4rbs), Kelm (12pts, 5rbs (2-2 from 3pt)), Evan Richard (8pts), Ryan Allen (8pts- including a self-made one-handed throwdown) and Paris Gulley (8pts) hit some very key shots to put us back on top for good. We closed it out handily in the final 4 minutes winning 67-59, to capture the first win (even if it doesn't count in the W/L columns) of the '11-'12 season.

This was a collective sigh of relief for Panther fans for sure- especially after 2010 and 2011 National Championship Runners-Up Butler dropped their exhibition to a (quality but) D-II foe in Northland State last week. We can all breath a little easier as a win is a win and it had to be done largely without our biggest post guys and more challenging- without Kaylon and Tony.

But despite some of the frustrations and early disjointed-ness, there are some good takeaways from this close call:

Kyle Kelm (12pts, 5rbs, 2-2 from 3pt). 'Nuff said. But really, Kelm is Tony Meier's "Sorcerer's Apprentice".

Shaq Boga (6pts, 6rbs, 3ast- very Kaylon Williams-esque) played well in his first game as a Panther (he played very limited minutes due to a minor knee injury late in the first half)

J.J. Panoske hit a nice three and didn't seem to be shy under the hoop. If he learns his way around the paint, he could be big-time this season. But will he play this season? We'll find out Saturday afternoon.

Evan Richard (unless last night was a fluke) played in such a way that suggested it may be hard to keep him off the floor. He practiced with the team all of last season and looks ready to play- right away.

Even though they got a disappointing few touches, Demetrius Harris and James Haarsma (when they got back in after sitting early due to fouls) looked very comfortable down low. Harris has a bit more of a learning curve in terms of working within the offense (Haarsma has the advantage of already having two D-I seasons under his belt).

Paris Gulley looked great. I thought we'd have trouble getting the ball up the floor and running the offense when Shaq went down, but Paris filled in well for S. Boga and displayed that excellent shooting touch we all hoped he would have.

Ja'Rob McCallum - Without Ja'Rob we lose this game. Ja'Rob showed his experience and displayed desperately-needed leadership when the chips began to dwindle in the doldrums of the late 1st and early second half. McCallum was the glue that kept the team together to turn on the after-burners and eventually edge out the Rangers.

Kaylon Williams' knee injury is not expected to keep him out for many games, but don't be surprised if he does not play this coming Saturday or the following Monday @ Northern Illinois. The experience/minutes Shaq Boga gets again in Willaims' absence will be beneficial.

Bottom line is, that Tony Meier, Lonnie Boga and Kaylon Williams are injured and this team will not be at 100% or even 90% until they return. Slowly, but surely (assuming their injuries are as recoverable as has been reported), we will have the Milwaukee team we knew we should have this season.

A regular season opener against Southwest Minnesota State University is set for this Saturday at 1pm, downtown at the Cell. Let's hope to see a more fluid game from these Milwaukee Panthers.

The talent is certainly there, we just have to be a lot more consistent and when we get on top early (which I think we will yet again), we have to stay on top and not let up. This opening game (SW Minn. St is also D-II) "should" be a convincing win. But while I hope for one, I don't expect a blowout. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch", right?

You never really know what you have in a team, until things start to gel. That might have happened already.. that may take time. It's always difficult for teams early in the season to get used to rotation experiments and integrating guys who have little or no in-game experience at this level. Just ask Butler.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT SW MINNESOTA STATE!!

A Sneak-Peek Emboldens (already bold) Predictions..

2011-10-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last night Milwaukee Basketball held the annual Sneak Peek Scrimmage for Panther season ticket holders over at the on-campus Pavilion. It was a blast as always (free beer and wine- and free pizza this year!), and everyone had their takeaways. Almost all I’ve read and heard were positive first impressions.

Elite Eight???!!!!! Yup. But don't book your plane tickets just yet...

I agree with those who think we have a solid team. I also agree with PantherU.com that we will win the Horizon League again this year (and win the League Tourney). Why so high on the Panthers? Nope, not smoking something.. I just feel that this is a mix of chemistry, talent, experience and depth that we haven't seen in a long time.

I was very bullish on Milwaukee's chances this season before I saw them in game action, but here are my quick takeaways from the scrimmage and my reasons for thinking that this is “the” season.

Tony Meier – Tony was in a boot (gasp!). He tore some tendons in his calf and will be out 6-8 weeks. But all is not lost. If all goes well in his recovery, the plan is reportedly to have him back by the game at UNI. That would allow him to play against three of our biggest non-con opponents (and hopefully help in the very possible Milwaukee upset of either Wisconsin or Marquette) and in every conference game. It is a huge loss. But other than Michigan State (which many had already penciled in as an “L” even with Meier healthy), I think all of the other games where we will be without Tony are absolutely still winnable.

Kaylon Williams – will be the quarterback that leads us into battle every night. Kaylon looked very much at ease last night running the offense (some of his thread-the-needle passes to our post guys were spot-on, but dropped/missed because the recipient wasn’t expecting it!). With his unreal passing abilities and superhuman court vision, I don’t think anyone would be shocked if he repeated as the H-League’s assists leader and managed to tally a few more double-doubles than last season. For times when he needs rest or can’t play, true freshman Shaq Boga is a very capable backup PG.

Ja'Rob McCallum – JaRob is still only a Junior. I say this because at times last season (esp. the Valpo games late in the season) I couldn’t believe the veteran (senior-like) poise sayinhe showed on the court- as a Sophomore. He has grown up fast and grown into a great shooter with aggressive defending skills. Ja’Rob didn’t get a ton of opportunities, but he knocked down two sweet triples with that signature J-Mac shooting stroke, and looks in season form already.

James Haarsma – the most experienced newcomer to the team. Haarsma played with Kaylon at Evansville in the MVC and they showed a sense of familiarity on the court. Much like the one and only Anthony Hill we became so used to watching crash the party of opposing teams in the paint, James plays like an angry beast (he is listed at 6’6” but don’t be surprised to see him use his physicality and quickness to outmatch guys 2-3 inches taller than him). The Williams-Haarsma connection predates their arrival in Milwaukee and should translate into a lot of points for Haarsma…. And a whole lot of assists for K-Dub. James led all scorer’s in the scrimmage with 25.

Ryan Allen – If Ryan Allen doesn’t get unanimous Horizon League 6th man honors this season, I don’t know who will. Allen may or may not start (he proved a more than worthy starter last season but that has to be weighed against our needs for the starting 5 and his innate ability to provide that (cliché but very real) “spark” that is so often needed off the bench- especially on the (hopefully very) few nights when the team begins to lay an egg in the early minutes of a contest.

Lonnie Boga – what with the injury Lonnie suffered last season that took him out of most of our games and limited his minutes, L. Boga has seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle when it comes to impact players on this season’s team. But people are quick to forget a freshman season in which he was deadly from 3pt range and played a lot of high-quality minutes- as a freshman. Unfortunately Lonnie was not able to play in the scrimmage (separated shoulder), but he should be ready to play by the first or second regular season game. ‘Can’t wait to see him manhandle other, less-physical guards this season.

Demetrius Harris – Demetrius (along with Paris Gulley (and J.J. Panoske to a lesser extent because many of us did get some sense of his style of play via his High School stats, etc.) was one of the big unknowns. Demetrius is an intimidating and very talented post man. He has leapfrog hops (jumped over a team manager sitting in a chair in the middle of the lane to throw down a thunderous two-handed jam at the Panther Madness dunk contest). But he also is no slouch when it comes to understanding the role of post play. I don’t think anyone on our schedule will be able to completely contain him. My only concern is that is isn’t the quickest cat in the Panther Den… but then again, he is 6’8” and 230lbs. That just comes with the territory.

Paris Gulley – Gulley played very smartly (he doesn’t seem mistake-prone), which may be why he didn’t take more shots than he did. I figure we’ll be seeing a lot of Paris this season. He is going to be one of our main three point shooting threats, and (at least until we get Meier back) that is something we are going to seriously need coming out of the gates.

Kyle Kelm – Kyle did miss a bunch of free throws, but as long as that’s just an aberrition and he knocks them down in games (Kelm, along with Harris and Haarsma is bound to get to the line a bunch)- he’ll be fine. A lot of us are expecting a big jump in production from Kelm in comparison to last year. He’ll see more floor time, and it will be up to him to show us what he is truly capable of. He and Panoske are the future of the Milwaukee front-court, but Kelm looks ready to shine already in this, his Sophomore season.

Evan Richard - Evan Richard apparently didn't get the memo that supposedly states, "White Men Can't Jump". Richard has huge hops, but we knew that after Panther Madness. His defense may need a little work, but his shot is as pure as they come and he handles the rock with the ease of a D-I vet. After red-shirting last season, he has 4 more years along with Shaq and JJ. While those could be and probably will be 4 amazing years to watch, I do believe Evan is going to see some significant game action this year. If his shot rings as true as it normally does- he'll be a big part of our potentially historic '11-'12 season.

Shaq Boga – The most anticipated recruit in Milwaukee history did not disappoint. Boga displayed excellent ball handling skills en route to 20pts and though he seems to still be figuring out exactly how the offense is run (though admittedly there was a lot less X’s and O’s last night than we will see in a game), Shaq seems very much ready to backup Kaylon at the point. Shaq had a nice fast break lay-in and also knocked down a trey with ease, showing that his shooting skills are also a force to be reckoned with.

JJ Panoske – JJ had 6 blocks last night. Looked a little rough around the edges on defense and in securing space in the paint, but I don’t see how the coaches could let him redshirt, especially in light of Tony’s absence. JJ will have to learn fast, but he seems up to the challenege. At 6’10” and with the ability to shoot (and deflect shots) from anywhere on the floor, Panoske has a very bright future as a Milwaukee Panther.

This is Jeter's team. Deep as the blue sea. He may just have lightening in a bottle.

Other contributors (we have some guys who may wind up playing less minutes than those above who are a whole lot more than “role players” or “program guys”- see: Ryan Haggerty stepping up huge-time vs. Butler at the Cell in ’09-‘10) are going to factor in huge in terms of getting the regular rotation better through practice scrimmaging and stepping in when we are short-handed (please-oh-please let Tony Meier’s injury be the only big hit we have to suffer during this promising season!).

I hate predicting individual games (superstition I guess), but based on what I saw in the Sneak-Peek scrimmage (immense talent, experience and depth), despite the loss of Tony Meier for 6-8 weeks, I see this team winning well over 20 games and winning both the Horizon League Regular Season Title and winning the Horizon League Tournament hosted in Milwaukee for the second year in a row.

How bold and predictable, I know. But though in years past I've predicted we’d be a lot better than we turned out to be, I almost didn’t believe myself in those years. Even last year, I wasn't 100% sold on the idea we’d be #1 in the Horizon- and it turned out we were. Winning the Horizon League Tourney and getting back to the Big Dance would have been the quintessential icing on the cake, but that’s just how the basketball bounces some nights.

This season is different. Despite the big losses of the graduating seniors who accounted for nearly 40% of our scoring, we have what seem to be battle-ready replacements, now-experienced returning players and new reinforcements to boot.

UWM's campus community cannot wait for a new arena. This is our time.

Speaking of bold and predictable- I will say I am almost certain this will be the program’s best season since 2005*. That is saying a lot (considering ’04-’05). But that’s just what I see in our team. We have essentially 8 or 9 guys who could start on any team in the Horizon League.

So go ahead, (you know you want to) scoff at my blind optimism, but let’s see what happens…. There is some potent magic brewing over on the East Side that is just waiting to be uncorked across the country and on the floor of the Cell in downtown Milwaukee this winter.

Prepare for the stun gun, Panther fans. This is going to be an electric season from the first tip to the final buzzer. Don't sleep on the Milwaukee Panthers. Not this season- this is our time to shine.

Final Regular Season Record: 25-6
Final Horizon League Record: 16-2
Horizon League Regular Season Champions
Horizon League Tourney Champions
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight (Cinderella Fella)

GO PANTHERS!!!!

*in the event that Tony Meier is out longer than 8 weeks and/or chooses to take a medical redshirt, then well, all of these predictions are out the window. Tony is our best player- without him, we can win and could still be the sleeper team we were last season… but we won’t be dominant and won’t win nearly as many games without him in the lineup.

Panther Madness Returns, Doesn't Disappoint

2011-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

After seeing the first 6 innings of the unpredictable Brew Crew defensively fumble their way to what was inevitably going to result in a loss... I was able to catch the majority of the "Return of Panther Madness" held at the on-campus Klotsche Center this past Friday night.

MILWAUKEE PANTHERS - J-S..... - Get it?

After a two (or is it three?) year hiatus, it was a welcoming return- and judging by the turnout things went even better than most probably would have expected what with the NLCS game and all...

At least 800-1000 students and another 200 or so casual fans, faculty, AD employees and Milwaukee alumni sowed up and seemed engaged and entertained throughout. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty resounding success despite the unintentional scheduling conflict. I would have been there from the beginning, and I understand that a big event like this shouldn't play second fiddle to a non-elimination MLB playoff game.

But many people, like myself (I was born in 1983- a year after the last time the Brewers made it to the World Series), who are huge Brewer fans and remember ghosts of the past from guys like Dan Kolb all the way back to Jeff D'Amico and even Dan Plesac and the dark ages of Brewer Baseball..... missing something that has been nearly 30 years in the making was not an option. As much as I love the Milwaukee Panther Basketball program- the Brewers are the only thing currently front and center for many hard-core Brewer fans.

The most entertaining part of the night for me (being interested in watching the dances, and the musical chairs for iPads and all... but not exactly "psyched") was the Panther Men's vs. Panther Women's team 3pt shooting contest, and the-- oh-so-close to an epic dunk contest between James Haarsma, Kyle Kelm, Ryan Allen, Evan Richard and Demetrius Harris.

The 3pt contest was ultimately won by the women- but our guys team (the focus of this blog obviously) put on one heckuva show. For those (like me) curious to see what Paris Gully can do from outside the perimeter, it was encouraging to see Mr. Gully, unorthodox (James Eayrs-like- "dart-throw") shot and all, essentially destroy his end of the competition (I counted him making 7 of his first 10 3pt shots).

March 2011.... what a crowd. If only...

In the end, yes, the women won- but they obviously have a great outside shooting team as well. Look for the women to improve significantly from last season... one that could have been a lot more successful than it turned out (the opposite could be said about the men's '10-'11 campaign).

The dunk contest on the other hand, had all the potential in the world, but unfortunately, the best "almost" dunks fell a little short. I thought Ryan Allen and his high-jump-like leaping abilities would make him the odds on favorite. But it turns out that this season, we have a lot more capable rim rockers.

Ryan Allen did throw down some incredible jams (alley-oop off the shot clock, reverse pump, and though he missed connecting- an amazing self (bounced) alley-oop 180 one-handed throwdown... James Haarsma and Kyle Kelm had some great dunks but weren't able to get into the final round.

Crowd favorite and redshirt freshman Evan Richard provided some of the most impressive dunks- a perfectly executed 360 jam, double-pump reverse jam, and an NBA All-Star caliber acrobatic between the legs reverse dunk that- though he didn't land it- easily outmatched anyone else's attempts.

