Post by Wolf on Jan 19, 2006 22:20:42 GMT -5
UWM's Blue Ribbon Preview:
COACH AND PROGRAM
Go back to that Horizon League Tournament championship game last March. If a free throw or two falls the other way in the final tense seconds, who knows how different things might be today.
If Detroit's Ryvon Covile hits either of his free throws with 38 seconds to play, or if Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Adrian Tigert misses the one he hit with 4.2 second on the clock, the Titans win the game and snatch the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid out from under the Panthers.
If that's the case, Milwaukee's Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 likely never happens. In turn, one wonders if Bruce Pearl gets the Tennessee job without the headline-grabbing wins over Alabama and Boston College. But the facts are that the Panthers prevailed, 59-58, over Detroit in the winner-take-all tournament final before 10,783 screaming (mostly) UWM fans at US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. And the rest is history.
Pearl is gone to revive Tennessee, the high-major job he says he's worked for all his life. And Rob Jeter makes the drive over on I-94 from UW-Madison to take over at Milwaukee. Make that Jeter "returns" to Milwaukee. The son of former Green Bay Packer star Bob Jeter is Wisconsin through-and-through. He played at Wisconsin-Plattville, captaining coach Bo Ryan's Division III squad to a national title.
He was an assistant to Ryan at Plattville, then joined Mike Deane's staff at Marquette. Then he rejoined Ryan at UW-Milwaukee for two years (1999-2001) and subsequently followed Ryan to Madison, where he spent the last four seasons.
He comes back to take over a program that Pearl elevated to one of the best mid-major jobs in the country by averaging 23.3 wins the last three years and going to two NCAA Tournaments.
"I think this is a good fit for me,'' Jeter said, "because I've spent a lot of time here in the state and I recruited some of the young men who are in the program now. "As an assistant you pay your dues, put your head down and work and eventually, you hope a good opportunity will come.''
Taking over the Panthers at this juncture definitely qualifies as a good opportunity. Yes, Horizon League Player of the Year Ed McCants is gone, but virtually everyone else returns from a 26-6 team that won the league with a 14-2 mark. Jeter won't be rebuilding a downtrodden program. He'll be trying to keep it from resting on its laurels. He can't help but notice the evolution of the program since he left four years ago. The Panthers now play all their home games downtown in the US Cellular Arena. Their on-campus facility, the Klotsche Center, has been expanded with new offices and training rooms.
"The community involvement and fan support has really changed,'' Jeter said. "When we came in here six years ago, we were trying to drum up interest, but there was talent here. A lot of those season-ticket holders came over and stayed. They liked watching those guys grow and develop. The belief now is that Milwaukee can and should win. That's the biggest thing you need, that belief that we can do this.''
While Jeter inherits a talented, veteran roster, he will be making subtle changes in strategy. Pearl experienced success pressing 94 feet and putting up quick shots in transition. Jeter, a Ryan disciple, isn't exactly going to work the shot clock, but he might rein in the tempo a bit.
"There's a lot of different ways to win,'' he said. "Our approach is slightly different, just a tad more structured, but at the same time, they're going to be free to play. We're going to play to our strengths and we inherit a team that can get up and down the floor, play fast and take some chances defensively. Bruce Pearl and coach Ryan have the same mentor in Tom Davis, which is what some people don't understand.''
The Panthers will still employ the 1-2-1-1 press. And when they run in transition, Jeter will like to see a look inside before a quick three-pointer goes up. He'll add some half-court sets to the ones Pearl installed. "My thing is I really want to get to the free-throw line,'' Jeter said. "I think you can really hurt teams there. You get a steal on the press, it hurts a team more to attack the rim and get fouled and get a three-point play that way. It takes the heart out of a team more than a three-pointer. I don't want guys to lose sight of the free-throw line, so the ball will come inside a tad more. When the ball comes back out, if you've got a shot, let it go.''
PLAYERS
While the Panthers have lost one league player of the year in McCants (17.4 ppg), they have a leading candidate for another in 6-5 senior wing forward Joah Tucker (16.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg). The Horizon League knew all about Tucker but the nation learned his name after he averaged 25.1 points in three NCAA Tournament games -- wins over Alabama and Boston College and a loss to Illinois. Tucker shot 47.2 percent from the field, was a fair threat (29 percent) from three-point range and was devastating getting to the line (115-of-159 free throws). "The reason why he was successful last year was he was aggressive attacking the basket,'' Jeter said, "rather than settling for outside shots. With his size and athleticism, he's a difficult guy to guard.''
