New Coach

[uwm97]

As has been stated on here countless times this season, there will be no new coach next season. So let's focus on what two things this staff does need to do for next season:

1. Get a true and legitimate PG on this roster once and for all. Yes, a JUCO PG would be all nice and dandy, but the ultimate goal would be to bring in a kid as a freshman and develop him, a la Chris Hill. Maybe that player is Charles Lee, maybe it's somebody else. Don't know. But get one.

2. Everyone knows there are ebbs and flows throughout the season, but this team needs to focus on playing more consistently throughout the course of the season. That's why we were the fourth seed in the conference tournament instead of the second: losing at home to Loyola, blowing games against Cleveland St. and Valpo on the road, etc.

It's great this team finished the season strong and all of that. But let's not perform a victory dance for giving Butler a good game in the damn conference semi-finals. The program simply has to take the next step, and that is being in the mix for the conference championship. While there are some talented high school kids coming in next season, it's foolish to think that they'll come in and set the world on fire. We're losing two pretty good players in Franklin and Eayrs. Bringing in a quality PG is absolutely imperative for this team to compete at a high level. Let's hope it happens, otherwise we'll be having the conversation next season at this time about how the team was young and we'll be better next year. The "next year" mantra doesn't have many legs anymore.

[GVD]

Mar 6, 2010 21:26:03 GMT -6 jennro716 said:

Let the search for a new head coach begin! Hopefully we can get a coach who has some heart and some Panther Pride, cause we have been missing that for the last 5 years! Who's the best choice to restore some pride to Panther basketball?

Some words of advice. If you're going to start a topic for "discussion", you may want to phrase it in a way that actually allows for said discussion.

[PantherLou]

Mar 6, 2010 21:26:03 GMT -6 jennro716 said:

Who's the best choice to restore some pride to Panther basketball?

My vote goes to Rob Jeter.

[nohopspanther]

There are a hell of a lot of people in this thread who are certain they have real gold in their hands after the run to finish the season. Maybe we should learn from UIC's mistake of keeping Jimmy Collins around. Can this school afford to fire Jeter? No. So bet it all on next year because nothing is going to change between now and then.

[uwm97]

Absolutely. Judging by some of these posts you'd think we made the NCAA's again. We made it to HL semifinals here, people. We beat two teams that were seeded lower than us. We were 10-8 in the conference docket. Granted, this team has not been all that good since 2006, but isn't this the bare minimum that should be acceptable at this point?

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2010 19:30:02 GMT -6 uwm97 said:

Absolutely. Judging by some of these posts you'd think we made the NCAA's again. We made it to HL semifinals here, people. We beat two teams that were seeded lower than us. We were 10-8 in the conference docket. Granted, this team has not been all that good since 2006, but isn't this the bare minimum that should be acceptable at this point?

But you know what? They have improved every freaking year since 06-07. You don't just go back to the top of the league right away after you finish 9-22. They improved quite a bit this season especially with the returning team scoring leader injured the entire season and at times starting at least 2 freshman in the lineup. They played a majority of the last 5 minutes vs UIC last Tuesday with 4 freshman on the court in a conference tournament game and won. That is an experience builder. They were playing their best basketball here at the end and that's what you want. Now next year is indeed the catalyst. The talent is there to do even better. How that plays out though is up to the coaches and the players coming back and the ones coming in. This recruiting class coming in is one of the strongest on paper ones the program has had in a while...both Richard and Kelm are candidates for Mr. Basketball here in Wisconsin. They are both ranked amongst the top 20 seniors in this state. So recruiting keeps on improving as they program continues improving as well. You can't even say Jeter hasn't beaten his rivals because they have wins over Green Bay (3-3 in the last 3 seasons) and Butler both within the last year (and the 3 losses this year were by 13, 7 and 9 points - albeit there was no win like last year but no 30 point embarrassment at Hinkle either). If there was no signs of improvement whatsoever, yes then you start looking in a different direction but you don't when there very clearly has been fairly large improvement the last 3 seasons.

[Rawls]

Is 10-8 and conference semifinalist gonna get us a banner? No. Has Coach Jeter made me want to extend his contract? No. Am I fully satisfied with the way this season went? No. But we've made progress every year of Coach Jeter's tenure, save his first when he sat and watched BP's boys get it done. Coach Jeter's style is a complete 180 from Bruce's. It takes time to bring in your recruits and then get them to be successful. The crowds are also growing. We are making progress.

When our record is worse than the previous year, let me know.
When you find a replacement that is available and can work with the skills Rob's guys have, who can duplicate BP's ability to get a campus fired up, who can get the most skilled recruits without sacrificing any character issues, let me know.
When you know how to pay the remainder of Coach Jeter's contract, and his replacement's contract while still trying to sell a new on-campus arena, let me know.

Til then, I'm on Team Jeter.

[Deleted]

To Jennro: That was some of the worst circular discourse I have ever read. Leave it alone because he isn't going any where-it's a moot point.