Evan is an unassuming Beast of a shooting guard. That kid can ball, and I can't wait to see him contribute to this team. In the end, it was biiiiig man- Arkansas JuCo transfer Demetrius Harris and his leapfrog of Mitch Roelke that proved to get the highest score and give him the dunk contest win. With Demetrius and James Haarsma filling the void left by Ant Hill..... we shouldn't be out-sized or out-strengthed by any teams on our schedule- including MSU, MU and UW.

I am more than confident about the Panthers' ability to ward off the bruising post play of guys like CSU's Arron Pougue. We have strong and capable big men ourselves- maybe more than we've had since 2006 (don't forget Kyle Kelm, JJ Panoske (if he doesn't RS), Tony Meier, Ryan Haggerty, "Q" Gustavson, and Christian Wolf) .

I must say, after seeing Demetrius (Harris) and Paris (Gulley) for the first time.. I was more than a little impressed. Those two figure to be a driving force in the paint and perimeter (respectively) for this very promising '11-'12 Panther team.

Expect some upsets this season Panther fans....

Kaylon Williams was a full participant, confirming that he is still part of the team after the cloudy events of this past summer... Assuming the legal side of that issue works itself out OK (though his mistake was significant, I am pretty sure Kaylon does not have any prior infractions with the Law), I think we'll just have to wait and see how many games Kaylon may have to sit out. And in those games, hopefully Shaq Boga can fill KW's big shoes..

There was some cause for alarm for me when I noticed that neither Lonnie Boga or Shaq Boga were at the event. But they were reportedly back in Missouri due to a death in the family.

Prayers and condolences from Milwaukee fans go out to the Boga family. Losing a family member is never easy. Panther Madness can wait until next year for those brothers. They'll be back and ready as soon as they are able.

The Arena, The MECCA, The Cell- all are just synonyms for a legendary Milwaukee arena

First thing is first- but know we will be seeing a lot of them this upcoming season. We already know what Lonnie can do (a Lot- outside the 3pt and in the lane). Shaq, with all the fanfare that went into his recruiting is something I know a lot of Milwaukee fans are very interested to see develop as a Panther.

If/when Kaylon is out for any number of our first few games- Shaq is going to face a very challenging test leading this experienced team from the point. I'm pretty confident that he's up for the challenge and won't be phased..

The crowd seemed (almost reluctantly at first, but eventually "genuinely") in to the event. I heard more than a few in the crowd more than happy about the fact that they were getting not only a free hot meal of everything Pizza Hut had to offer (I believe I saw over 200 empty boxes of pizza to go with the 75 left at the end of the event) but also an awesome gray Milwaukee Panthers tee featuring a prominent (read- huge) Panther Head logo on the front and "Milwaukee" on the back shoulder area.

Could these shirts be designed to fill the crowd with gray shirts to complement the rumored new "gray" home jerseys we have been hearing about? Though I'm not yet sold on the idea of gray home jerseys (K-State's gray jerseys do look nice), I think that's a good guess.

In any case, new gray jerseys and Panther Hoops newcomers and Panther Madness aside- this is shaping up to be one very memorable Milwaukee Basketball season. I think the program gained a lot of new student fans who will show up for the early season contests down at the Cell...

Assuming we can avoid disappointing them and reel off some wins to a healthy early start (ie. upset Michigan State! upset Wisconsin! upset Marquette! Give the students something to believe in!)..... we could have much better student section (and overall) turnouts this season. Bringing Panther Madness back was a great idea and a great investment. So long as this team plays like I think they will (lots, and lots of wins in '11-'12)....

Panther Band doing what they do best

.........The Panthers may just finally return to March Madness, in this, Coach Jeter's 7th season leading the Panther Pack. And perhaps Panther Madness will be a big reason why. Students get loud, students provide a 6th man and home-court advantage. Ultimately, a big part of this program's success really does lie within the interest, enthusiasm and active attendance of the UWM student body.

I hope they came away with some interest, respect and some intent to get out to the Cell for more than a few games this season. We need all the rowdiness and support that our Milwaukee students can provide. And students need memorable college experiences which Panther basketball games provide. It's a win-win situation.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

'11-'12 Season On Deck.. Will the Reigning Horizon League Champs Up the Ante?

2011-09-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

It has been interesting and mostly fun (if not always easy) to watch this Milwaukee Panther Basketball program rebuild itself back to prominence over time.... (since 2006).

Kaylon Williams led this Panther team at the point like a true pro last season.

It’s pretty amazing to realize that UWM has had the same coach in place since April of 2005. Our program boasts the most stability at the head coaching spot in all of the (increasingly relevant) Horizon League.

To have an established "Jeter" system and a team assembled with recruits who are taylor-made for that system is an invaluable status to have and one that few coaches with less than at least 3 years under their belt can take comfort in.

For Jeter, will this seventh season at Milwaukee be Lucky #7? There is little doubt that Coach Jeter has built this program into a perennial Horizon League contender. But for many fans, especially those fans spoiled by the unprecedented run of success under Bruce Pearl’s four-year reign in Milwaukee, anything short of an NCAA Birth is a failure.

We have all heard the chorus of detractors pine for the good ol’ days and dismiss even last year’s regular season Horizon League Title and NIT appearance as all well and good, but hardly anything to be proud of...

This all being said, while I’m quick to trumpet the many successes that have built this team into what it is today, I am as disappointed as the next die-hard Panther fan that we have been MIA in March from the Big Dance since Jeter’s '05-'06 inaugural season.

Remember this? (ironically, a bigger Milwaukee student section than in 2005). Let's do it again.

Building a program “bythe book” so to speak (not to mention under the significant budgetaryconstraints that come along with being a mid-major), takes a lot oftime. So the process has been trying yes, but the progress in continually building this program even after the ’05-’06 exodus of Panther greats is well documented. Among the more high notes:

Coach Jeter is 101-89 (.532) in 6 seasons with Milwaukee, not mentioning the 2006 NCCA 2nd Rd. Run
Just 1 losing conference season record ('06-'07)
Defeated ranked opponent (Butler) on our home floor
'10-'11 Horizon League Regular Season Champions
2011 NIT Participant

Wins and losses are etched into the collegiate basketball record. While not gangbusters on the winning front (30 wins would be nice though!), the program's trend is absolutely on the upswing. Numbers don’t lie.

Milwaukeewill have at least three chances to chalk up some huge upsets (@ MichiganState, vs. Wisconsin, and @ Marquette). And with the way Brad Stevensseems to be able to take any group of Bulldogs deep into theTournament, we will also have more chances to once and twice and three times again topple what has become not just a flash-in-the-pan, but the bona-fide face of the new reality in college basketball.

Payback fortheir devastating NCAA Invite door-slam last March will be a sweet thingto achieve- if everything pans out to it’s full potential. A 2-bid Horizon is something that all Horizon League fans would welcome... let's just hope that Milwaukee is one of those teams.

Milwaukee junior shooting guard Ja'Rob McCallum will be key to '11-'12 success

On a more uncomfortable note, mostPanther fans by now have heard about Kaylon Williams' unfortunate DUI incident acouple of months ago. While we await the final verdict, we have to remain hopeful that Kaylon can right hisship and get back to doing what he did best- man our point.

Ricky Franklin got a second chance and heran with it. If anything, this situation is ateachable lesson to others on the team (one or more of whom may very well have alsogotten behind the wheel of a car over .08 in their lifetime) as well as a wakeup callto K-Dub to turn his life in a more purposeful direction and never again getinvolved in a situation like that.

Kelm is no freshman anymore. Expect status from this Panther forward.

But back to the team and what is for sure. With a roster heavy on forwards and light on guards, onemight think the team could be looking at 2-guard lineups and muchmore action in the post than in years past. That may be true- JamesHaarsma is a proven D-I Beast of the Paint and JuCo transfer Demetrius Harriscould be a player in that same vein.

But with the tremendousoutside shooting abilities of other bigs like Tony Meier and KyleKelm, don’t expect the Panthers to shy away from theirlong-standing reliance on perimeter shooting. The inside-outside gamethat has worked so well for us under Jeter is very muchintact. With a solid block game, and the shooters we have returning and making their debut (Paris Gulley, Evan Richard, Shaq Boga, etc.), we might just witness a '04-'-05-type season unfold here in '11-'12.

Ja’Rob McCallum and Lonnie Boga (I think earlier fan talk of Lonnieredshirting this season may be scuttled by the fact we are now going to need allthe guards we can play), along with newcomers Paris Gully and EvanRichards should have no problem with the catch and shoots. Milwaukee's perimeter shooting should be a very strong suit, once again.

I have a hard time believing redshirt rumors- Boga is ready for WAR.

I can't end this post without mentioning the turnover that has gone on within the Milwaukee coaching staff. Brian Bidlingmeyer and Dejan Matic have left the program. Those two put their heart and soul into this program in the time they worked here and we can't easily dismiss or forget that painstaking work. This program would not be where it is without their work here at Milwaukee.

But obviously either themselves, or someone else decided it was time for a change. Bid wound up as assistant at Western Kentucky and Dejan is an assistant at Olney Central Community College in Illinois (former JuCo home of Panther great Boo Davis). But on a positive tip, into their place, step none other than former Panther Sweet 16 point guard Chris Hill and Panther alum and former dead-eye shooting guard Tone Boyle.

That is all of the News of your Milwaukee Panthers that I can report at this time. There is a lot of time between now and the season opener ('11-'12 Horizon League Predictions and Schedule Rundown are coming soon).

T-Mei is bound to rake from the perimeter yet again in this, his senior season.

Until then, watch these Brewers go deep into the postseason.. anything less than an NLCS appearence should be considered a failure. And don't easily overlook this season's Milwaukee Panthers! 'Lest you get a rude awaking... This team is built for the long-run. Don't sleep on this team- if you do, you'll kick yourself for missing what I think will be the best Panther Hoops season in a over a half decade. Again I cannot stress enough- Don't. Sleep.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Senior Salute - a Day to Give Appreciation and Celebrate

2011-05-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

For those [Milwaukee Panthers] about to graduate- WE SALUTE YOU.

It has been a long and arduous uphill climb to the top over these past four years, but your Milwaukee Panthers persevered through it all to lay claim to that Horizon League Regular Season #1 Spot this past season.

For some of our players- namely Anthony Hill, Tone Boyle, Jerard Ajami and Mitchell Carter- this achievement was especially meaningful. This of course, was their last season of donning the Black and Gold.

Keeping with tradition, Coach Jeter is throwing the 4th Annual Senior Salute at Joey Buona's (500 N. Water St.) on May 12th from 6-8pm. This is a great chance for fans to see and hear from the coaches and players up close and talk about the successes of the past season and the direction of the program's future.

But most importantly- it's a time to show our respect for the outgoing class of seniors who have given nothing but their all during their time on the East Side of Milwaukee representing our school admirably in the classroom and on the hardwood.

Jerard Ajami ('08-'09, '09-'10, '10-'11)

Mitchell Carter ('10-'11)

Tone Boyle ('08-'09, '09-'10, '10-'11)

Anthony Hill ('07-'08, '08-'09, '09-'10, '10-'11)

Thanks for everything gentlemen. You guys truly were a class act. It was an honor for us fans to see you accomplish what you have in your time as Panthers.

Your lives as post-graduates will be just as successful if you play the game of life like you played Panther basketball. The best part of this all- in the archives of NCAA basketball, you are and will forever be: Champions.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

'11-'12 is Looking Super Classy

2011-04-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

The tireless coaching staff of your Milwaukee Panthers have completed the assembly of yet another stellar recruiting class for '11-'12. With the LOI signing of two junior college transfers- 6'7" PF Demetrius Harris of Jacksonville, AL and 6'2" sharp-shooting SG Paris Gulley of Peoria, IL- Milwaukee has filled every positional need for the upcoming season.

Both Harris and Gulley will have two years of NCAA eligibility to play for Milwaukee.

Shaq Boga will begin his collegiate career in Milwaukee this coming Fall

Harris figures to combine with James Haarsma to help form a strong post presence that will attempt to replace the huge void left by the graduation of Anthony Hill.

These two late signees join both heralded McCluer (St. Louis) HS point guard PG Shaq Boga and 6'10" Brodhead (WI) PF J.J. Panoske, as well as two other Panther faces that many fans may have seen on the bench and during warm-ups, but not during any games last year.

Paris Gulley shot nearly 46% from 3pt in two seasons at Southeastern (JuCo)

James Haarsma had to sit out a year after transferring to Milwaukee directly from Evansville due to NCAA transfer rules.

And Evan Richard, despite his scorching shooting touch, had both his defense to work on, and also had a lot of guys in front of him (including Tone and Jerard), which forced the mutual decision to have him take the red-shirt last year.

Both Haarsma and Richard will begin their Panther careers as well- they are virtually part of this immensely promising incoming recruiting class.

Known as a bruiser in the block, Harris is #22 in this JuCo team photo

With Tone, Ant, Ajami, and Big Mitch Carter on the way out, the Panthers have to replace that scoring, experience and leadership. Fortunately, with this class and their respective talents and high growth potential, I am hardly going out on a limb when I say, "we will be just fine".

In fact, I think we'll take it a few steps further than this past season. I believe our reliable depth at every single position is going to trump the individual weapons most any other Horizon team tries to bring against us. With the future looking as it does now, it sure is an exciting time to be a fan of the Milwaukee Panthers.

6'10" J.J. Panoske figures to be a thorn in the side of Horizon foes

Maybe with the "revelation" that Rob Jeter is irrefutably a very good (and relatively sought-after) head college basketball coach, more and more fans who remember the magic of 2003-2006 will jump back on board and make '11-'12 as special as it deserves to be.

With the way the team came just one game away from the NCAA's in the final months of the '10-'11 season, they surely have earned some support from the Pearl era dead-enders and naysayers who previously thought Rob Jeter could never take this program to the highest of heights.

It can happen. It will happen. The only question is- will you be there to bear witness?

GO PANTHERS!!!!

A Season to Vault From

2011-03-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our ~~good~~ great run to end the season finally and officially came to an end at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL in a 70-61 loss to Northwestern in the first round of the 2011 NIT.

NU beat us on their home court, but this season was a redemptive success

It was a tough loss and we got down by double digits early and couldn't recover (much like the Butler loss), but we actually shot better than NU. The battle of the boards (esp. the offensive type- NU was 16-6 on us) and turnovers (which we lost 16-10) proved to be our undoing.

All good things come to an end.

You cannot be disappointed in the way this '10-'11 season turned out. No matter which way you slice it or dice it, and though a lethargic start to the season tried the patience of the Panther fan base, this team exhibited an unreal almost two-month display of resilience to boost the moral of the program, the fans and the university.

Ant Hill, one of Milwaukee's best post men ever. Horizon League 1st Team.

Milwaukee (19-14 (14-6)), proved the naysayers wrong, chipping their way to Regular Season Horizon League Champion status and hosting the "Return of UWM" that was the was the 2011 HLT Tourney. The Championship first half and eventual loss was tough to stomach.

And yes, the Valpo Semifinal game was more fun to see- but remember Panthers- we hadn't hosted the Horizon League Tournament since 2006 before this! And our consolation prize for winning the regular season title tie-breaker? An invitation to the NIT- for the first time since 2004.

From injury to back, to BACK, Tone Boyle and co. engineered this Panther Hoops Machine.

