Men's Basketball Preview - Part 9: UW-Milwaukee
Oct. 25, 2005
When you make it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and then return four of five starters from that team, it's only natural people near and far would have high expectations.
High expectations are certainly in place for the 2005-06 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team, but meeting those kind of expectations are nothing new for anyone involved in the Panthers' program.
Over the past three seasons, the Panthers have won 70 games - an average of more than 23 wins per season. They've won the last two Horizon League titles and are 40-8 in regular season league games over the last three years.
Meanwhile their new coach, Rob Jeter, has been a part of two Big Ten regular season titles, an Elite Eight run and a Sweet 16 berth in the past four seasons. And, in his 11-year coaching career, he has been an assistant coach on two teams that posted unbeaten records and won national championships.
All of this means each of the key pieces associated with the 2005-06 Panthers has plenty of experience with high expectations, and it's something they wouldn't have any other way.
"High expectations are something I have always been a part of," Jeter said. "How do you top an undefeated season? You just go and try to do it again. How do you top what these guys accomplished last year? You try to do it again. And the way you do it is to work at getting better every day. When you win that first game, you need to get better to win that second game.
"It's very flattering to receive the preseason accolades and have the expectations, because it is a sign of the level of success you have enjoyed and respect for the guys that are returning. But, those accolades will mean nothing if you don't go out and do it during the season."
Jeter is confident his new team has done the work necessary in the off-season to meet and exceed those expectations.
"What these young men accomplished last year was something very special. But it became clear right away they weren't going to rest on their laurels and be satisfied with last year," Jeter said. "They have put forth a tremendous effort in the off-season. If they can attack the season with the same way they attacked the hill (which UWM runs during the preseason) and the rest of their preseason conditioning, this can be a very special season."
Talk of the 2005-06 Panthers begins with Joah Tucker, who became a household name with his stellar during the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The 6-foot-5 forward has been a popular choice for Horizon League Player of the Year in the coming season, earning preseason accolades in the official league poll as well as from a number of college basketball publications. Tucker got better as last season went along, finishing the year averaging 16.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. In five post-season games, he averaged 24.4 points per game, including a memorable 32-point outburst against Illinois in the regional semifinals.
One of Tucker's goals for the upcoming season will be consistency on offense, something he started to develop late in the year. After falling short of double figures in points six times in the first 16 games of the season, he came up short just twice in the final 16 games. Plus, after four 20-plus-point outings in the first 16 games of the season, he had nine of them in the final 16 contests. He starts the 2005-06 season with a modest streak of six-straight double-figure efforts.
Joining Tucker on the frontline for the Panthers is Adrian Tigert, who will likely earn the same starting spot he has held since his freshman year. In fact, league coaches expect Tigert to be one of the league's best players, voting him a Preseason Second Team All-Horizon League performer.
Tigert's headlines from the NCAA Tournament had to do with his field goal shooting - he didn't miss a shot in the first two tournament games. But that was exactly the kind of game Tigert fashioned throughout the year. He wound up making better than 57 percent of his field goal attempts, averaging 9.2 points per game. On the backboards, Tigert is the leading returning rebounder in the league, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game a year ago.
Chris Hill is the least publicized of UWM's four returning starters, using steady play to earn a starting spot last year and will likely to return to the point guard spot this year. Hill committed just 53 turnovers all of last season despite having the ball in his hands much of the time.
Hill averaged 7.8 points and 3.2 assists per game, while improving his shooting numbers tremendously. From the field overall, he went from 36.5 percent in 2003-04 to 43.4 percent in 2004-05. From three-point range, Hill pushed his average from 23.6 percent in 2003-04 to 37.5 percent in 2004-05.
Perhaps the player that came along further than any other last season was Boo Davis, who emerged as a consistent starter and wound up third on the team in scoring. Many times, Davis was overshadowed in the backcourt by Ed McCants, last year's Horizon League Player of the Year. But this year, Davis will have the chance to shine and will be counted on to pick up some of the scoring slack left by McCants' departure.
Davis played a key role in UWM's winning the Horizon League Tournament, averaging 16.5 ppg in two tourney contests. And, he finished the season by reaching double figures in 14 of his last 21 outings. In all, UWM went 19-2 after Davis re-entered the starting lineup Jan. 6 at Butler. And, in UWM's 26 wins, Davis averaged 11.2 ppg., while in its six losses he averaged just 6.0 ppg. Those numbers all add up to increased expectations for the senior from Chicago this season, with Davis earning Preseason Second Team All-Horizon League honors.
One of the questions to be answered during preseason practice is who will join the four returning starters in the opening lineup. It's a question that could have a variety of answers, one of the many signs of just how deep the Panthers will be this season. One answer, if UWM wishes to open the game with a big lineup, would be 6-foot-10 senior Derrick Ford. Ford started the first six games of last season before coming off the bench in 25 contests. He averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, while also tallying a team-high 33 blocks. On the other hand, Ford is just one of a number of experienced players who will be looking to crack the lineup and earn a regular spot in the UWM rotation.
