Oct. 31, 2010
MSOE (17-9 in `09-'10) @ Milwaukee (20-14 in `09-'10)
Mon. Nov. 1 • 7 p.m. CDT
Klotsche Center • Milwaukee, Wis.
Television: None
Radio: None
Internet: Gametracker, a live blog and live video are available at www.uwmpanthers.com
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The Hot List
• The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team opens the 2010-11 exhibition season by hosting the Milwaukee School of Engineering at the Klotsche Center.
• The Panthers are playing a game at the Klotsche Center for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when UWM played an exhibition game and three regular season contests in the on-campus facility. This season, Milwaukee is playing two exhibition games and the "Retro Night" game with Western Michigan on campus.
• UWM was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League in the official poll of coaches, sports information directors and media members. The Panthers have been picked as high as second in the league among the various preseason publications.
• The Panthers return at least six players that started one or more contests in 2009-10, with big man Anthony Hill leading that list. Senior guard Jerard Ajami started all 34 contests a season ago while Tony Meier and Ryan Haggerty split the starting assignment at the power forward position. Plus, Milwaukee will welcome back all-league guard Tone Boyle, who missed this past season because of a back injury.
• Monday's starting lineup is also expected to include one newcomer, with junior college transfer Kaylon Williams the likely starting point guard. Williams played last season at Kirkwood Community College after leading the Missouri Valley Conference in assists while a freshman at Evansville for the 2008-09 campaign.
• UWM actually got a head start on the 2010-11 season with a four-game trip to Italy in August. The Panthers won all four games and also took advantage of 10 practice days on campus prior to the trip.
• MSOE went 17-9 last season and returns senior Austin Meier, who was an ESPN Academic All-American and an All-NAC First Team selection last season.
• Exhibition Game #1
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee opens the 2010-11 exhibition season by welcoming the Milwaukee School of Engineering to the Klotsche Center Monday night.
• About MSOE
MSOE finished 17-9 last season and won 10 games in the NAC. That continues a trend of improvement under head coach Brian Miller, who is 85-48 over the last five seasons. MSOE returns senior Austin Meier, who was an ESPN Academic All-American and an All-NAC First-Team selection last season. The two teams played in the exhibition season two years ago, with UWM claiming a 68-43 victory. MSOE played Marquette in an exhibition game last season.
• Exhibition Examples
The Panthers enter Monday's contest 8-1 under Rob Jeter in exhibition games, with the only loss coming against UW-Parkside in 2006. UWM is 10-1 against other NCAA Division II or III or NAIA schools in exhibition contests since the NCAA began allowing those games in the 2003-04 season. The Panthers beat Cardinal Stritch and Parkside in exhibition games last season.
• First, A Look Back
UWM finished the 2009-10 season with 20 wins and a fourth-place finish in the Horizon League. This marked just the 10th 20-win season in 113 years of basketball at the school, while Rob Jeter became one of just three coaches in school history to direct two different teams to 20-win campaigns. The Panthers wound up winning seven of their final nine games, including wins over UIC and Cleveland State in the league tournament. UWM won seven true road games and 10 total games outside of Milwaukee. Ricky Franklin earned Second Team All-Horizon League honors, as the senior averaged a team-best 14.7 points per game and wound up with 1,291 points in his career. James Eayrs, Jason Averkamp and Burleigh Porte also wrapped up their careers in Milwaukee. Eayrs finished with 773 career points while Averkamp went from walk-on status to playing in 91 career games.
• Now On To 2010-11
Expectations and excitement levels are both high as the 2010-11 season begins for the Panthers. UWM returns at least six players that started one or more contests in 2009-10, with big man Anthony Hill leading that list. Plus, the Panthers will welcome back all-league guard Tone Boyle, who missed this past season because of a back injury. UWM also adds a group of newcomers that could make an immediate impact, including junior college point guard Kaylon Williams, who led the Missouri Valley Conference in assists as a freshman at Evansville.