This season isn't one to grow on, it's one to vault from.

Milwaukee made us proud. And Milwaukee will continue to make us proud. It's because of guys like Ant and Tone as well as the post-2006 greats that came before them that we are now optimistic about the future.

And it's also because of other Panthers who may have played less minutes or been less visible, but who are every bit as responsible for this success we now enjoy.

For this team and this program, things are looking very, very bright on the Horizon and the future battlefields that lie beyond. But in the moment, let's celebrate the '10-'11 accomplishments of the Milwaukee Panthers.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

NIT Draw: #5 Milwaukee @ #4 Northwestern

2011-03-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, NIT here we go. For the second time in UWM Men's Basketball history, the Panthers will play in the NIT. The seedings have been announced and so it will be #5 Milwaukee Panthers of the Horizon League playing in Evanston, IL against the Big Ten's #4 NIT seeded Northwestern Wildcats.

Lonnie Boga is back and healthy. The Panthers are suited up and ready for the NIT.

Pretty big accomplishment despite the letdown vs. Butler last weekend. Let's hope we can make a game of it and make a run into the NIT bracket.

Northwestern is interestingly a #4 seed despite having only one loss to a non-Big Dance team. Milwaukee on the other hand is fairly fortunate to get a #5 seed as they were predicted to receive no higher than a #6 (probable #7 seed) until just a few days ago...

The battle of the low post and the perimeter (I know, how original)- is likely to decide this game. Milwaukee seems to posses a slight low-post advantage with Ant running the block, but Northwestern (esp. Michael Thompson and John Shurna) can light it up from three point range. We need to contain NU's shooters or they will burn our season to the ground.

Remember this guy? He might symbolize the Panthers Wed. night if the shots begin to fall..

I predict this will be a relatively high-scoring game (68-75 point range)- our ability to shoot much, much better than our last game (somewhere around 48%- and especially from long-range) would significantly increase our chances of winning this one and advancing to the 2nd Round of the NIT as we did the last time around in 2004.

Update: Boston College routed McNeese St., 82-64 earlier tonight and so is waiting in the wings for the victor of tomorrow night's contest in Evanston.

The game time and place is this Wednesday, 7pm CST at NU's Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL. It's about a 1 and 1/2 hour drive south coming from Milwaukee. Printable directions can be found here.

Cheer on! Let's get a decent group of students down there to represent Milwaukee.

This may be the last time a lot of Panther fans get a chance to see this team in person, so let's get out there and show them our support. They have earned it- and they may not yet be done.

From where this program has come from just a few decades ago, to where we aspire to eventually take it in the coming seasons (much, much farther than 2005 in fact), this 2011 NIT opportunity, is a crucial building block and "kind of a big deal". Let's just keep winning- the season doesn't end until we lose!

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT NORTHWESTERN!!

Panthers' Slow Start Dooms Dance Hopes, But NIT Bid Secure as Season Moves On

2011-03-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

And so it had to be. The battle-tested Butler Bulldogs who have several players on this year's team who just one year ago were dancing on the biggest stages college hoops has to offer were not at all rattled by a rocking Cell packed to the gills with boisterous Milwaukee fans (a near-record 10,437 were in attendance).

So we dropped the ball in the big one. Does anyone remember where we were at on 1/21?

Instead, they seemed very comfortable and poised for winning the battle and absolving themselves of their sole regular season sweep at our hands- running up what would turn out to be an insurmountable 17 point lead in the first half- and limiting Milwaukee to just 20 first half points.

But it wasn't so much Butler's dominance as much as our own (semiautomatic at times..) shots-in-the-feet that did us in this past Saturday night.

In fact, despite the Bulldogs big-time game experience, I think we the fans may have been able to alter a decision or two or drown out the undeniably good on-court advice of Brad Stevens or communication between Howard and Mack amongst the talented Bulldog troops.

But every time the Milwaukee student section, surrounding alums and other Milwaukee fans in attendance began to ratchet up the high-pitch din and beautifully coordinated chants- Howard or Hahn would hit a trey. Or Mack would hit a big shot (or drive the lane and dunk on us like he was 6'8" and not 6'3").

To Butler's credit (and they cannot deny it was a big part of how they beat us)- they literally silenced the crowd of 10,000+ at each of the few critical junctures we were able to cling our hopes upon.

The Milwaukee Panthers march on- into a very promising immediate and long-term future.

Milwaukee fans jealous of Butler and Stevens and all of their undeniable and long-running success (in addition to what is left of the Bruce Pearl hangers-on) need to remember- we have a great coach too- and he is getting better each season.

For all the guff the coaching staff has gotten for slow (but steady mind you) progress and continued struggles in the early non-con portions of every season since '05-'06, they deserve major credit for getting us this far (and it ain't over yet!).

The thrill of completely changing the face of our season with the stunning turnaround since the loss at Valpo and then improbably having Milwaukee host the Horizon League Tourney after a half-decade hiatus far exceeds the crushing disappointment of dropping the final.

Anthony Hill has more games to play. NBA, Europe- here is an outstanding FORWARD.

I don't mean to sound trite- but by all rights- we shouldn't have even been in the Final what with the inconsistent way we had played earlier in the season. But we found that consistency and immediately caught fire- and the rest is now history.

And though the sting is still there for us Milwaukee fans- I don't think that fire was completely doused by this tough championship game loss to the defending NCAA Tournament Runner-up, Bulldogs. It's hard to admit, but goshdang, they are Bulldogs and they are battlers- throw them a bone.

I am a Milwaukee fan, but you can bet you bottom dollar myself and many other Milwaukee fans will be pulling for Butler to advance in the Dance. My prediction? Sweet 16 at the very least. The Dogs (like the Panthers) are a lot better than their record suggests.

You want a recap? Several are all over the internets (and we all know I'm not too good at recaps- this blog is all about program boosting and fan sentiment and musing on the topics less-discussed (outside of fan discussion boards)- you know, those "between the lines" kinds of things that everyone thinks about- but that do not show up on stat sheets or game previews/recaps.

Brad Stevens may not be Horizon COY again, but his Dawgs are dancing again.

I don't want to get ahead of things- but as PantherU.com pointed out, based on recruiting and strides in experience by the coaching staff and '11-'12 returning players, the Milwaukee Panthers Basketball program is in position to shine bright for years to come.

Is anyone else just dying to play the Horizon Championship game at the Cell again next March 2012- but instead of being awed by the experience and slow to start- come out guns a' blazin' and win it?.

But that will be up to next season and fall on the shoulders of guys like Tony Meier, Kaylon Williams, Ja'Rob McCallum, Lonnie Boga, Ryan Allen, Kyle Kelm, James Haarsma, Ryan Haggerty, Christian Wolf, Evan Richard, Shaq Boga, J.J. Panoske, and others (who knows, maybe even Larry Nance Jr. or another high school/JuCo phenom looking for a winner to get a free education from and play college ball for?).

Potential recruits who (are team players and would like to get exposure they feel they may end up deserving and) would like to play ball after college should know- McDonald's All-American Ray McCallum Jr. chose the Horizon League over the ACC and the Pac-10 and it has turned out pretty well for him so far.

Ray Jr. was selected as 2011 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and the Horizon League streams free video feeds of every single game- NBA and other professional scouts (and parents who can't make it to every game) watch a lot of those games....

Our amazing seniors' apprentices learned some serious sorcery to use now- and '11-'14+

But that is the future! Back to the here and now. I want our seniors to go out on a GREAT NOTE- and although they can't go to the Big Dance... the NIT provides an incredible and nationally-watched opportunity to showcase their skills, experience and maturity one more time around.

These seniors are a big part ("the Doctors") of how we came back from the abyss to bring the Cell and the great City of Milwaukee "back to life".

Thanks to our regular season sweep of those Dawg Gone Bulldogs, despite the fact they had fate on their side and bullied us in our own gym in the finale, all is not over for '10-'11.

Your Milwaukee Panthers' season is still very much alive. Anthony Hill, Tone Boyle, Jerard Ajami, and Mitchel Carter earned this NIT bid. Had it not been for our incredible 10 game league winning streak to end the season- their careers as Milwaukee Panthers would be over.

The 50/50 balls just didn't go our way. Butler (I HATE to say this) wanted it more- and got it.

But the show must go on- and if we can get back to our winning ways- this team could be showcased at the Madison Square Garden in NYC and once again- on ESPN in prime-time (not a bad consolation, eh?)

It's too bad that in what seemed destined like our time to shine in March madness again (or at least make an appearence), we came up a few close calls, a few bad decisions, and a lot of missed shots short (true to form- we shot under 40% and lost (12-40 for 30% on the night)).

But so it goes. A team has to win and a team has to lose. We could have dropped the Semifinal- but we battled and earned the biggest downtown college hoops stage in 5 years for these fans and this city. The student section was literally about 30% larger than in '03, '04, '05, or '06 (yes, we hosted the Horizon Tourney 4 years in a row back then...- and we can do it again).

Approx. 3,000 students were there- I hope we can see at least 1/4 of them next year during the regular season games. Many of the students at UWM may be fair weather fans- but when we win and start doing it big- they will come out in the kind of flocks and droves that rival some of the biggest student sections in the nation.

Ja'Rob and the guard corps will be back- their shots don't miss much these days..

A Horizon League Regular Season Championship and our program's second ever NIT Bid is nothing to be down about. And our odds at advancing in the NIT are a lot better than they would have been in the Big Dance. I know, I know. I would rather lose in the 1st round of the NCAA's than advance to the 2nd Rd or Elite Eight of the NIT.

But who knows? If we keep winning- these guys keep playing. And believe you me- they know they are playing for another (and hopefully another and another) extension to the season. No one wants it to be over yet.

K-Dub should be back to his usuall Dub-Dub self next Tuesday and beyond...

And if we can somehow find our rhythm again (ie. shoot over 45%, reduce turnovers and preventable mistakes, have Meier, J-Mac, Tone and some others (Kaylon, Lonnie) hit big-time 3's and get the Ant machine cranked back up to full gear)- who knows what could happen? I definitely think this squad has a lot of gas left in the tank.

The Big Apple should be the goal. Even winning a few to make waves and get back on the national airwaves.... now that's somethin'.

Jeter and the storybook '10-'11 Milwaukee Panthers are not finished. NIT-bound.

An NIT Championship to erase the pain of Butler stealing our Horizon League thunder and changing our season's destiny? Now that's stuntin'.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

The Giant of Milwaukee

2011-03-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

The biggest Milwaukee Panther Basketball playoff game in years lived up to it's hype (we were just 1 point favorites in Vegas), and the U.S. Cellular Arena was filled with nearly 7,500 screaming Panther fans.

After Butler took out Cleveland State in a slug-fest to begin this Semfinals night, we knew it was: win and face the 'Dawgs one more time. Or: go home, wait for the NIT, and watch the Horizon League Championship game be played in Indianapolis, IN- yet again.

The Panthers made it very clear that they aren't done having fun hosting this league tournament right here in Brew City.

Kaylon Williams continues his consistent and everywhere good play

Brandon Wood kept Valpo in the game as the Panthers played excellent defense on the normally sharp-shooting Brian Broekhoff limiting him to just 1-11 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc.

Milwaukee was clearly in control for most of the game. Valpo claimed the lead for a couple of brief moments, but for the most part, our Panthers retained a 3 to 8 point winning cushion throughout, but could never build up a "comfortable" lead.

Letting your opponent hang around like that though can often yield disastrous consequences. Fortunately, we ran the floor when we needed to. I'd say we played 35 minutes of excellent basketball and had 5 minutes of mental and physical fatigue.

Anthony Hill posted a double-double (24pts, 11rbs) and combined with Kaylon Williams (15pts, 4ast, 6rbs) Tone Boyle (9pts) and Tony Meier (15pts, 4ast) to deliver the bulk of our offensive punch while the entire team played incredible defense to limit VU to just 63 after they put up 88 on Detroit just two days ago.

The streak is no fluke- chalk up Milwaukee's 10th straight conference victory. Your Milwaukee Panthers pulled it out, yet again, defeating Valpo, 70-63.

The UWM students, alumni and the general Milwaukee public were out in full force to back these Panthers- and they were LOUD. My challenge is for everyone to be 3x louder this Tuesday. We should be doing everything we can to rattle Butler right out of our gym. We must drive home the fact to Butler that we are the #1 seed- and that the Championship Game is not in Indianapolis anymore.

Rob Jeter's Milwaukee Panthers look to sweep Butler and return to March Madness.

Milwaukee (19-12, 14-5) now faces just one more league foe in Butler, in what figures to be a very fierce battle for the 2011 Horizon League Tournament Championship this Tuesday night. With our regular season sweep (one blowout here at the Cell, and one OT thriller in Indianapolis) beating this year's Butler team is not something new.

But Butler, like Milwaukee, is on a very hot streak as the season has wound down. And from national runner-up to now, they stare at the scary possibility that if they don't beat us, they may not even return to the Big Dance. They will likely get an at-large, but it may depend on the score of this game if they lose. Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to at-large bids.

Ant Hill guarding Cory Johnson

Both teams have a lot on the line. But I hope our team and our fans realize that this game means more to us than any other game in the past 5 years. This game means more to us than it does to Butler- and because of that, I believe we will fight harder. For Milwaukee- this game is about the ultimate redemption.

This game is about the culmination of a long-term cultivation of resources and talents in the pursuit of achieving the ultimate goal- a perennially competitive Milwaukee Panther basketball program that anyone who cares to follow- can care about, be a fan of and be darn proud of- year in, year out.

Kaylon Williams, Tony Meier and Tone Boyle celebrate a big play.

My fellow fans who were there last night know how exciting it is to see pure Panther Basketball excitement fill the Cell from floor to rafter again. That was nice- but there were still about 3,000 empty seats in the 11,000 seating capacity the Cell. But this is merely following a pattern. In 2005 and 2006, we had about the same Seminal attendance (8,653 and 7,502 compared to last nights' 7,431).

The Championship game attendance in those years vs. Detroit and Butler, respectively were 10,783, and 10,021). And the Cell holds just 10,783, so in other words- you should probably get your ticket ASAP, unless you want to wind up in the rafters- or worse, not get a ticket at all.

This one is for the Golden Ticket. The crowd will most definitely be there to boost the team- but the team must also pick each other up and relentlessly leverage the fact that this Butler team, quite frankly, is scared of us.

We have had no fear for some time now, because we have been treating every league game in these past few weeks as if they were elimination games. Once we caught fire, the team realized they could get the #1 seed and bring the HLT back to the Milwaukee. They did just that- and after beating Valpo, the Championship and Auto-bid is now in reach. Without fear- we'll grab that opportunity and run with it.

The sleeping Giant that is Milwaukee's fan base has awoken. Expect a record crowd Tuesday.

So this is it Panther fans. After this Tuesday night we could be joyfully awaiting the NCAA Tourney selection show, or we could be dejected at failing the final and biggest test a team can take in a Horizon League season.

No matter the outcome, we should all hold our heads high, as the already unexpected accomplishments have skyrocketed miles above and beyond most people's wildest expectations when the chips were down for this Panther team.

But we saw the spark after the loss at Valpo. And those "flashes of greatness" earlier in the season have become 40-minute stretches of greatness and something to expect from this team.

