Team preview: MilwaukeeBlue Ribbon Yearbook previews the 2011-12 season, exclusively on InsiderEmailPrintCommentsBlue Ribbon Yearbook
For the most comprehensive previews available on all 335 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college basketball, the 2011-12 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at
www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
COACH AND PROGRAM
Milwaukee, Butler and Cleveland State hit the finish line in a three-way tie for the Horizon League regular-season title last March, sporting identical 13-5 records. They all lost at least their leading scorer from a year ago, and the rebuilding race is on to see if one of the three can get back to the top in 2011-12.
The Milwaukee Panthers like their chances.
Milwaukee, which swept Butler in the regular season, fell to the Bulldogs in the Horizon League Tournament finals, from where Butler launched its second consecutive run to the NCAA Tournament championship game. The Panthers had to be content with an NIT bid and a 70-61 first-round loss to Northwestern. But still it was a memorable year in Milwaukee, with coach Rob Jeter winning Horizon League Coach-of-the-Year honors.
Jeter was subsequently mentioned for several job openings, notably Penn State, but he'll be back for a seventh year at Milwaukee, serving as dean of Horizon coaches along with Jerry Slocum at Youngstown. At one point the Panthers were just 4-5 in the league, but an overtime win at Butler on Jan. 23 launched a nine-game winning streak to close out the share of the title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
PLAYERS
The 2011-12 roster appears solid and deep. It's no small task to fill the holes left by Anthony Hill (15.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg) inside and Tone Boyle (12.9 ppg) outside. The duo served as the Panther's offensive leadership, but Jeter appears to have hustled up suitable replacements. Hill was a beast around the basket last year, turning out a pair of 30-point games. James Haarsma, a 6-7, 230-pound junior forward, becomes eligible after redshirting in 2010-11 after his transfer from Evansville. Haarsma was a starter at Evansville two years ago, averaging 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds. The Wisconsin native should plug into the rotation and be productive from the start.
Milwaukee Panthers
Last Season 19-14 (.576)
Conference Record 13-5 (t-1st)
Starters Lost/Returning 2/3
Coach Rob Jeter (Wisconsin-Platteville '91)
Record At School 101-89 (6 years)
Career Record 101-89 (6 years)
RPI Last 5 years 239-180-136-129-94
"I expect James to have a huge impact," Jeter said. "He's a little undersized, but he makes up for it with heart and toughness."
There is another newcomer to help make up some of Hill's numbers: junior college transfer Demetrius Harris, from Mineral Area (Mo.) Community College. Like Haarsma, Harris is a force on the glass. He averaged 11.5 points and 7.8 boards last year at Mineral Area, where his coach described him as a "Ben Wallace throw-back" type guy. That's high praise for toughness. Harris was originally intending to play college football at Arkansas State, another indication he won't be pushed around in the paint.
"He is active," said Jeter, "can finish above the rim and can be a force defensively on the interior. He also really gets on the glass and can create some of his own offensive opportunities because of it. I really like what he'll add to the mix inside."
Boyle was Mr. Outside last season, the top gunner who launched 352 shots, 233 of them coming from three-point range. Not that the Panthers didn't already have perimeter experience ready to step in, but Jeter went and signed junior Paris Gulley, a 6-2 marksman from Southeastern (Iowa) Community College. Gulley, who prepped at Peoria Manual in Illinois, made at least 45 percent of his treys in both seasons at Southeastern, where he was the leading scorer last year (13.4 ppg).
"The first thing about Paris is he's an excellent student," Jeter said. "He was kind of overlooked after high school, so he went to junior college to get this kind of Division I basketball opportunity. He can really shoot it, he can handle the ball and he can defend. He's a great addition to this team both on the court and off."
The Panthers return three starters, two of whom could be candidates for conference honors when all is said and done. Kaylon Williams (8.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.4 apg), a 6-3 senior who made the Horizon All-Newcomer team, is an assist machine at the point, but he's so much more than that. He recorded the program's first triple-double since 1993 last year against Butler (10 points, 10 boards, 10 assists). He ranked 10th in the league in rebounding, he scored in double figures 14 times and he made four or more three-pointers in three different games.
