Well it has been a long time coming but we are there. Your Milwaukee Panthers are ranked at #1 or tied for #1 in the Horizon League Preseason Standings by nearly all preseason college hoops prognosticators. We thought the PBJ-led '21-'22 Panthers were going to shock mid-major college basketball but injuries and dysfunction torpedoed that dream.
But now it is different. Not only do the vast majority of outside observers think we will win the Horizon League, but after back-to-back 20 win seasons and appearances in the Horizon League Tournament Semifinal and Final, we now have the experience and depth (emphasis on both) required to break through to the next level- the NCAA Tournament.
We have a brutal bunch including Darius Duffy, Faizon Fields, Aaron Franklin, Danilo Jovanovich (by way of Miami and Louisville) and Jamichael Stillwell (Butler Junior College) filling out the frontcourt line.
And we have score-at-will point guard AJ McKee (Queens), defensive specialist Themus Fulks (Moravian Prep and Louisiana Lafayette), Milwaukee native Johnny Lovelace Jr (Youngstown State) and returning Panther guards in all-around Swiss army knife Kentrell Pullian and sharpshooting Erik Pratt- to round out the backcourt.
This is a formidable group for a league like the Horizon. But how well will we fare against the tougher competition?
The journey from here to Selection Sunday will not be a cakewalk. Despite us not having any huge heavy hitters on our non-con schedule, we have to face Northern Iowa (#115), Duquesne (#142), Wofford (#110) and Central Florida (#66). None of those will be easy contests and we have only Wofford at home. The results of those games- win or lose- will tell us a lot about whether we can look forward to some March revelry and NCAA Tourney advancement possibilities, or if we are on track for another flash-in-the-pan HL Tourney run and an early NCAA exit or the NIT (or the CBI... or worse).
That quest to March Madness begins on campus at the Klotsche Center tonight at 6pm CST vs. the DIII Lakeland College Muskies. Not much is expected of Lakeland and this is oddly an exhibition for them (but a regular season game for us?). So you can be sure we will get their best shot and that they won't be intimidated. I expect this Panther team, despite not being jelled yet, to destroy Lakeland by at least 25 points.
If we don't? It could be a while before the vibes get back to those buoyed by all the "preseason" HL title hopes chatter.
Coach Lundy put it best in a recent interview:
“I think this is where we want to be, in the conversation,” coach Bart Lundy said. “We want people to recognize the work that has been put into this over the last 30 months. That’s nice and we want Milwaukee on the top of that list. But we haven’t proven anything. Until this program breaks through and puts more banners up, we’re just talking about what-ifs.
go panthers.
stack good days. 📚🏀
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