When the Panthers get on a roll and the cylinders begin to click (keep in mind, Ja'Rob and Tone are both due for a big game), and the crowd gets into it Tuesday night............. look out 'Dawgs.

Like it or not Butler- the '10-'11 season did not lie: this Horizon League is no longer your doormat- and never will be again.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT BUTLER!!

Your Milwaukee Panthers: 2011 Horizon League Regular Season Champions

2011-02-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

My, what an unbelievable trip this season has been. After being all but left for dead earlier this season, your Milwaukee Panthers persevered and battled (winning 9 straight) all the way to the top of the Horizon League standings to clinch the coveted HLT #1 seed and be recorded in college hoops history forevermore as '10-'11 Horizon League Regular Season Champions.

Ja'Rob has emerged as a fearless shooter and leader on this team. #1 helped make us #1.

I think most Panther fans felt a huge sense of optimism after we took down Cleveland State at the Wolstein Center Thursday night. But we knew the next challenge was deceiving. We saw some inspired basketball played by Youngstown State earlier in the season and so we knew that while our game against YSU seemed to favor us on paper... the final regular season contest was not going to be an easy win.

Man oh man, did that prove to be exactly the case..

Back to last Thursday (briefly). Cleveland State had the feel of a championship game. With Mid-Majority's president, CEO and resident word wizard Kyle Whelliston in the stands and tweeting the game almost in real-time to Hoops Nation, the stage was set for fans from coast to coast to follow our awesome victory tweet-by-tweet.

@midmajority even jokingly declared before the game began, "Milwaukee has already won the battle of the shoes", linking to a picture of the Panthers' blazing new kicks.

These are the shoes. Fear the Black and Yellow.

But this was very much like a championship game- the league title was on the line after all...

Norris Cole did not exactly live up to his usual self until the Panthers had the game very well in had (we were up by 19 at one point in the second half). But you can't keep a good player (and good team) down like that for long, and like clockwork Cleveland State battled back into the game and nearly tied it down the stretch.

Norris Cole wound up with 27 and Trevon Harmon 22 to lead the Viking attack. But your Milwaukee Panther ballers had answers in spades. Tony Meier was on fire all night and scored 28 points on 9-14 from the field. Ant and Tone both chipped in with 16 apiece and Kaylon tallied 9 assists to bolster our effort.

Norris Cole (Horizon 2011 POY) played incredible as always- but it wasn't enough.

Kyle Kelm and Ryan Allen played key roles off the bench. Allen's game-saving blocks (2!) in the closing seconds doused cold water on the Vikings, sealed the victory, and kept the Panthers' championship fire alive.

Thanks to some huge 3's and free throws when we needed them most- the Panthers pulled out the win 87-83, in what was the biggest victory of the season... that is- until the following game which had the potential to make the Panthers regular season champions.

Youngstown had the hot hand Saturday afternoon, but the Panthers responded each time. Youngstown seemed incapable of missing for long stretches and Panther fans collectively ground down their finger nails in anxious anticipation of "what was going to happen next".

With just seconds on the clock and UWM and YSU tied up after Tone Boyle sunk one of two free throws to even the score, the Penguins got the ball to an open man. With the win on the line (and Panther defenders too far away falling to the ground in despair)- the shooter missed! And a follow missed! And so hope was kept alive. Much like the Valpo win, the Panthers evaded a crushing defeat, but this time- we only tied. It would take OT to close this one out.

Yeah- it was that close!! Too close for comfort... but we won, so hey?

In the end (OT wasn't all that close- at least not after Ja'Rob splashed his 7th try bomb through nylon to put us up for good) the Panthers prevailed with clutch free throws and won in OT, 94-87. With the win came Milwaukee's first Horizon League Regular Season Championship since 2006.

And when Coach Jeter came into the locker room to congratulate his team, all he could get off was "it's only fitting that we go" [9 for 9 down the stretch!].. before the team mobbed him with shouts of joy:

Great clip- fast forward to 0:35 to see the best part.

YSU was all over the 3pt line and we couldn't stop the shots from going up and eventually splashing in. Blake Allen seemed to shoot nearly every one of those 3's. Allen poured in 26 while going 6-9 from deep. But we had an even better counter-attack. Ja'Rob McCallum, in his best offensive performance as a Panther raked 7 of 11 threes from all around the perimeter en route to a career-best 23 point performance (J-Mac had 6 rebounds as well).

The battle down low was largely won by our own Anthony Hill, who dipped and drove all over Damian Eargel and the other Penguin big men (YSU went with a 4 guard set for much of the game- they scored mainly on jumpers and transition buckets). Ant had 23 points and 8 rebounds while shooting a steller 11-14 from the line.

All of the starters scored in double-digits and played big minutes. Tone put up 16, Kaylon had an excellent all-around game with 11 points, 7 assists, 9 rebounds and was a perfect 4-4 from the line. And last but not least Tony Meier had 18.

Ja'Rob had an unreal career game against the Penguins. More 3's on the way!

The Panthers off the bench contributed big time, even if not on the statsheet (Ryan Allen has transformed into our best defender (his block on Norris Cole to clinch the CSU victory was one of the best plays of this season hands down). Kyle Kelm continues to show he is feeling more and more comfortable battling in the post in a D-I game.

In short- this road trip was nearly immaculate. Some of us may wish that the Youngstown State game had been a little less stressful, but that is the price to pay. Sometimes the other team is lights out (YSU was well over 50% in the first half and 46% (to our 44%) for the game) and you have find a way to win. Earlier this season, we didn't. We seemed to get discouraged early and shut down when our opponent's were hitting and we weren't.

Nowadays... the tables have turned and the Panthers have that confidence to know they will break a scoring drought and make the needed stop(s) to pull it off.

Kaylon didn't just "work out" as our PG this season. He is a huge reason we are Champs.

Big things are happening in Pantherland these days. Milwaukee (18-12, 13-5) tied both Butler and Cleveland State for a share of the Horizon League Regular Season Title (to get "technical"), but they earned the #1 seed and tournament hosting rights as they have the best record (3-1) against the tying teams.

Once again, our unexpected season sweep of Butler made this happen. Without that sweep (even if we'd have beaten Green Bay or Loyola), we'd be packing for Cleveland or Indianapolis- and might not even have the double-bye!

Milwaukee will play this Saturday night, and the opponent is yet to be determined. The first round of the Horizon League Tourney will be played at campus sites tomorrow night. Then the winning teams will come to Milwaukee to battle it out for a right to play either us (#1 seed) or Butler (#2 seed) on Saturday night.

Must be the shoes? Milwaukee is 2-0 in the Adidas-supplied golden kicks..

It's times like these that define an era. I mentioned last post that a win over both Cleveland State and Youngstown State could be a lot more than just the continuance of our (now 9 game) conference winning streak- it is something more spectacular.

I don't even consider it a realistic possibility, but were we to lose Saturday, we would still be invited to the NIT (any regular season league champ who doesn't get invited to the Big Dance is automatically invited to the NIT).

That is by no means what we are aiming for, but I think if you would have told Panther fans that we would be in the NIT about 3 months ago, they would have thought you were drunk or insane.

This has been a long time coming. Maybe it seemed too long for some, but don't think anyone who had to suffer from a bit of impatience (to put it nicely) is upset with this improbable (and still unfolding...) outcome.

And being the (sometimes blind) optimist I am, it would be easy for me to (like some others have already) say, "I told you so" or "why didn't you believe?", but that's all foolish talk now and I know full well had we not turned it around, the joke would be on me! That was then and this is now.

Come out and watch it happen Milwaukee fans. Let's party like it's 2006.

We are all Milwaukee Panthers. And we all share a (sometimes "Krazy") love for Panther Basketball. The criticism didn't bother me as much as the apathy. Though I thought some passionate dissonance among some of our most faithful fans was premature, I knew the frustration meant they care about this team- and that is a good thing.

We all love to be arm-chair coaches from game to game and season to season, but- to a fan- we'd all fold like sopping cardboard boxes, given the responsibility of recruiting and developing a winning Division I basketball program like we have enjoyed here at Milwaukee for these past 3 years and counting.

I just hope this epic never-say-die run by the Panthers will ensure our fan base never, ever gives up all hope before the end of a season. I myself posted on this here blog just before the season's mid-point saying that the Panthers were playing way below their potential.

At best, a very average C (maybe C+) grade is how a prof would have graded our performance from the Portland opener to early December '10). And I stand by that- we knew this could be a great team, and the Panthers are proving just that in this homestretch). As they say when something seems absolutely against all odds, "crazier things have happened".

It's the former fans (some of them very good friends of mine- and some of them, not surprisingly, now fans once again..) who all but forgot about Milwaukee Basketball and refused repeated attempts to get them to come out to a game and remember where they went to school and/or which team wears this great city's name on their jerseys that really got me down at times..

But these kind of attitudes too shall pass- we are now Horizon League Champions. And we will cement that notion by winning the Horizon League Tournament. Only teams that we have already beaten stand in our way.

In closing, before we attempt to pull off one of the most stunning turnarounds in Horizon League history, I leave you with a fitting and comforting refrain that should remind us of our common bond: "everyone's a winner baby".

Hot Chocolate - Everyone's a Winner

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT VALPARAISO!! (edit- VU just beat Detroit... here- we- GO).

Event Horizon: Milwaukee at Cleveland State

2011-02-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this game isn't quite the end-all, be-all of games this season. We could very well win this and lose in Youngstown this weekend. Or we could win both and lose in the first Horizon playoff game (Semifinals).

The team embarks on their two final regular season contests- will we do the dang?

But the fact remains (thanks to our sweep of Butler), win the big one tomorrow night and the bigger one Saturday, and Milwaukee will win the Horizon League Regular Season Title and earn a #1 seed, a double-bye straight to the Semifinals and the right to host the 2011 Horizon League Tournament.

Oh and the Bracketbuster game at Buffalo? We got beat soundly by the Bulls, 80-65. BU's leading scorer Zach Filzen had a career night, Ant played great before going down with an ankle sprain.. blah, blah. It meant nothing to our season hopes however.

The outcome of that game has absolutely zero bearing on our conference fortunes. Had we not laid some (5) duds earlier in the season a win over Buffalo on the road might have been considered by the NCAA and NIT selection committee, but not when we are 16-11 (now 16-12 (11-5)).

Yes, the continued "winning" momentum would have been nice, but we are still in the midst of a 7 game conference winning streak- so really, the momentum is all still right here...

ESPN's Bracketbuster Weekend has largely lost it's meaning over the years. It was started in 2003 and featured 18 premier "Mid-Major" teams. The event has ballooned to include hundreds of teams- most of which have zero chance of making it to the NCAA's let alone upsetting a highly ranked Major team.

It has also become a an unfortunate schedule roadblock for many teams. While it was meant to give smaller programs good televised match-ups to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume, it now simply takes scheduling control away from coaches.

This is where it all goes down tomorrow night. Only Butler has beaten them at home.

Back to the main event tomorrow night though. This game is obviously huge. Actually, "huge" doesn't nearly do it justice. This game is the biggest conference game the Milwaukee Panthers have had since Spring of 2006. This game is tantamount in importance to some of the best regular season conference games of 2003-2006.

Briefly (ya, you know I'm great at that) here are the scenarios that could unfold for Milwaukee:

1). Win at Cleveland State, lose at Youngstown and the #1 and #2 seeds would be out of reach due to amount of games left for Valpo and the tiebreaker rules. #3 or #4 seed would be attainable and give us a 1st Round home game.

2). Lose both games in this final road trip and we will likely get the #4 seed at best, due to tiebreakers. Unless Butler, CSU and VU all lost their remaining contests- there is a scenario whereby we could still get the #3 seed. In either case (#3 or #4), we would get a 1st Round home game at the Cell.

To have any chance at winning this game- we must not let Norris Cole have a big game.

3). Win at Cleveland State and finish the season like a game of Mortal Kombat by taking out the Penguins in Youngstown and we would wind up the conference season 13-5 (acceptable improvement over last year's 10-8?).

If we can somehow follow option #3, we would lock up the #1 seed and the conference regular season title by virtue of tie-breakers (our Butler sweep is huge for us) and the 2011 Horizon League Tourney 2nd Rd, Semifinal game, and potentially the championship game- would be played right here in good ol' Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

First it's Cleveland State. If we can pull a win out of there, we should be able to carry the Mojo over into Youngstown- but playing the Penguins these days is no longer a gimme (Butler lost in Youngstown earlier this year).

The geography of the Horizon League... where will the bulk of the Tourney be hosted? MKE?

According to varying sources, recently injured Panthers Anthony Hill (ankle), Ryan Allen (back) and Kaylon Williams (shoulder) are all expected to play tomorrow night. That is a pretty big relief considering we seem to play at half strength if any one of those guys aren't out there.

We have to play disciplined, with an intense focus on how to limit their weapons (Norris Cole, Aaron Pougue, Jeremy Montgomery) by playing stellar super glue defense and playing "our game" that has proven to work night in and night out when we play it (inside-outside, 3's and lay-ins/free throws) to a "T".

If we beat CSU @ CSU- don't think ahead to the HLT- we'll have to win here as well..

Let's sink those treys, get Ant operating in the post like a scoring machine over and around Aaron Pougue, and most importantly- let's guard the Vikings biggest offensive weapons- namely Norris Cole, Trevon Harmon and Jeremy Montgomery. We cannot let those guys get open looks all night. The Panthers must lock it down and throw away the key.

I'm excited for what could be (not just another pair of Panther victories but) the drying cement of the rebuilding portion of Milwaukee's "Jeter Era". If we win and win again on Saturday, so many people's doubts and fears and reluctance to to support this program could simply evaporate in an instant. If we win.

Nothing is guaranteed in this season's rough and tumble Horizon League. There is a chance we could lose tomorrow night (perish the thought) and should that happen, all is not necessarily lost. But winning (and sweeping) this final road swing gives Milwaukee the key directly into the Semifinals- a key we have not held in a very, very long time.

Winning both tomorrow night and this coming Saturday would literally make the challenge of winning the Horizon League Tourney and capturing the ever-coveted NCAA Tourney Auto-bid 200% easier for us.

We have already become "Incredible" in the eyes of many- even the eyes of many who doubted this team could ever rebound from such a slow start. But the "'10-'11 Season 180" is not yet complete. Respect has been earned and respect has finally been given to this resilient Panther team. Can they parlay that respect and their amazing conference momentum into a #1 seed?

Raise Your Sights Milwaukee. Our opportunity has arrived.

We will be watching with hope in our hearts but vengeance on our minds (remember CSU's clinic at the Cell this season?). They may just have to re-learn that age-old lesson: Payback is a B****.

GO PANTHERS!!!!
BEAT CLEVELAND STATE & YOUNGSTOWN STATE!!

The Fire

2011-02-17T23:16:00.000-08:00

"there's something in your heart and it's in your eyes.. It's the Fire... inside ya.... Let it burrrrn...........you don't say 'Good luck'- you say "Don't give up"..... it's the Fire... inside ya.... let it burrn..." -The Roots

Your Milwaukee Panthers did it. Faced with the biggest challenge of the fast-expiring season they battled to the final seconds with the league-leading Valparaiso Crusaders last night. But it was Milwaukee (16-11, 11-5) who emerged victorious when the all was said and over.