Mark Pancratz has the most experience among the returning reserves, having played in 66 collegiate games. The 6-foot-4 senior made 23-straight appearances last year after missing the first nine games with an injury. Pancratz, known for his gritty defensive play and hustle, stepped up with a 10-point outing in a key road win at Loyola a year ago and mainly earned his playing time as a backup to Tucker.
Jason McCoy also has plenty of collegiate experience under his belt and emerged as a defensive difference-maker down the stretch for the Panthers last season. The 6-foot-9 McCoy played two seasons at Rutgers and, after sitting out the 2003-04 campaign at UWM, played 30 games for the Panthers a year ago. McCoy's play off the bench was also a spark on the offensive boards. In fact, of his 66 rebounds last season, 30 were on the offensive end. He had 13 offensive rebounds in UWM's five post-season games while averaging 4.3 points per game.
Three other returnees will also be looking to earn a spot in the playing rotation after making spot contributions a year ago. Sophomore point guard Allan Hanson was the fifth-ranked player in Wisconsin two years ago in coming to UWM and made 22 appearances last year as the backup point guard. He will likely be in the same position this season. Derrick Wimmer played in 17 games last year and averaged 10 ppg at Chicago State during the 2002-03 season. Wimmer earned occasional playing time in the backcourt because of his stellar shooting abilities and could be called upon to fill that same role again this season. Walk-on Nick Hansen helped the Panthers overcome injury problems early last season and, thanks to how he responded to those opportunities, remains in the mix for playing time this season.
With all of the experience UWM has returning, there wouldn't seem to be much room for newcomers to make a difference in 2005-06, but the talent level of some of the incoming players makes it likely a few new faces will break into the rotation.
In all, there are three newcomers who will be fighting for playing time in the coming season. Topping that list is Kevin Massiah, who played this past season at Schoolcraft Community College after spending two years at Western Kentucky. At Schoolcraft, the 6-foot-5 Massiah averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 62 percent from the field in leading his team to a 27-3 record. He was a reserve on the 2002-03 Western Kentucky team that went to the NCAA Tournament before sitting out the 2003-04 season with an injury.
Junior-college standout Tyrone Young also could crack the rotation for the Panthers during the coming season. Young played the past two seasons at Vincennes University (Ind.) and scored more than 1,000 points in his junior-college career. He has been highly-touted by all of the junior-college scouting services, including a rating as the sixth-best junior-college player in the country by The Sporting News. He averaged 19.4 points per game a season ago.
The final newcomer looking to earn a spot in the rotation this season is true freshman Kaylan Anderson. The athletic 6-foot-5 swing man played last year at Central Park Christian Prep after a stellar high school career in Ontario, Canada. Anderson averaged more than 19 points per game at Central Park last year.
Three other newcomers will sit out the 2005-06 season but are building blocks for the 2006-07 season and beyond. Paige Paulsen is a transfer from Northern Illinois University who played 48 games at NIU over the last two years. Garden City Community College transfer Avery Smith will redshirt during this coming season after averaging more than 12 points per game at Garden City last year. And, City Conference Player of the Year Ricky Franklin will sit out the coming season due to NCAA Initial Eligibility Standards.
One of the biggest challenges UWM faced came in the off-season, as it became tough to find teams interested in playing the Panthers during the 2005-06 season. With the large number of returnees and the incredible recent success of the program, willing opponents were few and far between. But, in the end, UWM has a challenging schedule filled with road games against traditionally-successful schools and a slate of 13 home contests.
The early highlight of the schedule comes with UWM's appearance in the Preseason NIT, as the Panthers play Nov. 15 at Memphis. The Tigers made the NIT last year and have been a top-10 pick in some preseason polls. The Panthers will also be challenged by road contests at NCAA qualifiers Wisconsin and Big Sky champion Montana, plus trips to Ohio Valley Conference champ Tennessee Tech and Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference. The non-league home schedule also includes Saint Louis, Hawai'i, NCAA qualifier and Mid-Continent Conference champ Oakland and a game in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday.
"We put together a schedule that will challenge our team on every level," Jeter said. "It is exciting that we can give our fans 13 regular-season home games, and our players deserve the chance to play at home. We also have put together a schedule of road games that will expose our team to a wide variety of environments and test them against teams that have a tradition of success."
The non-league slate will serve as a warm-up for the always-competitive Horizon League schedule, which UWM opens Dec. 17 against UW-Green Bay. Detroit and Loyola are among the consensus choices to pose the biggest challenges to the Panthers. But, with continued improvements at Cleveland State, a new coach at Youngstown State and five returning starters at Butler, the league looks solid from top to bottom. Winning the league is priority number one for UWM, with Jeter knowing that will lead the bigger and better things in March.
"I've always felt that winning your league should be the number one goal," Jeter said. "Then you try to win the conference tournament. If you do those things, it seems like the excitement of March kind of takes care of itself."
Story provided by UW-Milwaukee Office of Sports Information
