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Post by PANTHERfan on Oct 10, 2006 13:37:38 GMT -6
this poll's prediction is neither surprising nor insulting. replacing the most formidable squad the school's ever assembled will be a difficult task, but one i believe Jeter and company are up to. while we all know this team has a lot of potential in terms of new talent, until they step on the floor and start beating league foes that won't mean much. it's not like we're putting "Carolina" talent out there that can overcome chemistry issues and growing pains. that said, i'd agree that the top teams in the HL this year aren't nearly as strong as the past two Panther teams. Loyola may be picked number one but we all know they're very beatable... as is any other team in the HL.
i'm looking forward to watching this new team grow and undoubtably surprise some people along the way. if they come together like many think they can, next year could be very interesting to say the least.
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Post by coldwind on Oct 10, 2006 13:46:28 GMT -6
I think that we do have the most talented team in the League.
Gentry,Franklin,Paulsen are all very,very talented guys.They may be young,but they can ball.And as we all know,Jeter is probably the best coach in the League.When I look at the other teams,if a game is close,or comes down to match-ups,I like our chances over anyone in the League
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Post by pnthr97 on Oct 10, 2006 14:36:54 GMT -6
Not suprised at all by the predictions here. Our team is going to struggle this year - let's not fool ourselves. Losing your top 7 scorers is an unbearable task. I'm not saying this year's squad is without talent - the talent is simply unproven. Any expectation that this squad will or should finish in the top half of the conference only sets up future failure. Let this year's team learn, and take its lumps along the road. Next year's team will be dominant.
Don't take this as a "the sky is falling" post. It's just my take on what reasonable expectations should be for this year. I wouldn't at all be surprised if we finish below .500 and in the bottom half of the conference. Anything better than that is a very good year.
Should the team gel this year, next year's team could very well be top-25, even top-20 worthy.
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Post by teddyp00 on Oct 10, 2006 18:36:30 GMT -6
I will be surprised if this team would find a way to finish worse than 5th this year. There could be some big losses early (such as at Madison) and maybe a bad loss or two at home early. But by the end of the year it should be another solid year for this program. Lets keep in mind that Jeter is from a system that has proved to provide winners year in and year out and I just have a feeling we will see that in action this year.
I think this team finishes above .500 in the conference and can make some noise in the conference tourny.
Loyola is the best team easy this year with 5 starters returning (I believe) and Schilb will have a big year. I think they win the conference easy this year and lots of others fight for 2-6 spots. YSU, CSU and WSU round out the bottom three I think.
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Post by nil on Oct 10, 2006 19:00:25 GMT -6
A fall back to reality has to happen to everyone once in a while. This is the deepest the HL has been in a long, long time. I see 4 or 5 teams that should compete for the regular season crown. my guess is that there will be a big clump of teams with similar records in the top 7 spots.
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Post by nil on Oct 10, 2006 22:08:15 GMT -6
since when has butler had a great post presence? It seems that someone who isnt the prototypical post player always handles the little inside scoring, and rebounding that is a part of the system. I agree that a true center would be nice, but we've got our equivelant of that coming next year. In the mean time, you'll see Campell and Ligon mixing it up in the post. I think a steady dose of good shooting, ball handling, and defense will do just fine! None the less, I expect BU to mix it up at the top with everyone else... I imagine it will come down to the final week of play to decide the top of the board.
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Post by nil on Oct 10, 2006 22:12:00 GMT -6
I should say, since when has BU had a big guy handling the post. Polk was undersized and tore it up... I wouldnt be suprised to see someone who isnt the typical post player fit into the system and contribute whats necessary.
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Post by dylanrocks on Oct 10, 2006 22:14:46 GMT -6
Forecast dreary for UWM
Panthers picked to finish seventh in Horizon
By BOBBI ROQUEMORE
broquemore@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 10, 2006
The Horizon League pre-season men's basketball poll was released Tuesday, and a so-called "rebuilding" year is not quite what voters had in mind for UW-Milwaukee.
In their eyes, it could be downright frightening.
The Panthers are picked to finish seventh in the nine-team league, just a hair above perennial stragglers Youngstown State and Cleveland State.
Loyola received 31 of the 44 first-place votes to easily take first and UW-Green Bay ended up second in the poll, which surveyed league coaches, sports information directors and reporters.
Panthers coach Rob Jeter maintained a cool demeanor last season when UWM topped the pre-season poll in a landslide, and he did the same when the 2006-'07 version predicted a much different fate.
But the fact that UWM has seized the regular-season conference championship for three consecutive years, he added, should count for something.
"You can't forget about tradition," Jeter said. "You can't forget about a program that's used to winning. That success breeds success. We've been the champs the last three years and we EXPECT to defend our championship."
After Loyola (373) and Green Bay (334) were Detroit (286), Illinois-Chicago (231), Wright State (217), Butler (201), UWM (145), Youngstown State (116) and Cleveland State (77), respectively.
How the Panthers fell from grace in the eyes of league voters can be summed up quickly.
All five starters from 2005-'06 are gone. In all, seven seniors — each of whom received significant playing time — are history, and two additional key scholarship players transferred in the off-season.
Eight players have joined the program, and three additional players who sat out last season enter the fold as well.
Meanwhile, other Horizon League teams have plenty of experience together as a unit.
Loyola brings back all five starters, including two-time all-Horizon first-team honoree Blake Schilb, a 6-foot-7 senior guard.