The Fire is inside the Milwaukee Panthers right now.

These Panthers deserve some big-time credit. Valparaiso was as tough a challenge as any this year- and we knocked them out of first place. The game can be summarized by a pair of runs (we went up by 10 mid-way through the first half... then Valpo went up by 10 in the early second half) and a final 7 minutes that went straight- down- to the wire...

Tone Boyle was firing on all cylinders from the three point land (5-10). Ant had our inside game working on both sides of the floor. Tony Meier (queue!) hit yet another pair of huge shots in the second half to help Milwaukee secure this big, big victory.

Kaylon Williams stepped up big when the chips were down for a couple momentum-shifting triples. And not-so-little freshman big man Kyle Kelm also hit a pair of 3's to bolster the Panther attack.

The Fire we have seen from this team may be hard to extinguish... Find out Saturday night.

Brandon Wood was automatic in warm-ups (something like 10/12 from what I saw him shoot in 5 minutes before the game) which worried me. He turned out to be automatic for most of the game (thankfully not when it counted- Wood missed three 3's in a row before the final minute (back to that in a sec).

Ryan Broekhoff led the other side of the Valpo charge. Broekhoff and Wood combined for a whopping 44 of Valpo's 76 points. Wood was 4-11 and Broekhoff 4-9 from 3pt. They were a serious force to be reckoned with- both shot well over 50% form the field. Those two seemed to keep Valpo either ahead or in striking distance every time we tried to make a run late in the second half.

And the officiating... I realize some officiating crews are the type to "let them play", but allowing constant defensive contact on the ballhandler (not not calling a Tech on the totally unnecessary mid-air clothesline of Ryan Allen after he had already dunked the basketball) was more than a little bit unfortunate.

Kelm has been making big contributions in his first season as a Panther.

Overall though- this was a great game. It was the best atmosphere (students and general ticket buyers) at the Cell since I can remember ( Spring of 2006?).

Oh, and that final minute.. Tone Boyle (player of the game no less- Tone scored a career high 28 points) missed two crucial free throws- just one make would have made it a two possession game. Valpo, down by 3, charged up the court and eventually found Wood on the Northwest perimeter of the court- and what else, he drills a 3 to tie it.

A timeout was called. Milwaukee came back out with a brilliantly drawn up and executed screen for a Tony Meier cutter- straight to the hoop. Meier not only nearly jammed the final victory points- he got the foul. After Meier hit the free shot to put us up by three once again. Valpo got a tic-tac foul from the refs though and Howard Little converted on two FTs to cut our lead to a single point.

Tony Meier got fouled immediately, and to the anxiety of the crowd- missed both attempts. The Crusaders had 17 seconds left- more than enough time for a good couple shots (or better yet a trip to the line). But it wasn't to be. They did run their offensive strategy to a "T", and found a man cutting 3 feet from the hoop.

This is the fired-up emotion we hope to see more and more of on into March.

One bunny went up- and bounced out off the back of the rim. To make matters more frantic for Milwaukee fans, Valpo then grabbed the offensive rebound! And what seemed like the dagger in our season went up- and bricked again!

The Pathers prevailed after Kaylon stole an inbound pass. And that- was all she wrote. Panthers hold sole possesion of second place in the Horizon (due to their sweep of Butler), and are closing fast on CSU and Valpo. Time will tell, but this team seems in no hurry to slow down.

The Buffalo Bulls (3rd place MAC East) are up next in a hardly-hyped Bracketbusters match. Both teams seem to be treating this as more "prep-game" than a serious matchup with consequences. Maybe that will work to our advantage.

But no matter who we have to rest or how much this doesn't affect conference- we are going to play to win the game. This Panther team has several people on the bench who have started several games- that is not true of too many D-I teams..

Milwaukee Panthers- Back from the Dead and very, very Intent on Revenge and the Title.

Just something to chew over Panther fans- but get this: if we win out (because of tiebreakers and our sweep of Butler), we are guaranteed no less than a #2 seed in the HLT and thus a double-bye straight to the Semifinals.

If Valpo slips up in the process- the HLT could be hosted at the Cell as well.. Nice dreams, yes- but not impossible. All we have to do is take care of business and keep playing like we have been.

Hey Panthers- how is that for an incentive to play like a horde of restless beasts?

Cleveland State is miles away.... Let's just take care of business in upstate New York this Saturday night and see where that added momentum can carry us next, right?

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT BUFFALO!!

Shocking? Bring on the League Leader

2011-02-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

I was recently told by a Panther fan that my posts are unnecessarily long and thus difficult to read all the way through. Point taken. I will go on the opposite extreme for this news break.

I'll include only what is essential to capture this point in time of the season on this long-running archive of Milwaukee Panther "tracks" throughout college basketball history.

The Milwaukee Panthers aim to shock NCAA Hoops observers...

After sweeping the Chicago road trip, the Panthers find themselves tied with Butler for 3rd place in the Horizon. After handily defeating Loyola 66-57, Milwaukee (15-11, 10-5) equally controlled the game in a victory over the Flames at the UIC Pavilion 70-59.

Tony Meier and Tone Boyle paced the Panthers against Loyola last Thursday night. The end was never in doubt in that one (the biggest highlight was Big Mitch Carter stepping in for Ant to score 8 points!).

Against UIC, Anthony Hill posted a new career high in points (32) and Kaylon Williams posted an interesting double-double- 14 assists and 12 rebounds. Kaylon scored just a single point- but he created 28 off of his assists.

I am very confident that this is the kind of energy we will see Wed. from the Panthers

League-leading Valparaiso (19-7, 11-3) is up next at the Cell this Wednesday night, in what may be the final chance to see this late-peaking team play at home this season.

It is senior night. That also means it may be Panther fans' last chance to see Anthony Hill, Tone Boyle, Jerard Ajami and Mitchell Carter in a Panther uniform at the Cell.

Fan sentiment has done a complete 180- from skepticism and cynicism to optimism and even confidence. The Incredible Milwaukee Panthers seem to have stood up.

It should go without saying that this is the biggest Panther game so far this season. Win this one... and our chances of pulling off one of the most stunning turnarounds in Horizon League history will get a lot more do-able.

I'll try to strike a good balance between content and quality next post. Until then...

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT VALPARAISO!!

Panthers Commit Second Act of Revenge, Drop Phoenix 88-75

2011-02-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

While much of the weekend had sports fans across the nation (and esp. in Wisconsin) preoccupied with the (now) Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, another team in the eastern part of Wisconsin was making good on keeping steady it's hopes for a season-turnaround.

Ant-ONE!! Hill had a masterpiece of a game... ESPN even took notice.

Yes, the Panthers have a small drop-in-the-bucket amount of buzz relative to what the Pack has... but at least in local circles... people are starting to notice that this team is not going to fold after the confounding 9-11 start.

Your Milwaukee Panthers (now 13-11 (8-5)) seem to have finally figured out the consistency thing that had them playing like contenders one game and a young inexperienced team the next (we've got st8baller upper-classmen veterans).

After dispatching Butler, Detroit and Wright State back-to-back-to-back, our arch rival from upstate in Green Bay (UWGB) was next. This one was not going to be a cake-walk- we lost to UWGB 69-64 at the Resch Center earlier this year.

A true cheesehead. Wayne made a late-breaking remix of Wiz' "Black & Yellow" for the Pack.

With their formidable, proven and battle-tested senior guard tandem of Rahmon Fletcher and Bryquis Perine leading the way and a streaky and spindly freshman 7-footer in Alec Brown to contend with.. we knew this would be a good ol' Wisconsin-style brawl.

But as it turned out- we fought much harder from the opening tip to the final buzzer (UWM was up by 18 at one point in the second half).

The Panthers did not disappoint in putting on the best Packer Super Bowl pre-game event (a pre-game "game"- and a win!) that Packer-Panther fans could dream of... (sorry for Panther fans who don't like the Pack, but you cannot deny their unprecedented drive to take the Super Bowl Crown as a frickin' 6 seed! (we barely made the playoffs!)).

Ja'Rob for the bucket...! McCallum has def. been showing his experience this season.

The atmosphere was tremendous (funny what ESPNU will do for our student turnout!) and Milwaukee looked like they were playing in a Super Bowl (or at least playoff game). We took the opening tip, set our sights on the hoop and did not look back.

We began by focusing on opening up perimeter shots. When those failed to go in we did not let it get to our confidence. Instead, we went straight to our ultra-reliable postman, Anthony Hill (29pts, 15rbs, 3ast- and 7-8 form the field).

Ant did serious work down in the post until we got our perimeter shooting back in the second half (11-24 for 46% after a terrible start from outside..).

Anthony Hill just had his best game as a collegian so far. No doubt about it. And whats more impressive is he only played 27 minutes (Ant sat with 3 fouls for much of the second half (just imagine...)). I think his best games are coming up real quick here in the next month (or more?) of action..

Kaylon locks, loads and fires..... - hey, was this the 3 to close the first half?!!

Fletcher (16pts, 5rbs) and Perine (22pts) impressed me a lot. Perine seemed able to score through the lane at will... something our team has struggled with at times (but Ja'Rob, Ryan Allen and K-dub have been doing a lot to change that). Alec Brown was effectively neutralized by Ant and couldn't buy a bucket (7pts) or a board (4rbs) throughout most of the contest.

Ja'Rob, Kaylon and Tone also all scored in double figures (and Kaylon dished out 7 assists to increase his APG average which at 4.9 is still within striking distance of potential Horizon League POY Norris Cole who is averaging 5.3 APG...).

All around it was just a great game from this team. When we were missing the threes, we were missing bad! (something like 1-11 to start it out). But we were able to rely on Ant for easy 3-4 footers and many, many successful trips to the line.

And after Kaylon closed out the first half with a 27 foot buzzer beater... well, that's when the lid came off the can of whoop a$$. Milwaukee trounced Green Bay in the end, 88-75, and moved into a tie for 4th place (w/Butler) in the Horizon League.

I know myself and many others are very impressed with the way this team has started to turn things around. But(!), we mustn't get ahead of ourselves... A four game winning streak does not a season or a champion make.

Tone's perimeter shooting is heating up at just the right time....

We have six remaining regular season contests (five conference)- and while you'd be uninformed to not know that we can win every single one, games are not won and lost on blogs or discussion board opinion volleying..

You (or rather our newly confident Panther battalion) have to play the game with the expectation to win. And, when the going gets rough (like it did vs. Detroit and Wright State)- you cannot stray from that expectation and that certainty that you are better and will win the game if you follow your coaches' and your game plan and not the voices of doubt that always try to throw would-be champions off course when trouble arises..

Each one of these contests will be a lot more important to the team than if we hadn't lost some of the nameless contests and had more room for an unexpected "L" in the Loss column (you remember those games and so do I- but now they are dead and buried in the past- that's what archives are for, right?).

Doubt the "physicality" of the Horizon League? Matt Howard has some blood to show you.

We exacted revenge on Green Bay and Wright State for what they both did to us. Now we have a shot at doing the same to Loyola, Valparaiso, Buffalo and Cleveland State (who- word on the streets now, is most definitely not unbeatable...).

Mix in a little UIC, YSU- what the heck do ya got?... You can see there is a very nice stage set for the Milwaukee Panthers to prove that they are... "who we thought they were".

If the Panthers' can ensure they are fully in Hulk-mode when out on the court for the remainder of this season- what seemed like a lost cause could turn into a wellspring of newfound pride. That is something this team, this program and most importantly, this university- badly needs.

Can we be INCREDIBLE?

Good Promo Ad for UWM Students

2011-02-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night vs. Detroit was a healthy turnout, but UWM students can easily bring twice that! You guys do help decide these games you know- and we're only two games out of second place in the Horizon..

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT GREEN BAY!!!!

Milwaukee Perseveres to Secure Two More Big League Wins

2011-01-31T20:05:00.000-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers seem to be playing a little differently lately. Beginning with our unexpected OT victory at Hinkle, this team has finally learned how to battle adversity and find a way to win.

We were down early to Butler, down early to Detroit and down early to WSU- but battled back in all 3 to come out with the W. This is a very positive development that has not gone unnoticed by the Milwaukee fan base.

Kaylon, defending the Raiders' Cole Darling

Milwaukee (12-11, 7-5) traded barbs much of the game vs. Detroit (11-12, 5-6) this past Saturday night. Detroit's Chase Simon, Eli Holman and Chris Blake all scored in the double digits.. but it was Ray McCallum Jr. who seemed to show the most energy and poise of all Titans on the court.

In what became Detroit's first possession, Ray Jr. took advantage of a Panther turnover and stormed straight to the hoop, thundering in an emphatic two handed jam. It was in this early few seconds that I began to question whether we were ready for the DMU onslaught. Thankfully, we did not shy away from this challenge- in fact we met it head on and were determined to get the W.

We overcame a 13 point first half deficit to draw within 1 at the break. And then a very slow start to the second half saw Milwaukee down 10 with just 9:24 left in the game. We kept chipping away though and made the shots we needed to make to win the game, 72-67.

Lonnie aggressively goes for the ball amidst two Raiders

Tone Boyle led all scorers with 16 (and he collected 4 steals to boot!). Tony Meier scored 12 and Ant put up 13 to go along with 8 big rebounds.

Ryan Allen was once again his effective self coming off the bench- 10 points, 3 assists and a pair of crucial blocks (each of them helped turn the tide of the game our way). And in his most impressive showing to date- freshman Kyle Kelm filled admirably in for Tony/Ant when we needed him. Kelm's 9 points and 5 rebounds (3 offensive) were also a big factor in this comeback win.

Other than some very questionable calls by the refs against us and against Detroit (at one point Eli Holman threw a hard forearm into Ryan Allen's face, and Allen (who did not initiate any contact) received the foul), this was a very satisfying win to watch.

Kaylon attempts to thread the needle for another assist

With this one in the books, the Panthers secured regular season sweeps over both Butler and Detroit. Who would have thought that would only be good enough for 5th place in the League?!! I don't think anyone foresaw just how good Valparaiso and Cleveland State turned out to be (so far at least- either of CSU or VU can yet stumble in the final stretch).

Next up was Wright State (14-9, 7-4)- another team looking down at us in the Horizon League standings. No one can forget the embarrassing 68-44 defeat they handed us at their place... But on this Sunday it was different.

Not only were they without two of their key players in Troy Tabler and Cooper Land (who, combined for 35 of WSU's 68 points in that victory....), but your Milwaukee Panthers were starting to get a feel for this consistency thing.

While it can be said we certainly did not play our best offensive game in this victory (34.9% FG, 18.2% 3pt for just 54 points!), our Big D made up for it. We did limit ourselves to just 10 turnovers.. but so did WSU. And Vaughn Duggins nearly willed the Raiders to victory all by his darn hot-handed self. On the whole, we also allowed the Raiders to shoot better than us across the board.

N'Gai Evans cashes in on a fast-break

The difference came down to rebounds- we out-rebounded Wright State 33-22 (15-5 on the offensive glass). Those rebounds for "stops" on D and those second chance generating offensive rebounds proved to be the key. We barely (and I mean barely (Wright State nailed an otherwise impressive buzzer beating 3.. but Milwaukee was up by 4..)) edged the Raiders 54-53 in the lowest scoring Panther win that I can remember...

