UWM, Jeter seal deal
By DAN MANOYAN
dmanoyan@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 7, 2005
UW-Milwaukee has its man.
UW associate head coach Rob Jeter will leave Wisconsin to become the next head coach at UW-Milwaukee.
Athletic director Bud Haidet met late into Thursday evening at his home with University of Wisconsin associate head coach Rob Jeter and hammered out an agreement that made Jeter the Panthers' new basketball coach.
"I see this as an opportunity to continue the tradition that has begun here at UWM," said Jeter, who was an assistant coach at UWM under Bo Ryan from 1999-2001. "I think the players are here and the program is in place to keep things going strong."
No details of the agreement were announced but Jeter's deal is thought to be similar to that of his predecessor, Bruce Pearl, in Pearl's final season at UWM. Pearl, who recently left Milwaukee to become the head coach at the University of Tennessee, received a base salary of $275,000 this season.
Pearl's package included the use of automobile and a country club membership. He also received revenue from summer camps, and television and radio shows that brought the total package to about $400,000 per year.
According to sources, the contract is for either four or five years. Jeter was advised at the meetings by Milwaukee agent Joe Sweeney.
"We're really happy and excited to get this done," Haidet said. "We're really happy to have Rob as our head coach.
"He came from a great mentor. I can't say how excited we are to welcome Rob to UWM."
Jeter, 35, brings a strong pedigree to the job, learning the game, first as a player and then for 10 years as an assistant coach, from Ryan. Jeter, who is the son of former Green Bay Packers defensive back Bob Jeter, was the captain of Ryan's 1991 Division III national championship team at UW-Platteville.
"My next call will be to Coach Ryan," said Jeter, who becomes the 22nd coach of record in UWM's 109-year history. "It's going to be a tough call to make, but I'm pretty sure he knows it's coming."
Jeter was Ryan's top recruiter but also coordinated academic and scouting efforts in addition to directing Ryan's basketball camps. He leaves a program that has become a perennial national power but inherits a program that has become a consistent winner at the mid-major level.
Under Pearl, the Panthers advanced to the Sweet 16 this season after winning the Horizon League's regular-season and tournament titles. With four junior starters returning from that squad, including Horizon League Tournament MVP Joah Tucker, the Panthers have high expectations for success again next season.
"I see a lot of guys that have experienced success here," Jeter said when asked to assess UWM's talent level. "They've experienced success and they want more.
Although Ryan isn't known for coaching an up-tempo style of basketball, Jeter said he planned to continue the frenetic style that was so successful for Pearl.
"These guys like to play an up-tempo style, and I see no reason that we wouldn't continue playing that way," he said. "We're going to continue to play a style of basketball that will make us successful and there is no reason to change that.
"We've got a point guard like Chris Hill who can get up and down the floor and make plays and a guy like Joah Tucker, who is so versatile."
Jeter said he could see a continuation of the up-tempo game for UWM even after the core group of the team, including Tucker, Hill, Adrian Tigert, Boo Davis, Mark Pancratz, Jason McCoy and Derrick Ford, graduates after next season.
"It's funny you mentioned that, because I've played on teams and coached teams that scored in the 90s," Jeter said. "I like that style of basketball."
Still, Ryan is known for a more deliberate, half-court style.
Although Ryan's recruiting efforts at UWM focused primarily on harvesting home-grown Wisconsin players, Pearl broadened UWM's recruiting base to bring in more athletic players from throughout the Midwest.
Jeter indicated that he would try to strike a balance between in-state and out-of-state players.
"There are a lot of good young players in Wisconsin," he said. "The high school coaches and AAU programs are doing a great job in developing the talent level.
"In our former teams in Milwaukee, when we were here, we took an aggressive approach to in-state kids and we will have to start with that. At the same time, I'm from Chicago and would like to tap into that area, too.
"I would say our foundation would be Wisconsin kids, however."
Earlier Thursday, Haidet drove to Madison to meet with Jeter for a second time. Jeter was later introduced to UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago, who was in Madison for the UW system's monthly meeting with the Board of Regents.
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