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2010 20:04:59 GMT -6 Rawls said:

Is 10-8 and conference semifinalist gonna get us a banner? No. Has Coach Jeter made me want to extend his contract? No.

Am I fully satisfied with the way this season went? No. But we've made progress every year of Coach Jeter's tenure, save his first when he sat and watched BP's boys get it done. Coach Jeter's style is a complete 180 from Bruce's.

It takes time to bring in your recruits and then get them to be successful. The crowds are also growing. We are making progress.

When our record is worse than the previous year, let me know.
When you find a replacement that is available and can work with the skills Rob's guys have, who can duplicate BP's ability to get a campus fired up, who can get the most skilled recruits without sacrificing any character issues, let me know.

When you know how to pay the remainder of Coach Jeter's contract, and his replacement's contract while still trying to sell a new on-campus arena, let me know.

Til then, I'm on Team Jeter.

I think this is (or at least should be) the sentiment of the majority of Panther nation.

Things aren't that bad. Can they get better? Absolutely. And I trust that they will. But all the talk of "we must can the coach, we are a Sweet 16 team!" needs to stop.

The 2005 run was not (or at least I HOPE NOT!) an aberration... but it also is not the norm for a program as green as ours (to newcomers to tha board- despite a brief foray into the D-I mix in the 70's, UWM has only [permanently] been in D-I since 1992).

3 Tourney Appearances: a missed layup loss to Notre Dame in 2003, a win over Kelvin Sampson and a Round of 32 in 2006, and a Boston College-Jared Dudley-humbling Sweet 16 in 2005? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I think we UWM fans should be encouraged by what went down this season (still can't get over the 3 wins that weren't). Should making the NCAA Tourney next year be a goal for us? Correct me if I'm off, but why the hell not?

[ghostofdylan]

I, for one, am not yet ready for the postmortem discussion on the season. We should all be prepared to back everyone in the program until the season is absolutely over.

Some say they don't care about a first-round CIT home game against, say, Akron. I say that if we get invited to one of these secondary tournaments, let's plan on playing four games. Why else would you accept the bid?

As for the argument about the progress or inertia of the program, I wonder how an arbitrator would rule on the question? Here's one method I use to measure my satisfaction: preseason expectations.

These were mine:

*Top four finish in the league
*Trip to the league tournament semifinals
*Twelve conference wins
*Twenty overall wins
*Some kind of postseason tournament

Now, I realize that the path was circuitous and at times torturous, but the team eventually did reach three of these goals -- four if you include HL postseason tournament victories -- and the last one is still in play. Remember that the team was coming off a 17-14 season a year ago, not a 20-win campaign with most of the nucleus returning intact.

As a pre-emptive shush to those who pounce upon the word satisfied, I am satisfied with the season in the short term but not with a fourth-place finish and a league semifinal loss in the long term. In other words, we all should expect that the Panthers will get better.

Do we have to? I think Rob is plenty secure in his job.

[repoman]

Jeez people, lay off Jennro. I have season tickets with 2 other guys and we have discussed Jeter getting canned so its not like he's the lone guy out there saying these things. I will admit that after the strong finish and they way they played in the HL tournament I am kind of off the fire Jeter bandwagon. I think we have a great team coming back next year and I think he should be able to coach them again and I think this team could win 20 games again.

[ghostofdylan]

And if Rob oversees another 20-win campaign, he can lay claim to three of the 11 20-win seasons in 115 years of basketball at the school -- two with his own players. I would think that would make him even more secure, wouldn't it?

[boudreau4president]

I'm not on or off the Jeter bandwagon but after reading the posts I think many questions do have to come up. People are talking about a 20game win season and it's "good enough". Yeah it's better than we've been but are we going to be satisfied with going into the HL tournament every year and being knocked out first or second round? As fans, I think we all want the best and the best that you can ever ask of a program is to have the chance to win. I you go into the season with a "chance", then as a staff, you are doing your job.

I feel that if the staff is given all the resources they need to be successful, contending every year and having that "chance" should be happening. Now I'm not 100% positive what all other teams in the HL have as far as facility, staff, salary, budget, etc. But I have to feel that after looking at all other teams and their staff numbers, we are probably outdoing other teams in all or most of these areas.

Should Jeter keep his job? Yes. I think we give him more time to see what he can do. It takes time to build a program and get your own people in to play for you. I think by the time Jeter's contract is up in the next few years, we'll have a very clear picture of what the future of Panther basketball will look like with Jeter at the helm.

[BBFran]

Excuse me, but we just lost in the THIRD round of the HLT -- to the prohibitive favorite, at their place.

And if you think we are "outdoing" most other HL teams in terms of how our program is supported I have news for you. Rob and his guys have been fighting on two fronts, I'm sorry to say.

[PantherLou]

Mar 7, 2010 21:52:09 GMT -6 boudreau4president said:

But I have to feel that after looking at all other teams and their staff numbers, we are probably outdoing other teams in all or most of these areas.

Trust me, we are at best middle of the road when it comes to facilities, funding, and support staff in this conference. There is no way that we "outdo other teams in all or most areas."