As they say in cliche: "defense wins championships". But defense cannot do it alone..

It was announced earlier today that the Panthers will be playing at Buffalo for the annual Bracketbuster match-up. So now the '10-'11 schedule is finally complete. We have seven games left to prove that this is not a lost season.

I don't believe there is one team among those seven that we cannot beat. Valpo and Cleveland State obviously will be the statistically toughest challenges (at least we have Valpo at home this time..). But every game will be a challenge- we cannot take a single minute for granted.

Tone charges up court while Panther fans bite their nails in hopes we can pull it off

And so it's on to the final game of this 3-game Homestand here in Milwaukee. We host the Green Bay Phoenix this coming Saturday at 2pm down at the Cell. It's pay-back time for the 69-64 loss they served us up at the Resch Center early last month.

With the way this team has been playing as of late (read- consistent, or at least "tough-nosed" and able to find a way to win the close ones), you'd be wise to witness what could be the start of our traditional odds-defying season-ending push.

We all wish it didn't have to be this way- but if we can make it- will you take it?

It will be one tough slog, that's for sure. But if we can keep winning, these optimistic but quiet rumblings you may have heard lately might turn into some kind of fierce roar by the end of the regular season. Let's sit back and see how it all goes down...

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT GREEN BAY!!!!

A Clunker and a Stunner

2011-01-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers began their Indiana roadie with a complete meltdown against Valparaiso. But then followed up that rough night with a stunning 86-80 OT victory against the once-unbeatable Butler Bulldogs.

Panther fans wish we'd have had a few less (or none) of these.....

I wish I had the time and game viewing experience to provide a decent summary of these way up and way down two games... but I don't. Tom Enlund at the Journal-Sentinel has you covered here and here if you haven't read the recaps already.

I was en route to a wedding up north and missed the Valpo game. I actually found out how bad it was via text message from a good friend. The text simply read, "We Suck"- my friend is a long-time and very knowledgeable Panther fan not given to criticizing when criticism is undue and so I knew what that meant. But I had to find out how it happened.

We were run out of town in Valparaiso, losing to the co-League Leading Crusaders, 60-43. I'll punt to another Tom E. game recap quote to sum it up: "The Panthers made 2 of 21 three-point shots (9.5%) for the game and were outscored in the paint, 40-14.". I think that's all any of us need to know. Suffice it to say we must move on and rid our minds of that face-plant.

And a few more of these... this season. Lol.

And unless you live on Mars you know what game myself and 99.999999% of other Wisconsinites were tuned into on Sunday afternoon.

I did catch the opening minutes of UWM @ BU and felt very optimistic when I changed channels to appease my Bears fan friend for the Packers-Bears "pregame" and we were tied up with the Dawgs at 11-11. "Go Panthers!", I said to myself, but with more on the line for the never-say-die Packers that particular day- my voice was stuck on that 3-word chant us Packer fans hold dear: GO PACK GO!

But anyhoo- it's a huge "+" to sweep BU but, with our mind-boggling jack-in-the-box of performances this season, no one in Milwaukee knows what to expect. With our anything-but-even-keel '10-'11 performance to date, anything really can happen.

I would venture to guess we have confounded and infuriated the Las Vegas odds-makers and bookies on many occasions this season (we are +10 we lose, we are -10 we come out of nowhere for the win- it's crazy I tell ya!).

So far, there is just no way to even remotely predict this team's performance from game to game.

This season has both thrilled and completely depressed the Milwaukee fan base. It has gotten to the point where people like me are muting any optimism after the damn good ones like this past Sunday and the Negative Nancy's are biting their tongue after the ones we phone in.

Both sides of the coin know that our competing Panther personas ("Effortless" vs. "Effort-Lacking") have essentially given rise to a literal wash (UWM is 10-11, 5-5) that is reflected in our overall and conference records.

The team can compete however. And dare I say... (it would be somewhat akin to the Pack winning the Super Bowl being a 6th seed in the NFC (in that it has never happened.... I confess that the comparison mostly stops there))- this team can win the Horizon League Tournament Championship.

Don't believe me? Look at who we have beat- and read the box scores of every single one of our wins (when we win- we do not **** around). The problem is- to win the league tourney (if we don't get the #1/#2 seed Double-Bye which is not impossible, but definitely unlikely) you have to play well for more than just one game.. (you have to win four in a row).

MILWAUKEE PANTHER BASKETBALL. It's good for your health.

We can beat anyone- but I don't think anyone is convinced we can beat anyone on any night- night in and night out. Our longest winning streak so far is just three games (UC Davis, Niagara and Northern Iowa).

It's one thing to sneak a nice victory in the midst of a horrible season- terrible teams get overlooked by superior opponents all the time and pull off the upset. But a regular season sweep of Butler? The first bonafide "game" against Marquette since the modern era of D-I basketball?

Add in a few more dominating performances to boot? This is not a terrible or hopeless team we have here- it is just an agonizingly inconsistent one.

It's like the weather on steroids. Imagine if the bitterly cold temperature we have today (23° F currently in Milwaukee) suddenly rose to 95° overnight! That is what we have seen in this team. It is unexplainable, it's almost predictable, but one thing is consistently true- this yo-yo effect must stop. If it doesn't, we may see ourselves losing in the 1st Rd. of the Horizon League Tourney- at home.

Sorta good and so-so teams are often inconsistent- it's a big reason why they can't be counted on to compete for the crown. Great teams assert themselves and "impose their will" as Jimmy Lemke's PantherU.com recent posting succinctly describes.

They have a swagger about them and expect to win. I don't think we are quite there yet. This three game home-stand could change a lot of people's minds.. but the consistency just has not been there game in and game out.

Ant will be a key soldier in our battle with the Detroit front line Friday night..

This season, the Horizon is obviously a League with absolute parity- and the Panthers still do have an outside shot at 5-5 (2.5 behind 7-2 CSU and VU) with three straight league home games on the docket. But there are other very talented teams (Valpo, Butler, CSU, WSU) who have not had the nightmare games like we had against against Portland and Western Michigan and CSU and WSU and at Valpo.

There is a reason why a lot of fans have either turned their backs and/or closed their wallets when it comes to supporting this team. I don't agree with folding at this stage of the game (season), but I understand.

College Basketball games are not played in a vacuum and there are key reasons behind the proven and time-tested phenomenon of "home court advantage" across all sports (fan-induced referee bias is the most identifiable and significant reason according to a recent Sports Illustrated article- but I tend to think there are other reasons too immeasurable/intangible to quantify).

Where would any team in any sport be without fans? If you care, you'd put on your game face this Friday and this Sunday and do just as we ask the players to do- give it your all. Cheer the team on, rattle DMU and WSU and bark at the refs! We only get this chance to effect the outcome when our Panthers are here in Milwaukee.

Think fans have no effect on the game? Just ask this guy.

We have just 4 regular season home games left. If you are at one or more of them and see the Panthers performing at the level you hoped they'd have been at all season but feel you must stay silent to save face lest you look like you are backtracking against your critical assessment of this team to friends or family or members of a certain (very bi-polar) online discussion community.... forget about that and don't worry about this team letting you down.

Life is a series of let-downs to a varying degree; we should all know that by now. But it's also a roller-coaster that provides some pretty awesome peaks along the way. That's what I'm banking on. That's why I waste so much time writing this blog.

I am confident most Panther fans will welcome any signs of green shoots and actively help hoot and holler us on to victory at the Cell these next three games, but sadly I am convinced there are more once-rabid Panther fans than we'd like to admit that have all but given up on this team and this season- with 9 games left!

Whoever those Panthers are- un-bite your tongue, and pleeeeeeze- just belt out a GO PANTHERS for the guys putting it all on the floor for us.

Yes, we have sucked big-time in several games this season. But those clunkers are in the rear-view. It's Demolition-Derby time in the Horizon League and Detroit and Wright State are ripe for the kicking.

No one thought we'd be 10-11 at this point, but then again no one thought Butler would already be on the verge of needing an auto-bid to have any chance of even making it back to the party they crashed just one year ago.

That was then and this is now. At the very least give these Panthers some applause when they deserve it.

Even if any boost we give to the team or psychological shift we cause in a referee's head is relatively small and virtually immeasurable, it's the least we can do as fans.

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT DETROIT!!!!

The One That Got Away

2011-01-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers showed a lot of fight in the first 15 minutes of the game vs. Loyola this past Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately our guys seemed to get a little complacent with what they had built up to a 12 point lead, and started to slow down quite a bit (just as Loyola began to speed up).

The Rambler attack was led by lightning-quick guard Geoff McCammon (21pts) while Anthony led all Panthers with 19 points (most of which were scored in the opening 15 minutes when your Milwaukee Panthers looked like the team we saw beat up Butler and UIC in recent weeks).

After about three mini-runs (one of which was orchestrated almost elusively by Kaylon Williams (who by the way has been the only Panther other than Tony Meier who has seemed to have finally figured out this "consistency thing" that has been our Achilles heel all season..))... time ran out and Milwaukee (9-10, 4-4) had to swallow the tough pill of a very winnable home loss to Loyola - 71-65.

You have to give Loyola (11-8, 2-6) credit- they shot nearly 70% in the second half. In the first half we were getting open looks from all around the perimeter and Ant was automatic each time he got fed in the post. But in the second half, it was quite the opposite- mainly due to Loyola playing smothering and in-your-face defense.

Loyola's advantage on the boards (29-24, but more telling: 24-13 of the defensive kind..) and their overall intensity in the second half outmatched ours. They wanted it more- and they got it.

We didn't play that bad (but once again as is the almost barometer of our wins and losses... we only shot just barely less than 40% (39.7) from the field- and lost.

That is just how the game works when you play in a conference where anybody can beat anyone else. There are no cream-puffs in the league this season (not even perennial bottom-feeder YSU). Butler just lost- again (at Wright State). Not a single game on the schedule can be taken for granted. I wish we would have learned that after the Western Michigan game.

As I mentioned after the Green Bay loss- we can take some modicum of comfort in the fact that this was not a blowout loss. I am confident those painfully disheartening affairs are behind us.

But a loss is a loss is a loss. No two ways around it- we should have never let up- we could have and should have swept the Chicago schools' tour of Milwaukee last week. Maybe we can bring out our brooms when we head down I-94 to their places in February..

All we can do is have a short memory and look forward with more of an "expectation to win" and not a "hope" to win attitude. We were 13-12 last season before our big push to the Semis... the Packers were 3-3 at one point early in the season.

All is not lost. Not yet. Not when we've seen what momentum can do. Now if we could only find it. Momentum is a heck of an elusive but powerful thing.

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT VALPO!!!!

Panthers Pour it on the Flames

2011-01-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers dominated for all but about 5 minutes of last night's blowout victory over the UIC Flames at the Cell downtown.

Kaylon's near half-court shot races to beat the .03, .02, .01..... Money!!!!

We operated our inside-outside offensive MO to perfection and kept UIC (5-13, 0-6) scrambling on D. On more possessions than I could count, a Flame would get picked or overstep a Panther's moves off the dribble and find themselves out of position and a Panther launching a wide-open 3 bomb or Ant getting clearance to put one in or get a free trip to the line by a last-ditch UIC defender's hack or over-the-back.

While we played an excellent first half, Kaylon Williams buzzer-beating three to finish out the first half was the moment this team kicked it into high gear. The Panther team that came out after half resembled what a Panther in the wild must look like after going weeks without a meal. It was clearly evident- we were HUNGRY for this victory.

It wasn't even close so it's hard to give my usual hack-ish attempt at a meaningful/interesting breakdown of how this was a see-saw battle (it wasn't) or any drama that we encountered (we didn't). UIC did make a nice run in the late second half after Jeter had emptied the bench and let off the gas a bit (we were up by as many as 23 not too long after the break). But this one was well in hand from the early goings.

UIC did put four players in double-digits (led by Robo Kreps who posted 19 on 6-10 from the field including three 3's), but their overall defensive front was more like a sieve that allowed Panther shots to pour right through and up onto the scoreboard. At the end of the night the scoreboard read the kind of words and numbers we like to see: Milwaukee: 87, UIC: 75.

This is quite the patriotic shot of Tony. GO UWM!!!! GO USA!!!!

It was a great game to watch, to put it mildly. Very reminiscent of the Butler celebration last week. It is entirely possible that we can duplicate that in our 5 (or more depending on H-League Tourney seeding) remaining games at the Cell.

Now for the Milwaukee (9-9, 4-3) player accolades (this game IS ALL ABOUT team, but I gotta do it- it's tradition, and players deserve an online shout-out when they put in the kind of stat-stuffing performances that help us win games).

Tony Meier continues to get comfortable in his role of team co-leader (along with seniors Ant and Tone and Junior transfer, Kaylon Williams).

The Mega-Man was everywhere last night. His 22 points on 7-12 from the field (4-6 from 3pt), 4-4 from the charity stripe, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and impressive block were a big part of the reason the Flames and their fans were very dispirited throughout nearly all of the game last night.

Allen diving for the ball

Anthony Hill almost had us put two players in the 20pt scoring zone! Ant (18pts, 6rbs and 8-10 from the FT line) managed to be our driving force in the post (the "Inside" of our Inside/Outside offense) despite being hampered by foul trouble all night and fouling out with more than enough time to have gotten 2 more points!

Tone Boyle (17pts, 3rbs, 3ast) and Kaylon Williams (14pts, 4rbs, 7ast) held down the back-court very effectively. Lonnie was hampered by a recent ankle injury (doesn't appear to be serious though) and only played 4 minutes. Ja'Rob helped boost our attack with 6 points (both 3's, J-Mac was 2-2 on the night), and Ryan Allen provided the biggest jolt of excitement to the Cell I have seen in years.

Allen took a perfectly-timed alley-oop from Tone Boyle and thundered home a left-handed one-hand jam to the thunderous applause of Panther fans in the stands and the Milwaukee bench.

Ryan Allen with an ESPN Top 10-worthy dunk. Oh, the woes of being a "Mid-Major"...

This was another celebration of our incredible talents at the Cell. Will we see another one on Saturday?

A very knowledgeable poster and long-time Panther fan on the very well-designed and administered Milwaukee Panthers Discussion Board (which I regularly frequent for news, fan sentiment and updates) who goes by the handle "ghostofdylan", brought up a very mind-boggling and telling stat today:

"the Panthers are now averaging 80 points in their wins and 50 points in their losses. Wow call this group Team Extreme!".

Team Extreme indeed! The high-scoring contests are very entertaining- and we almost always win those.... but 50 points in our 9 losses... How? I think it has to do with the fact that we only recently stopped letting opponents' big early runs get under our skin so much. Those numbers will likely change and that gap will narrow as we continue to get more consistent and the season races to the finish line.

We can be concerned that our defense gave up a lot of points last night (many which came in the final 10 minutes when we let off the gas and took many of our starters out), but we cannot deny that the team we saw last night was the same team we saw throttle Niagara, claw back in the second half @ Detroit, and totally embarrass Butler here in Milwaukee last Monday.

Tone lit it up and the Panthers kept the fire alive all night against the Flames..