Tucker has played alongside Dylan Page and McCants. Now, it's truly his time. He has worked hard on hitting his jumper more consistently, but his bread and butter is using his strength to get to the basket. Boo Davis (10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) is a 6-3 senior guard who is a likely candidate to boost his scoring in the wake of McCants' departure. McCants attempted 285 three-point shots last winter. Davis will pick up some of those attempts after finishing strong last year to get to 34.6 percent from three-point range. Sensing a senior season of increasing opportunity, Davis put in a good summer of work.
Chris Hill (7.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) returns as the playmaker. Hill improved his shooting percentage last season (37.5 beyond the arc) and handed out 103 assists.
The fourth returning starter is big man Tigert (9.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg). The 6-7 senior doesn't aggressively look for his shot, but when defenders dare him to take it, he can burn them. He hit 28-of-71 three-pointers (39.4 percent) and made 57.1 percent of all field-goal attempts. He's also one of the leading returning rebounders in the league.
The question of how to fill McCants' starting vacancy finds Jeter with some options. A newcomer who could fill the bill is 6-4 Tyrone Young, a Kansas City-area prep star who spent the past two years in the junior-college ranks at Vincennes University. Young is a mature and versatile scorer who averaged 19.5 points last year at Vincennes. Young was considered a top-15 juco prospect by several publications.
As for the returning veterans, Mark Pancratz (2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg) has the experience factor going for him. The 6-3 senior averaged 12.7 minutes last year. However, Pancratz is a blue-collar, hustle guy and not much of a scoring threat.
Derrick Wimmer (0.8 ppg, 0.1 rpg) is a 6-4 junior who will get a look. Wimmer averaged 10 points at Chicago State two years ago before transferring, but he never got much of an opportunity to play last year, mainly because of Milwaukee's talent and depth. His strength is supposed to be long-range shooting so he could earn a niche if he shows some consistency.
Allan Hanson (1.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg), a 6-0 sophomore, returns to reprise his role as backup point guard to Hill. Nick Hansen (1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg), a 6-5 junior, will scrap to get in the rotation. Myles McKay is a 6-3 red-shirt freshman who had a good summer but will have to wait another year to get in the rotation.
If Jeter wants to go with a bigger lineup, Derrick Ford (3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg) is available. The 6-10, 240-pound senior averaged 10.2 minutes off the bench last winter. He blocked 33 shots and has the potential to improve his offensive output.
Jason McCoy (3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg) averaged 11 minutes a game last year, mainly contributing on defense. A thin 6-9, McCoy is limited offensively but can pick up a garbage basket or two off the glass. Michael Bendall is a 6-7 sophomore hoping to impress the new staff. Steve Hoelzel is a 6-9 red-shirt sophomore who sat out last year after transferring from Michigan Tech.
As for newcomers, Jeter had to recruit late to replace two November signees who bailed out after Pearl left. One, Ryan Childress, ended up following Pearl to Tennessee. Kevin Massiah is a 6-5 wing forward who comes from Canada by way of Schoolcraft Community College in Michigan. He played two years ago at Western Kentucky. Massiah doesn't shoot a ton of treys but can attack the basket. His maturity should be a plus for a newcomer. "Super athletic is how I would describe him,'' Jeter said. "He's just been banged up and hasn't had a chance to show what he can do.''
Another Canadian, Kaylan Anderson, is a 6-3 guard who averaged 19.7 points last year as a senior.
Avery Smith, a 6-3 guard from Milwaukee via Garden City (Kansas) Community College, was a late addition. Smith, who has three years to play, averaged 12.4 points at Garden City and hit 36 percent of his three-pointers.
Ricky Franklin, a 6-1 freshman, was another last-minute addition. Franklin had a great senior year in which he was chosen Milwaukee's city player of the year while averaging 20 points at Riverside High School.
Paige Paulsen is a 6-7 transfer from Northern Illinois who has to sit out this year.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: B
FRONTCOURT: A
INTANGIBLES: A-
In Tucker and Tigert, Wisconsin-Milwaukee has a really nice combination that will be productive in and around the paint. Hill is a solid point guard and Davis looks to have a big senior year scoring.
Jeter arrives in an ideal situation. He inherits a talented team that has grown accustomed to winning and, though Jeter is replacing Pearl, he is not exactly a stranger.