UWGB's heralded freshman class from last season is now a year older and wiser, and steady senior guard Ryan Evanochko gives the Phoenix added experience at the point.
"We started three freshmen, and we kind of threw them into the fire, but I liked how they responded," Phoenix coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "They grew together and learned a lot about how to compete at our level. The off-season has served them well, and I think we're certainly a better basketball team."
The Phoenix and Ramblers were two of five teams tied for third place at the end of the season with 8-8 league marks.
The same scenario could play out this season in the battle for No. 1. And the Panthers, Jeter said, expect to be in that group, regardless of what is being said about them now.
"We're just trying to get ourselves ready for that first game of the year, just get better, so that when the league starts, we're ready to compete," Jeter said. "And I know, based on the schedule we have this year, we'll be definitely ready to compete."
Hello world
UWM and UWGB are staging events this weekend to celebrate the start of a new basketball season.
UWM's "Panther Madness" begins at 4 p.m. Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The event starts with a volleyball match between UWM and Butler, and the men's and women's basketball teams will take the court afterwards.
With Lambeau Field quiet Sunday because of the Green Bay Packers' bye week, a chance to "Meet the Phoenix" is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Both events are free and open to the public.
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Post by dylanrocks on Oct 10, 2006 22:27:51 GMT -6
Would this be anything like "Meet the Phockers?"
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Post by Pantherholic on Oct 10, 2006 22:55:51 GMT -6
If Ligon's game is a lot like last year's, i hope he starts b/c that guy sucks, Betko too. put the two of them on the court together and its a 5 on 3 advantage. Betko makes Pancratz look like D-Wade. as far as Bobbi's article not only am i glad she seems to think there's no hope for this year BUT she advertises a GB event. wtf is that?! terrible. hell look at the front page of our section... www.jsonline.com/index/index.aspx?id=37 |
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Post by nil on Oct 11, 2006 6:51:21 GMT -6
I took your comment as meaing a true "big man" banging down low... Cornett and Polk did handle the ball well at the post. People (including myself) ask how many 6-4 to 6-6 guys can we get before we get a 6-8 post guy... he's on the way finally - but we always seem to have pieces of the puzzle fit in to the post role, that normally wouldnt be looked at and thought of as a true center. There are reasons to be excited, and as you point out with the loss of Polk, reasonts to wonder... I think thats why you saw such a broad voting pattern in the pre season poll for BU; I still think BU will be in the mix at the end.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2006 7:10:48 GMT -6
If Ligon's game is a lot like last year's, i hope he starts b/c that guy sucks, Betko too. put the two of them on the court together and its a 5 on 3 advantage. Betko makes Pancratz look like D-Wade. as far as Bobbi's article not only am i glad she seems to think there's no hope for this year BUT she advertises a GB event. wtf is that?! terrible. hell look at the front page of our section... www.jsonline.com/index/index.aspx?id=37Holic, When reading the end of Bobbi's article and I saw her advertisement of the GB program, I said the same thing. UNBELIEVABLE!!! |
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Post by milwsport on Oct 11, 2006 9:11:44 GMT -6
If Ligon's game is a lot like last year's, i hope he starts b/c that guy sucks, Betko too. put the two of them on the court together and its a 5 on 3 advantage. Betko makes Pancratz look like D-Wade. as far as Bobbi's article not only am i glad she seems to think there's no hope for this year BUT she advertises a GB event. wtf is that?! terrible. hell look at the front page of our section... www.jsonline.com/index/index.aspx?id=37Holic, When reading the end of Bobbi's article and I saw her advertisement of the GB program, I said the same thing. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Awww come on guys. Repeat after me, "Bobbi does NOT work for the UWM Athletic Department." She works for the Journal Sentinel. Her job is inform readers of that paper about college athletics, the good, the bad and the ugly. Her article was fair and balanced. She didn't say she expected UWM to take a dive. She reported the results of the pre season poll. She pointed out that pre season prediction is "in their eyes" not a statement of fact. She also got some nice quotes from RJ. That's her job. (see above comment about who she does not work for) With the poll predicting a good season for UWGB, it was natural to get quotes from pmck. If that same poll had predicted a first place finish and gone unreported you guys would have screaming over its omission from the pages of the JS. As for the UWGB comment, again see above statement about who she does not work for. |
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Post by JimmyLemke on Oct 11, 2006 9:31:29 GMT -6
Exactly. Bobbi's article was very good. She's just reporting what was predicted in the Horizon League. It isn't like she made the prediction herself.
And isn't 7th place "dreary?" Come on, You can't put a positive spin on a preview like that. We'll see more positive articles when UWM reloads, not rebuilds. This team, I've said all year, is not going to drop off as much as everyone hopes.
Butler, the Horizon League "Baby School," was picked to finish fourth. Whatever. Move the Horizon League home office to Milwaukee and then we'll see what's up.
Of course, Baby School in this context is pretty different than Michael's.
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Post by Pantherholic on Oct 11, 2006 9:34:00 GMT -6
sport - when have u ever seen a beat reporter promote an event for their rival? When has the GB beat writer promoted a Bears/Vikings fan fest or the Badgers beat reporter promoting Marquette Madness or vice versa? i have no problem w/ her interviewing the poor man but promoting an event for them is crap. along w/ that, they post a pic of Jeter that's out of context and doesn't reflect his belief at all.
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