It is encouraging to see that the Incredible Pounce is showing up with a more regular frequency these days. Let's hope he shows up this Saturday at the Cell at 1pm for the game vs. Loyola (10-8, 1-6). Loyola's league record doesn't do justice to a team that lost by just 8 and 2 points against #5 Kansas State and Butler, respectively.

In the Horizon League Tourney, it doesn't matter if we can beat Butler in the second or third round if we come out the following game and lay a big white round one.

The only thing that will fix our fractured fan base that admirably (if not always whole-heartedly) continues to follow this program is a big-time winning streak or streaks before the end. Pile up wins, give 'em hope that we can go deep into the H-League Tourney and the fans will pile into the seats again.

Ant had another big night- could have been even bigger if didn't foul out

It's as simple as that, all other talk is just roundabouting the real issue- wins and losses.

This '10-'11 Milwaukee Panther hooper squad most definitely has the stuff in 'em. That is no longer a question at this point.

The question that lingers and bites at the unflinching optimism of folks like me and inflames the rhetoric of other folks who claim that this season, and the entire Jeter era has been a "lost cause" or at best a "case study in mediocrity", is:

Can we end the recurring theme of being "consistently inconsistent" and stop "The Unstoppable and Incredible Pounce" from continuously turning back into the Mild-Mannered 'Bruce Panther' ever few game days?

Your tremendously-appreciated support certainly won't hurt our chances of making that happen and keeping the "Incredible" Panthers here to stay.

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT LOYOLA!!!!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back..

2011-01-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

After back-to-back encouraging League wins, your Milwaukee Panthers dropped a tough one Saturday night 69-64 to the Phoenix of Green Bay in front of 4,500 at the Resch Center. But believe it or not, we had more than a few positives come out of this one.

Shooting woes continue to be the motif of this season-long drama. Had we just knocked down a few more shots (heck two of our 17 missed three's!), we would have came back to Milwaukee with another W firmly in hand.

But it wasn't to be.. Milwaukee shot an impressive 15-20 (75%) from the free throw line (another encouraging development), but only 20-57 (35%) overall from the field. That would be the difference in this one.

Rahmon Fletcher led the Phoenix with 17 and impressive newcomer Bryquis Perine chipped in 13 as Green Bay showed Milwaukee that they aren't the pushover some might expect from a team with a new coach and former Marquette player (who played under RJ while Jeter was an assistant for the Golden Eagles) Brian Wardle took the reigns from departing coach pmck after last season.

Wardle showed Jeter and staff last night that he is already very much used to this Horizon League coaching thing... Although our recurring abysmal shooting reared quite ugly once again and certainly gave the new coach a lot of lee-way to work with.

As we have begun to (uncomfortably) get accustomed to and as Tom Enlund noted in the first sentence of his take on this game (and nearly every single one of our losses this season)- we shoot poorly (ie. less tan 40%)- we lose. It's almost written in stone this season.

Kyle Kelm (6pts, 2-3 from 3pt) did nail two key 3's early on after we begun the game just 1-10 from the field, which really jump-started the Panthers and actually handed us a brief 1 point lead before the Phoenix reasserted their home turf protection efforts.

We also managed to put four players in double digits- Kaylon (14pts, 5rbs, 5pts) led the charge as he continues to show Milwaukee fans that there was nothing false about the optimism we all shared when he came to campus as our first "true" (ie. pass-first) PG since Chris Hill. KW even got some national pub for his triple double in our Butler-smackdown in a recent ESPN article about the state of the Mid-Major scene the other day.

Tone Boyle followed with 13pts and 5rbs, and Ant put in another dominANT performance posting yet another double double (12pts, 12rbs). Tony Meier rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points and making 2 of his 4 3pt attempts... And though we average 14 turnovers per contest- we only had 9 TO's in this one. So HOW did we lose?

Again- our shooting just couldn't cut it. This game showed that even if we do nearly everything else right, if the shots don't fall.. we leave the court empty-handed. We did also lose the battle of the boards (39-32) and Green Bay capitalized on their passing more than we did (GB led us 14-11 in the assists column).

It's sad that we can be encouraged by close losses at this point in the season, but I for one was encouraged by a lot of things we did and didn't do (ie. "give up") in this loss. If this game was played earlier in the season we may have lost by 15. Instead- we were a few missed UWGB free throws from tying it up in the final 3 minutes.

I saw fight in this team, and if we can just learn how to not shoot 60% one half and 25% the next two... there is definitely reason to be optimistic about the possibility of this team going on a big run before it's too late. Let's just start hitting shots at a respectable 47% clip - we will destroy teams if we just shoot consistently "decent"!

Again (it bears repeating to those who sharpen their pitchforks with every loss)- on February 11th, 2010 your Milwaukee Panthers were 13-12. That team wound up posting a 20-14 record and nearly beat '09-'10 Butler (inarguably the best Mid-Major in the 21st Century) in the Horizon League Semi-Finals.

We have two crucial home games coming up (UIC on Thursday night at 7pm and Loyola on Saturday at 1pm). Those two game are imperative for us get back to that optimistic feeling we had after this team crushed Butler on our home court just over a week ago (and subsequently Butler (and Valpo) crushed the same CSU team that embarrassed us earlier in the season...

This is not like last season when we saw a season-long nationally ranked Butler gobble up the Horizon like a well-deserved King's feast, and everyone else scramble for the after-dinner table scraps. The top Horizon teams all have at least one loss (and we have only 3 so far). We follow up this upcoming homestand with a tough road trip- but then we play 3 more in a row at the Cell. The opportunities are there.

But I'll stop speculating beyond the only game that matters until it's been played- UIC. Let's tackle the flames early and not let up. It was UIC after all that is solely responsible for this Milwaukee program having only 3 (and not 4) NCAA Tourney appearances since 2003 (UWM dropped the Horizon League Championship 65-62 to UIC in March of 2004- stunning the then "rabid and rapidly-multiplying" Panther faithful at the Cell in Milwaukee).

Still wanna throw in tha towel? Let's galvanize our Panther support and show this team that if they don't give up (which they didn't Saturday night) we won't give up, either. We will go down fighting.... or fight our way back to the top.

Milwaukee Obliterates Butler 76-52, Panthers' Season Now Looking Up?

2011-01-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

40 Minutes of near-perfection. That's what your Milwaukee Panthers gave the fans at the U.S. Cellular Arena last night.

Rob Jeter, like a lot of us fans, is probably cautiously optimistic that things are improving

Butler (10-5, 2-1) came into this game having already lost 4 games. But only one of those losses could be considered a bad loss- Evansville who beat BU by 2 in Hinkle. Xavier, Duke and Louisville are hardly terrible games to lose. With our 7-8 record coming into the game, Vegas had the Bulldogs as 10 point favorites and no one other than a handful of blind optimists had any sort of good feeling about us competing in this one.

The best part of the game last night is that for the first time in forever (if not the first time ever!), we didn't just beat Butler- we demoralized Butler- from start to finish. Butler wasn't even as close as 5 points just minutes into the game, and we kept- piling- on. We limited ourselves to just 12 turnovers (we average 14) and the bane of our 7-8 start (field goal shooting %) became the rocket booster that propelled us to this lopsided victory.

Seniors Tone Boyle and Anthony HIll will be key to any kind of sustained turnaround effort

Our offensive performance was flat-out stellar (55.3% FG, 43.8% 3pt- and I thought our shooting at SDSU could not be reproduced!). But for as good as we shot the rock, our defense is what made this the spectacle it became. We were on Butler like white on rice and didn't let up.

We didn't make stupid fouls and we contested nearly every single Butler shot. It was an abrupt and welcomed departure from some of the laissez-faire defensive efforts we have seen this season. Not many teams will even get close to us if we can duplicate that intensity on D in our remaining games.

Kaylon may be starting to get comfortable in his new Horizon environs

Butler was literally out of the game just a few minutes into the second half. It was like some kind of Bizzaro version of our blowout losses (where we are the ones on the destroying end!).

We had gotten used to being on the receiving end of these lopsided games- and it was a thing of beauty to see us pop off that bottled up frustration and become the ones punishing and not receiving punishment (especially when the opponent was the team that didn't lose a single conference game last season).

Butler's Matt Howard got pushed around in the post and the officiating crew had obviously seen more than their share of his flops in the past. They weren't biting- and so, Ant began barking. It was one of the most dominating games I have ever seen Anthony play.

Ant put in one of his best offensive performances in a Milwaukee uniform last Saturday night

After causing quite a scare in the 4,000+ boisterous (mostly Panther) fans when he went down with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury, Ant got taped up on the sidelines, and returned to wild cheers. When he got the rock again- he didn't miss a beat. Butler had no answer for our postmaster... and boy did that feel good to witness.

The biggest story of the night though was Junior transfer and Panther point man Kaylon Williams. KW recorded the first UWM triple-double since Marc Mitchell (who was reportedly in attendance with son and Rufus King HS sophomore guard Austin Malone-Mitchell) achieved the feat way back in 1993. Williams (10pts, 10rbs, 10ast) has not played bad at all this season, but I think a lot of Panther fans were hoping he would be more than "just" a facilitator and a 5 points/4 assist/4 rebounds kind of guy. The good news is- he is more than that, and then some.

Matt Howard had his hands. knees, legs and arms full going up against Ant

With the games he had in Detroit and last night- KW certainly seems poised to become a play-maker in his first season as a Panther. Can't wait to see what more he has up his sleeve.

Tone Boyle (15pts, 9rbs, 4-7 from 3pt) and Tony Meier (20pts, 4-7 from 3pt) contributed greatly. With those two, Ja'Rob and Lonnie we have one of the more formidable perimeter teams in the Horizon. Kaylon's recent foray into three point success (watch the final highlight in the video below- you will be floored by the ease with which KW drains a 3 over Matt Howard) is just the cherry on the sundae.

But can we keep it up?

Our three point shooting has been excellent the past two games. Perhaps Kaylon Williams post-game comments about the fact that the great shooters on this team have been hitting shots all season (even if not in some painful losses we've had) is hinting at the fact that this isn't just a fluke.

We have some real offensive firepower on this team- and maybe with last night's confidence injection, the cat's (-er.. the Panther's!) out of the bag.

Our guys can shoot well, and maybe they aren't likely to ever go back to laying bricks from long distance (and overall) from here on out. I'm sure we'll have our games where we won't shoot this well.... But if we can simply shoot over 40% overall and at least 33% from 3pt from now until it's over, very good things could happen for your Milwaukee Panthers.

This is about the happiest the team (and fans) has been yet this season.. 'Mo is a helluva thing.

Milwaukee (8-8, 3-2) now has the opportunity to really make a big early season conference push. None of these upcoming games will be easy. But the game in Green Bay this Saturday night, and the following home stand against UIC and Loyola look a lot more winnable after our second half in Detroit and the immaculate beat-down we gave Butler last night.

The roller-coaster continues. But at least we are still hanging on. The odds are still stacked against us, but a few more (or hopefully several) wins in a row could have even the Panther non-faithful questioning not Rob Jeter and his staff's leadership and coaching abilities but rather their own short-sighted accusations of people like me being "Pollyanna"-ish in believing that this team is a whole lot better than their record would indicate.

Very well-cut highlight film from the game, courtesy of the Milwaukee AD (uwmpantehrs.com)

I am not saying we are world-beaters and on our way back to the Big Dance- I am just saying that we do have a very talented team and they deserve our support. If you are a true Panther fan, your fanhood would never even be in question- not by me, not by yourself. If you can't stomach the rough and tumble of being a Mid-Major, you might find a more comfortable situation following Wisconsin or Marquette here in state or Duke or Michigan State from afar.

Yes, this was only one game.. But you cannot say that dominant performance by our Panthers wasn't impressive as all get out relative to our lack of any similar blowouts vs. very good teams in recent years. Maybe us "silver-lining hunters" aren't really that naive at all. Maybe, earlier in the season (even in some of the blowouts) we just saw flashes of the beautiful thunderstorm that bolted down and soaked Butler in the Cell last night. We aren't crazy. We are Klotsche Crazy.

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT GREEN BAY!!

Milwaukee Bests Detroit in Overtime Thriller, Improves to 7-8 (2-2)

2011-01-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

For the first time in over four years, I missed a Milwaukee Panthers Men's Basketball game (no radio, no TV, no updates, nothing!). I am a Northwestern Wildcat football fan as Milwaukee unfortunately has no football team and though I grew up as a Wisconsin and Northwestern football fan, my NCAA football (and innate underdog) allegiance has been with NU for some time.

In short- I was in Dallas at the famous Cotton Bowl stadium with my Dad (an NU alum) watching a Dan Persa-less Northwestern put up a strong fight against Texas Tech in the Ticket City Bowl (if that doesn't make sense, forget it- it's college football confusion... read on).

I can only report the few facts I have gleaned from ESPN, uwmpanthers.com and and other box scores and reports. In short, your Milwaukee Panthers rang in the new year with an exciting win. Detroit may have folded a bit down the stretch to help get us this road victory, but this was by no means an easy one from all accounts. Our three point shooting was on fire in the second half and served as the main catalyst for this W.

We shot just over 40% from the field (and we won.. "hint, hint- read my last post"), and shot a heater-like 43.2% (16-37) on a non-stop barrage of 3's (and this, despite beginning the game 1-10 from the great beyond..).

No team wants to have a one-dimensional "hit 3's or go bust" strategy and we are no different. But on this afternoon- it got the job done in spite of several miscues that have cost us the W in many other games this season.

After a so-so first half and a hot-handed second, the Panthers found themselves down by 3 points with 10 seconds left and the ball in their paws. Kaylon Williams was spotted wide open and with just a single tick remaining on the clock, drilled his biggest shot as a Panther so far- a 3 (what else this game?), that sent it into overtime.

A Tone Boyle three with about a minute left in OT sealed it, and like the fresh start we were hoping for in 2011- at the end of the day when the players left the court, the scoreboard read 84-81, Milwaukee.

Unfortunately, this game did not see Ant (5pts, 4rbs) bust out of his minor slump (we have gotten to the point where we expect at least double from Mr. Hill- he has come a long way and this season is his final act!)- but Detroit's aggressive and talented big men were too much for Ant to get into much of a rhythm.

I'm not too concerned- have you seen a great Anthony Hill performance in the post? He ain't gonna disappear. I expect he'll be back to show Matt Howard who own's Milwaukee's Cell tomorrow night.

We may have a losing record now- but we are 1-0 in 2011.

Tone Boyle lead the Panthers with 24 points including a scorching 5-9 from beyond the arc and 7-8 from the FT line. The Panthers actually put 5 players in double digits. In addition to Tone- K-Dub (17pts, 7 rbs, 4ast), Meier (11pts, 8rbs), J-Mac (15pts), and Big Boga (10pts) also tallied double figure scoring totals. It was a very good game for many players on this New Year's Day Detroit turnaround game.

As much as we did fight hard and got this victory- if we play like we did against the Titans (all 3's no post action and costly TO's) we would likely lose tomorrow night against Butler (we had 18 turnovers- TO's continue to harm us almost as much as our inconsistent FG and FT shooting).

But who knows? It's easy to be a hater and try to shoot down any dream. It's a lot harder to be an unconditional supporter of a Mid-Major program that is going to let you down a lot more times than a fan of a High-Major program could stomach and believe that this thing called Milwaukee Panther Basketball can actually take flight- and soar to once-familiar or even new heights some day.