The Panthers have two basic questions to answer: who replaces McCants' firepower and how much adjustment will there be switching from Pearl's system to Jeter's? The answer is that there is ample talent and experience to deal with both issues in what should be a smooth transition. Don't bet against the Panthers winning it all again.
uwmfreak.proboards5.com/index.cgi?board=Games&action=display&n=1&thread=1130277916
COACH AND PROGRAM
Go back to that Horizon League Tournament championship game last March. If a free throw or two falls the other way in the final tense seconds, who knows how different things might be today.
If Detroit's Ryvon Covile hits either of his free throws with 38 seconds to play, or if Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Adrian Tigert misses the one he hit with 4.2 second on the clock, the Titans win the game and snatch the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid out from under the Panthers.
If that's the case, Milwaukee's Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 likely never happens. In turn, one wonders if Bruce Pearl gets the Tennessee job without the headline-grabbing wins over Alabama and Boston College. But the facts are that the Panthers prevailed, 59-58, over Detroit in the winner-take-all tournament final before 10,783 screaming (mostly) UWM fans at US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. And the rest is history.
Pearl is gone to revive Tennessee, the high-major job he says he's worked for all his life. And Rob Jeter makes the drive over on I-94 from UW-Madison to take over at Milwaukee. Make that Jeter "returns" to Milwaukee. The son of former Green Bay Packer star Bob Jeter is Wisconsin through-and-through. He played at Wisconsin-Plattville, captaining coach Bo Ryan's Division III squad to a national title.
He was an assistant to Ryan at Plattville, then joined Mike Deane's staff at Marquette. Then he rejoined Ryan at UW-Milwaukee for two years (1999-2001) and subsequently followed Ryan to Madison, where he spent the last four seasons.
He comes back to take over a program that Pearl elevated to one of the best mid-major jobs in the country by averaging 23.3 wins the last three years and going to two NCAA Tournaments.
"I think this is a good fit for me,'' Jeter said, "because I've spent a lot of time here in the state and I recruited some of the young men who are in the program now. "As an assistant you pay your dues, put your head down and work and eventually, you hope a good opportunity will come.''
Taking over the Panthers at this juncture definitely qualifies as a good opportunity. Yes, Horizon League Player of the Year Ed McCants is gone, but virtually everyone else returns from a 26-6 team that won the league with a 14-2 mark. Jeter won't be rebuilding a downtrodden program. He'll be trying to keep it from resting on its laurels. He can't help but notice the evolution of the program since he left four years ago. The Panthers now play all their home games downtown in the US Cellular Arena. Their on-campus facility, the Klotsche Center, has been expanded with new offices and training rooms.
"The community involvement and fan support has really changed,'' Jeter said. "When we came in here six years ago, we were trying to drum up interest, but there was talent here. A lot of those season-ticket holders came over and stayed. They liked watching those guys grow and develop. The belief now is that Milwaukee can and should win. That's the biggest thing you need, that belief that we can do this.''
While Jeter inherits a talented, veteran roster, he will be making subtle changes in strategy. Pearl experienced success pressing 94 feet and putting up quick shots in transition. Jeter, a Ryan disciple, isn't exactly going to work the shot clock, but he might rein in the tempo a bit.
"There's a lot of different ways to win,'' he said. "Our approach is slightly different, just a tad more structured, but at the same time, they're going to be free to play. We're going to play to our strengths and we inherit a team that can get up and down the floor, play fast and take some chances defensively. Bruce Pearl and coach Ryan have the same mentor in Tom Davis, which is what some people don't understand.''
The Panthers will still employ the 1-2-1-1 press. And when they run in transition, Jeter will like to see a look inside before a quick three-pointer goes up. He'll add some half-court sets to the ones Pearl installed. "My thing is I really want to get to the free-throw line,'' Jeter said. "I think you can really hurt teams there. You get a steal on the press, it hurts a team more to attack the rim and get fouled and get a three-point play that way. It takes the heart out of a team more than a three-pointer. I don't want guys to lose sight of the free-throw line, so the ball will come inside a tad more. When the ball comes back out, if you've got a shot, let it go.''
PLAYERS
While the Panthers have lost one league player of the year in McCants (17.4 ppg), they have a leading candidate for another in 6-5 senior wing forward Joah Tucker (16.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg). The Horizon League knew all about Tucker but the nation learned his name after he averaged 25.1 points in three NCAA Tournament games -- wins over Alabama and Boston College and a loss to Illinois. Tucker shot 47.2 percent from the field, was a fair threat (29 percent) from three-point range and was devastating getting to the line (115-of-159 free throws). "The reason why he was successful last year was he was aggressive attacking the basket,'' Jeter said, "rather than settling for outside shots. With his size and athleticism, he's a difficult guy to guard.''
