Your Milwaukee Panthers (2-6 (1-1)) got the train back on the rails this Saturday. And with authority. Instead of another round of heartache, Panther fans were privy to witness the return of Patrick Baldwin Jr. (26pts, 7reb, 3ast, 2blk) to the lineup. PBJ stepped back onto the court and proceeded to rain treys all game (6-6 from 3pt 🔥🔥🔥).
Josh Thomas (19pts, 4ast, 3stl, 2blk) got back into his fulltime role and reminded us how immensely valuable he is in the backcourt. Jordan Lathon (6pts, 10ast, 9reb, 2blk) now knows his leadership and facilitator role and demonstrated passing and an "Uncanny X-Men"-like kind of court vision that we've not seen until this game. Donavan Newby added 16 points and 3 steals. Joey St. Pierre pulled down 8 boards and swatted 4 blocks. We saw today what can happen when the PBS Panther Machine actually runs. We saw what can still be. 🏆
The Return of Patrick Baldwin Jr. exceeded all expectations as PBJ was locked. into. the. zone from Jump Street. Not only was Baldwin Jr. a perfect 6-6 from 3pt (school record) but he was also not one bit shy in the paint coming off his ankle injury. He'll be on ESPN tonight. The first of many appearances to be sure. He's created quite a buzz about Milwaukee this afternoon due in large part to the game being nationally televised on ESPNU.
The student crowd was loud and proud like we need them to be. A good ~200 strong (when full the Panther Pit can mass to 2,500- and believe it, that day will come again...). They did an above-par job of creating the kind of atmosphere we need to make Panther Arena a no-fly zone type destination for our opponents- permanently.
Rasheem Dunn had 21 points to lead RMU and was a problem for our guards most of the night. Kam Farris (14pts, most in the first half) was our other defensive problem, but Farris fortunately left the game due to an eye injury only to return without much further effect. The departure of Farris and better coverage of Dunn allowed Milwaukee to start consistently winning the crucial battle of the boards down the stretch and to start seriously carving up the Colonial defense inside and out.
In the midst of one Milwaukee's offensive runs in the second half, Baldwin Jr. imitated Seth Curry of the NBA's Golden State Warriors who, when he knows he just shot a made 3ptr, points to the opposing team's bench as if to say, "hey that's on you guys, you gotta stop me... can you stop me? 😀". Perhaps a bit too unsportsmanlike for the more conservative refs as it led to an unfortunate technical foul, killing that particular momentum burst.
But the tech call was about the worst news all game. Or no that'd be Dree Gholston's absence from the game. Did I mention DeAndre Gholston is out? He has an ankle injury that occurred in practice on Thursday. Let's hope he is ready to go for the Colorado game. I'm still scratching my head at how we played so well without him and how good we should be able to play when he returns. We need Dree.
This game seemed in the bag all morning into the early afternoon, but it actually did get tied up, 61 all with 6:14 left in the second frame. But then, your Milwaukee Panthers, first J2 (1), then JT (2) splashed in back-to-back-to-back 🌊🌊🌊 triples and that gassed us ahead for good. Checkmate. ♚
Milwaukee further expanded that lead as the second half wound down the final minutes and for once this season, Panther fans could stop biting nails, gnashing teeth and holding our collective breath- Milwaukee held the lead and cruised to victory, 85-73. This losing business is over with. We will lose again this season, but our Ls ought to be few and far between. We've gotta believe we can realistically achieve what we want to achieve. HLT 🏆++.
It cannot be overstated how much an impact PBJ has on Milwaukee. Other players seem to raise their own level of play when Baldwin Jr. is out there. All eyes on not just on PBJ- all eyes are on everyone. With Baldwin Jr. often cutting into the lane it provided a perfect receiving point for him to shoot, drive or pass to any one of four Panthers for an open shot.
We haven't seen this kind of stretching and shrinking of an opponent's defense since North Dakota. Robert Morris was not as bad as their 0-6 record may indicate, but they are bad. And while this win stops the bleeding, it is a far cry from resetting the season which we do plan to accomplish, 1 win at a time, with the next one being a bigtime road win at Colorado. No reason we can't reverse some of our earlier stumbles with a huge road win over CU.
And then Rhode Island and St. Xavier at home.
I said previously that this game in Colorado is a likely loss for Milwaukee. After today's performance I confidently say we will beat the Buffs and return to Milwaukee on an even higher note.
Give the coaches credit for a solid win today. It's a new (conference) season and we are 1-1. They have made adjustments that are showing results. I believe this coaching staff, despite their loud chorus of detractors, will take us where we all want to go. We just had to allow the pieces to settle in a bit is all. 20-11 (17-5) still in sight 🏀👓. If you think I'm joking, you must be a new reader.
If you don't believe you've already lost.
Milwaukee travels to Boulder, CO to face the Colorado Buffalos on Friday night, 12/10 at 8:30pm CST. Only one way to go and that is to win these final 3 non-con games and then go get after the #1 spot in the Horizon. We can now leave all the excuses and background noise in the rearview. New day. 🌅
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