I believe in it. I believe in them. Do you?

GO PANTHERS!!!! BEAT BUTLER!!!!

Like a Hurricane: Panthers Battered and Beaten Down by Wright State, Lose 68-44

2010-12-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

The beat goes on with the unpredictability of your Milwaukee Panthers. While we came out with some impressive offensive intensity/accuracy (if not defensive poise/fortitude) in the first half at the Nutter Center... it would not at all carry into the second frame.

We went into the visitors locker room down 40-29- a disappointing, but very manageable margin to overcome. We ended up looking like the D-III team "Northwood" that the Raiders battered 75-55 earlier this season. Ultimately we fell- and fell hard (68-44).

We are not an early season "prep-game" team- we are better than this. I don't really know how many times I can say that, but I find myself saying it yet again (it's the truth- for analogy, if the 2010 Packers were to lose this coming Sunday and miss the playoffs- can you really say, they are a "bad" and untalented team? Hell no- they are an extremely talented bunch that couldn't close the deal in (now 6- hopefully not 7) games)..

Though I admit this analogy falls apart when you consider that the Pack has at least lost by a score or less in each of their losses... We haven't been so fortunate to make our losses nearly as close.

Tony Meier provided our lead in scoring (15pts) and Cooper Land of the Raiders had a career night with 21 points. The first half was shaping up to be a showdown between Meier and Land, but in the end the Panther side of this equation was just a sideshow to the Wright State faithful (and don't call me a traitor or a hater- it hurts bad to type that).

Wright State shot the lights out (56.5% FG, 61.1% 3pt), and we shot ourselves in the foot (36% FG, 24% 3pt, 40% FT). All else being around even.. it was shooting that once again downed our Panther ship. When oh when will we figure out how to consistently shoot over 40%?

It's not some sort of complex riddle- we have lost every time we've shot less than that magic number (including all blowouts- look it up). When we shoot over 40%- we win (or we at least provide entertainment for the people who buy our tickets or spend time following our team).

As one of the biggest defenders of this program since 2006, I'll admit, it is becoming harder and harder to find the silver lining. We cannot keep giving the impression that we are not fighters. We are fighters, but we keep melting down at the first sign of trouble.

But a loss like this on the road certainly cannot be attributed to lack of fan support (or to that end, "home court advantage"- the Great Recession had US Cell attendance figures in the normally well-packed Nutter Center tonight (or it appeared that way to me at least))..

I don't mean to be a downer- but sometimes tough love is the only way to get the message through: what we are doing right now is working less than 50% of the time. This is not the way would-be champions play.

Though in the depths of despair, with the '10-'11 Panthers Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde approach to the season, it would not surprise me one bit if this team makes some (maybe very) big splash wins before the season is over. The sad but true fact is- time is running out on this season. The chance to make this a successful (ie. "winning") campaign are dwindling with every loss, but seem increasingly dimmer with every blowout .

Let's enumerate- @ Portland (80-60), CSU (82-59), @ UW (61-40), @ DePaul (61-47), @ Wright State (68-44). Those aren't very encouraging results. It's important to note that last year's team, while equally criticized for not being the "next Milwaukee Panthers Big Dance team" at least were competitive in their losses (only bona-fide blowouts were @ Marquette (71-51) and vs. Detroit (81-65)).

It's tough, but all we can do is hope the team trudges on and can somehow alchemize the less-than-average season we've had so far... We've got some gold deep down in this roster, but for whatever reason it has yet to manifest itself for more than a few 5 or 10 minute stretches in games.

Of course our game at South Dakota State is an exception- that was the kind of team we expected we'd have this season.. but our mind-boggling shooting stats that game are unlikely to ever be duplicated again this season.

When we are down in games and start experiencing adversity, we have to find ways to win. But in order to put ourselves in a position to do so, we have to be at least within 10 points in the final 5 minutes which, in nearly all of the blowout losses listed above- we weren't.

Some of us will always love this team- even if we were to go 6-25 this season. But, Milwaukee Panthers- many, many borderline fans wanna love you, but they keep getting blown away (and not in a good way... but rather a Neil Young "Like a Hurricane" kinda way).

Rick Costello Named New Director of Milwaukee Athletics

2010-12-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

MPTracks and Panther fans everywhere give a very warm welcome to Mr. Rick Costello, who has been named the new UWM AD replacing interim AD Charlie Gross who had been filling in after George Koonce's abrupt departure.

Panther fans- meet your new AD, Rick Costello

Costello's public presentation which helped secure him the job can be heard over at PantherU.com: http://pantheru.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/rick-costellos-presentation/. Personally, I liked all three of the final candidates and found them to all have the qualifications necessary for this high position, but Costello seems to have the most experience that an athletics program and school like ours needs. His experience and expertise in many areas neatly fit with UWM's culture and the need to address our major needs:

Huge fundraising experience, experience building facilities (new 7,000 seat East Side Arena circa 2014?)

Has balanced multiple multi-million dollar budgets (budgets much larger than our own)

Holds a Master of Business Administration degree- something that a department who has long been a lo$ing business might benefit from.

Experience turning around a D-I bottom feeder's image (South Florida)

Experience in an urban university setting (Costello will be leaving his current job as Rutgers Deputy AD)

And..... (most important to us basketball fans..) he knows and loves the game of college basketball. Or he at least liked it enough to be the assistant coach on two teams (Lehigh and Cabrini College).

The university spent lots of money getting a defined "M" logo and upgrading Pounce, yet has done next to nothing to promote these very nice looking image advancements...

He will need to recognize that everything in UWM's AD starts with and is driven by the men's basketball program. That is in no way a diss to the women's team who almost upset Michigan State earlier this season, or to the men's or women's soccer teams (Sarah Hagen is among the top 11 players in the entire country) or the Volleyball team who dominated the Horizon League last season or Baseball who reached the NCAA Tourney last spring.

But if we are being honest, we must recognize that men's basketball is what can turn everything around. It can support the entire department (alternatively it can be a huge drain on the department, which some protest it currently is without any non-League post-season appearances since 2006). That one program will ultimately drive our successful future, or drive us into a ditch.

Support for all sports is important, but making sure the men's basketball team is successful and maximizing fan support behind it are paramount to repairing this university's image in the world of collegiate athletics.

In addition to making sure this basketball school has a good basketball program and fan experience at basketball games, serious thought should be given to harnessing some of our unique strengths to motivate the sickeningly huge yet apathetic alumni base and fan base we have right here in the Greater Milwaukee Area (ie. making soccer games a bigger event and leveraging the advantage Milwaukee Panther Baseball has being the only D-I program in the state- and good to boot!).

Costello certainly has his work cut out for him, that is the only sure thing at this point. But he sounds very confident and very realistic about our challenges and opportunities. I would love to see him hit the ground running.

For example- he could start with a relatively easy-win by implementing a branding/image standards document and sternly but graciously requesting that media outlets and merchandisers follow it. Yes, I am talking to YOU, JOURNAL-SENTINEL SPORTS, the stubborn and lonely home of "UW-Milwaukee Panthers" coverage..

Tom Enlund (JS Panther Hoops beat reporter) is an awesome writer and you are handicapping him with a cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face "policy" of refusing to acknowledge the fact that our teams are called the Milwaukee Panthers and not the "UW-Milwaukee Panthers".

The Milwaukee Panthers deserve respect at the very least from our hometown newspaper, and with Costello's help, they may get it. And while we are on easy-wins, let's consider giving the public a little more visibility into progress being made with the Master Plan. They deserve more than fancy Power-Points and enticing JS blog posts about the "Master Plan". Where is it at? What is the schedule? Has any kind of progress been made since it was announced over a year ago?

Though we play UW (doesn't that make them the UW-Madison Badgers, JS?) and MU, their commitment to Athletics is worlds apart from ours... let's hope Costello can convince the UWM Academic brass that ultimately- Athletics can only help the academic mission of being a great Midwestern urban university.

But right now, like many Panthers, I am just happy to see we now have an AD in place again and can start building our future.

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Milwaukee Panthers Mid-Term Grade Report

2010-12-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

In college, us students get graded every semester, the college basketball season spans two entire semesters. So as the first full semester of UWM Fall 2010 academics has completed and final grades are out, I thought I'd throw out some thoughts on where I think we are at as a team- at the near-'10-'11 "Mid-Term" point in our season.

Fortunately these grades do not matter. It's the real grades in the classroom that count. But I would imagine it's a lot easier to focus on studying Economics, History, Communications, Sociology, etc. during the grueling grind of a college athletics schedule when you are acing it on the basketball court as well as in the classroom. I know full well that it isn't easy, but I also know we have several big advantages that haven't yet fully "panned" out yet.

We shouldn't be average. We're Contenders. We are Milwaukee.

I don't mean to be harsh, I mean to be realistic. We are a lot better than this first 40 some % of our season. So far, I'd say (without any sort of "Mid-Major" curve) these are the mid-term grades for our Panthers:

Offense: C
Defense: C
Overall: C

The two words, "consistently inconsistent" explain this wash of a result in our fist 13 contests. Let's hope they don't define our season.

We haven't been terrible (excepting more than a few painful stretches), but we haven't been all that great either. While we've seen moments of offensive fury (all game at Niagara, late vs Marquette, Ant's 30 points vs. YSU, all day vs. SDSU, late vs. Bowling Green)- overall, we have been an average offensive team so far.

Milwaukee is currently averaging 67 points a game with shooting percentages of .428 from the field, .351 from 3pt and .609 from the free throw line. Not exactly numbers that jump off the stat sheet. But we've got some shooters and we have a lot of games to improve these numbers.

Ant Hill leads the team with 13 points per (which is 1.3 behind the League's next lowest team scoring leader*- Goeff McCammom of Loyola). We do spread the scoring around a lot with seven players averaging 5 points or more per game (but I think that has more to do with inconsistency that a conscious effort to spread the scoring around).

The bottom line is- no matter who has the ball or who has the open look- we've gotta score a whole lot more. No question about it.

And maybe a big reason for our inability to get into long stretches of offensive rhythm is our 14 turnovers per game average. We have constantly been rattled out of our element when teams play us man or put on a full court press after a scoring possession. It's hard to find the omnipotent Mo' when we keep coughing up the rock- 7 times each half.

I wish some newly departed fans were brave and bold enough to have seen beyond a 6-7 start.

Our Defense gets equally low marks. We have no one averaging even a single block per game and only Kaylon Williams is averaging an entire steal per game (1.0). As a team, we average 209th or lower in every major statistical category (out of 347 D-I teams). When you look at some of what we [haven't] done, it appears that we are actually somewhat fortunate to have 6 wins and be very much alive at this point in the season.

But those flashes of greatness are etched into my brain. I can't get them out, and I know I am not alone in that sentiment about this season and this Panther squad. I refuse to cave in and go along with the naysayers who claim the hype behind this and last year's team was unwarranted and that we are a program not on the rise but on the decline.

Though non-con was up and down, Pounce may be about to Pounce on the Horizon League..

I wouldn't judge so fast.

So far, I think everyone would agree the season has gone pretty average. Most Panther fans (me, the most of which) had much higher expectations for this season. It would have been nice to have gotten a few more wins and to have avoided blowouts like we had vs. Portland and CSU, but the record is what it is. No use moping when 17 games remain.

Maybe Christmas Break was just the thing this team needed to snap out of it and remember that they are contenders and not just in this Horizon League race to vie for a middle of the pack finish- we have too much talent to settle for less than what we realistically can get.

The low point of the '10-'11 Milwaukee Panther Basketball season (let's hope).

These Panthers may yet have some fight in them to take control of their season. Nearly every sport is all about momentum. That's 99% of winning. It doesn't matter what happened before. If you have more momentum than your opponent you will win regardless of your conference, or past record at the venue or against the team, or coach's name, or record coming into the game, or whatever.

College Hoops is no different- it's all about the scoring/defensive stop/winning streak. Once we figure that out, and find consistency, it'll most definitely be Game Over for our Horizon League foes. The question remains though- will we figure that out?

Bruce Panther, can you just become the Incredible Hulk and stay that way 'till April/May?

GO PANTHERS!!!!

*What we desperately need to make the big come-back happen is for a team leader or leaders to emerge. Between Ant, Tone, Kaylon, Tony, Ja'rob, Lonnie, etc.- will one or more or all step up and answer the call?

Panthers Relinquish Lead, Battle Back to Fend Off Falcons, 72-69

2010-12-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

Your Milwaukee Panthers came storming out of the gates this Saturday evening against the Bowling Green Falcons. Despite Anthony Hill's conspicuous absence, we still seemed to have a great shot at not only winning this game, but winning it big. We quickly stretched the shutout lead to 10-0, before things slowly... began... to crumble (kinda like DePaul).

After a couple of Falcon runs brought Bowling Green within a couple of possessions, we seemed to lose control of the wheel in this one... We ended up heading into the locker room down 36-35 and the spirits of Panther fans were on edge.

The second half saw the Panthers let Bowling Green's lead stretch to 11 points before they began to strike back. With about 14 minutes left, your Milwaukee Panthers began to take the game back. Tone Boyle (22pts, 7-14 from 3pt) and Tony Meier (20pts, 5ast) dominated and kept inching us closer.. and then we had it. "It" being momentum- it carried us through to the end and thanks to a clutch free throw by Ryan Haggerty, we closed the game out with a relieving if not comfortable winning final margin.

Milwaukee (6-7, 1-1) put up some encouraging numbers offensively- 48% FG, 40% 3PT and 71% FT. It's surprising that we gave up as many points as we did as our D seemed more intense than I personally have ever seen them play this season. Let's hope the intensity eventually translate into some serious defensive success. The turnover battle (we lost 12-8) is probably the main factor to explain why this one was so unexpectedly close (Milwuakee was a 10.5pt favorite).

The Panthers resume Horizon League play after Christmas when they will go on the road to play Wright State (Dec. 30th) and then Detroit on New Year's Day. This team remains an enigma in many ways. They have proven they can play against good competition, but they have had nights (like tonight at times) that make you wonder how they can let lesser teams even get in the game against them.

Many things tonight were encouraging- Kaylon (7pts, 7rbs, 6ast, and onlt 2 turnovers) ran the point well. Tone poured it on as mentioned. I wish Ant would have been out there, but hopefully he'll be back after break. Tony Meier continues to assert himself- and folks who have prematurely given up on this season should remember Tony is still just a Junior..

So we are a single game under .500. We can get back to an even slate with a win on the road against a good Wright State (7-5, 0-1) team. We must control conference. League play is our last remaining hope to dominate and get to a significant winning record. And conference play will largely determine how well we can do (or how far we can go) in the Horizon League Tournament in March of next year...

Let's go. We've lost some time, but we can still turn the season around. Don't give up on this team. They may just find their rhythm- there are certainly challenges (UIC just beat #14 Illinois, CSU, and a teak named Butler..), but we can win games. We proved tonight for the first time this season, that yes, this team can come back from a deficit.

We need more of the fight that was clearly evident in the final 10 minutes. We need that kind of passion every game. The guys who can give us that will play- and we will win a LOT of games with a go hard 24/7 attitude. Until then.... we will tread water around .500 and remain on the outside of the Horizon League looking in.

GO PANTHERS!!!!