Tucker has played alongside Dylan Page and McCants. Now, it's truly his time. He has worked hard on hitting his jumper more consistently, but his bread and butter is using his strength to get to the basket. Boo Davis (10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) is a 6-3 senior guard who is a likely candidate to boost his scoring in the wake of McCants' departure. McCants attempted 285 three-point shots last winter. Davis will pick up some of those attempts after finishing strong last year to get to 34.6 percent from three-point range. Sensing a senior season of increasing opportunity, Davis put in a good summer of work.
Chris Hill (7.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) returns as the playmaker. Hill improved his shooting percentage last season (37.5 beyond the arc) and handed out 103 assists.
The fourth returning starter is big man Tigert (9.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg). The 6-7 senior doesn't aggressively look for his shot, but when defenders dare him to take it, he can burn them. He hit 28-of-71 three-pointers (39.4 percent) and made 57.1 percent of all field-goal attempts. He's also one of the leading returning rebounders in the league.
The question of how to fill McCants' starting vacancy finds Jeter with some options. A newcomer who could fill the bill is 6-4 Tyrone Young, a Kansas City-area prep star who spent the past two years in the junior-college ranks at Vincennes University. Young is a mature and versatile scorer who averaged 19.5 points last year at Vincennes. Young was considered a top-15 juco prospect by several publications.
As for the returning veterans, Mark Pancratz (2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg) has the experience factor going for him. The 6-3 senior averaged 12.7 minutes last year. However, Pancratz is a blue-collar, hustle guy and not much of a scoring threat.
Derrick Wimmer (0.8 ppg, 0.1 rpg) is a 6-4 junior who will get a look. Wimmer averaged 10 points at Chicago State two years ago before transferring, but he never got much of an opportunity to play last year, mainly because of Milwaukee's talent and depth. His strength is supposed to be long-range shooting so he could earn a niche if he shows some consistency.
Allan Hanson (1.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg), a 6-0 sophomore, returns to reprise his role as backup point guard to Hill. Nick Hansen (1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg), a 6-5 junior, will scrap to get in the rotation. Myles McKay is a 6-3 red-shirt freshman who had a good summer but will have to wait another year to get in the rotation.
If Jeter wants to go with a bigger lineup, Derrick Ford (3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg) is available. The 6-10, 240-pound senior averaged 10.2 minutes off the bench last winter. He blocked 33 shots and has the potential to improve his offensive output.
Jason McCoy (3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg) averaged 11 minutes a game last year, mainly contributing on defense. A thin 6-9, McCoy is limited offensively but can pick up a garbage basket or two off the glass. Michael Bendall is a 6-7 sophomore hoping to impress the new staff. Steve Hoelzel is a 6-9 red-shirt sophomore who sat out last year after transferring from Michigan Tech.
As for newcomers, Jeter had to recruit late to replace two November signees who bailed out after Pearl left. One, Ryan Childress, ended up following Pearl to Tennessee. Kevin Massiah is a 6-5 wing forward who comes from Canada by way of Schoolcraft Community College in Michigan. He played two years ago at Western Kentucky. Massiah doesn't shoot a ton of treys but can attack the basket. His maturity should be a plus for a newcomer. "Super athletic is how I would describe him,'' Jeter said. "He's just been banged up and hasn't had a chance to show what he can do.''
Another Canadian, Kaylan Anderson, is a 6-3 guard who averaged 19.7 points last year as a senior.
Avery Smith, a 6-3 guard from Milwaukee via Garden City (Kansas) Community College, was a late addition. Smith, who has three years to play, averaged 12.4 points at Garden City and hit 36 percent of his three-pointers.
Ricky Franklin, a 6-1 freshman, was another last-minute addition. Franklin had a great senior year in which he was chosen Milwaukee's city player of the year while averaging 20 points at Riverside High School.
Paige Paulsen is a 6-7 transfer from Northern Illinois who has to sit out this year.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: B
FRONTCOURT: A
INTANGIBLES: A-
In Tucker and Tigert, Wisconsin-Milwaukee has a really nice combination that will be productive in and around the paint. Hill is a solid point guard and Davis looks to have a big senior year scoring.
Jeter arrives in an ideal situation. He inherits a talented team that has grown accustomed to winning and, though Jeter is replacing Pearl, he is not exactly a stranger.
The Panthers have two basic questions to answer: who replaces McCants' firepower and how much adjustment will there be switching from Pearl's system to Jeter's? The answer is that there is ample talent and experience to deal with both issues in what should be a smooth transition. Don't bet against the Panthers winning it all again.
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