Blue Ribbon Previews
Take an Inside look at the Horizon with Blue Ribbon's 2011-12 team reports:
.Butler
Cleveland State
Detroit
Green Bay
Illinois-Chicago
Loyola (Chicago)
Milwaukee
Valparaiso
Wright State
Youngstown State
Now, the assists: He led the league with 178 of them, which ranked second in program history. He tied a school record with 14 assists in a game against UIC and had nine games with seven or more assists.
"He's a very strong leader and he has a high basketball IQ," Jeter said. "We're just going to hope this last year we'll see a little more scoring punch. But his ability to run a team is very special, and we've got enough other guys on the perimeter he can get the ball to."
One of his favorite targets is 6-8 senior forward Tony Meier (12.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Meier, a three-year starter, takes more than half his shots beyond the arc. He hit 44.3 percent of them (66-of-149) last year to rank second in the conference.
The third returning starter is 6-0 junior Ja'Rob McCallum (7.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg), who fired off 133 three-pointers last season, making 33.1 percent of them. McCallum struggled late in the season but recalibrated to make seven seven-pointers in the win over Youngstown State to clinch a share of the title.
If you're keeping score, the Panthers attempted 711 three-pointers last year. Only one of those originated with Ryan Allen (5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg), a 6-3 senior who averaged 16.4 minutes, sixth most in the rotation.
Providing even more options at guard is Lonnie Boga (3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg), a 6-3 junior who averaged 13.2 minutes but was sidelined by an ankle injury during much of stretch run.
The Panthers signed his little brother, Shaq Boga, a 5-11 combo guard who averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 assists as a senior at McCluer High School in St. Louis. Shaq had offers from Nebraska, Missouri State and Bradley, an indication he was highly regarded.
Evan Richard is a 6-2 guard who redshirted as a freshman. Richard was an all-stater in Wisconsin as a high-school senior and scored well on the team's trip to Italy in August 2010 before the decision to redshirt was made. He could have helped the team last year but Jeter decided to save a year of eligibility with a crowded backcourt on hand. "Evan is built more along the lines of Tone," Jeter said. "He's a shooter."
There's no shortage of bodies in the frontcourt either. Kyle Kelm (2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg), a 6-9, 210-pound sophomore carved out 13 minutes a game as a freshman. The 6-9 Kelm can even shoot the three-ball a little bit.
If injuries or other circumstances thin the frontcourt rotation, the Panthers have the luxury of having to more veterans on call. Christian Wolf (0.6 ppg, 0.9 rpg), is a 6-9, 250-pound junior who appeared in 17 games a year ago. Ryan Haggerty (0.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg), a 6-8 junior, gets a cameo in most games but hasn't shot the ball well enough to merit more than that.
It'll be interesting to see what the season holds for 6-10, 225-pound freshman J.J. Panoske, a recruit the Milwaukee staff likes a lot. He put up good numbers at Brodhead (Wis.) High School (22.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 4.1 bpg), but he sounds amenable to a redshirt season to put on some muscle.
"We have enough size to defend in the post," Jeter said. "Our biggest challenges is who's going to score and how to survive a difficult non-conference schedule and still have enough confidence to do well in our league. That's a difficult challenge for mid-major programs."
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B
BENCH/DEPTH: B
FRONTCOURT: B
INTANGIBLES: B
The Panthers have two big sets of sneakers to fill in inside man Anthony Hill and outside man Tone Boyle. But coach Rob Jeter might just have ample replacements in store.
James Haarsma, a transfer from Evansville, and JUCO transfer Demetrius Harris should collectively make up Hill's numbers. There are a number of perimeter options anxious to take their share of Boyle's shots. Kaylon Williams gives Milwaukee strong leadership at the point, and there appears to be enough pieces of the puzzle in place to keep the Panthers from slipping far from the top.
For the most comprehensive previews available on all 335 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college basketball, the 2011-12 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at
www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