• Senioritis
UWM's 2010-11 roster includes four seniors, all with varying levels of experience in the Panther program. Anthony Hill is starting his fourth season in Milwaukee, having played in 88 games with 38 starts his first three years. Hill averaged better than 11 ppg over his final 25 outings a season ago and was the league's player of the week after the final weekend of the regular season. Tone Boyle is back for his third season in Milwaukee. He played as a junior college transfer in 2008-09 before sitting out last season. Boyle was an all-league performer in that `08-'09 campaign, averaging 13.2 points per contest. He also made 66 three-pointers that season. Jerard Ajami is also in his third season in Milwaukee, having sat out the 2008-09 campaign as a transfer before starting all 34 games a season ago. Finally, Mitchell Carter sat out last season after transferring from South Carolina but is eligible for game action this season.
• Plenty More Experience
The four members of the 2010-11 senior class aren't the only players with experience under their belts as this season begins. In fact, junior Tony Meier starts the year with more starts than anyone on the roster, having started 49 games over his first two seasons. The returning sophomore group of Ja'Rob McCallum, Lonnie Boga and Ryan Haggerty combined for 20 starts and 86 appearances last season. McCallum earned Sporting News Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors to highlight that group.
• The Fresh Faces
Even with all of the experience returning, the Panthers will likely be looking to some newcomers to fill key roles. Kaylon Williams is expected to step in at the point guard position after leading the Missouri Valley Conference in assists while a freshman at Evansville. In fact, Williams helped the Purple Aces to their first winning season in nine years and then led Kirkwood CC to a third-place national finish a year ago. JUCO transfer Ryan Allen adds depth on the wing while also bringing a defensive presence. Allen, the brother of the Memphis Grizzlies' Tony Allen, played at Vincennes last season. True freshman Kyle Kelm is likely to contribute immediately after being highly-recruited out of high school. At 6-foot-9, he is one of seven players on the active roster that stand 6-foot-7 or better. Another Wisconsin all-state performer, Evan Richard, joins a very deep backcourt. Richard wound up sharing team-high scoring honors during the four-game trip to Italy. Two other transfers also officially join the mix. South Carolina transfer Mitchell Carter and Florida Gulf Coast transfer Christian Wolf should both bolster the frontcourt rotation, with the two having combined to play in 65 Division I games.
• Waiting His Turn
Transfer James Haarsma is eligible to practice with the Panthers, but will have to sit out of game action during the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer regulations. He will then have two years of college eligibility remaining. Haarsma is expected to be a key part of the team in 2011-12, having averaged 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at Evansville this past season. He also averaged almost six points per game as a freshman, when he played alongside Kaylon Williams. The Racine native won three state titles while at St. Catherine's, where he was a unanimous all-state honoree.
• The Italian Job
UWM got a head start on its preparations for the 2010-11 season thanks to a 10-day trip to Italy in mid-August. The team won four games on the trip will visiting Rome, Florence, Venice and Lake Como. On the court, the Panthers won all four games, averaging nearly 90 points per contest. UWM also took advantage of 10 practice days prior to the trip, using three in July and the remaining seven immediately prior to the journey. Plus, thanks to a new NCAA rule change, newcomers were allowed to participate in the trip, meaning seven players saw their first "unofficial" game action in a Panther uniform.
• Panthers Vs. Panthers
Tone Boyle scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as the White Team beat the Black Team, 101-75, Oct. 27 in the annual Full-Court Club Intrasquad Scrimmage at the Klotsche Center. The White used a 21-0 burst to take control of the game in the first half, though the Black did cut a 30-point deficit down to 13 during the second 20 minutes. Ja'Rob McCallum led all scorers with 26 points for the Black, putting 19 of those points on the board in the second half. Ryan Allen added 19 points, Tony Meier 17 and Kaylon Williams 16 for the White, which also made 11 three-pointers in the contest. Boyle made five of those, including his first four tries of the game. Lonnie Boga, James Haarsma and Ryan Haggerty all added 10 apiece for the Black.
• Picked For Fifth
UWM was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League, according to a poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media. The four teams picked ahead of the Panthers all return a majority of their rosters from a season ago. Defending national runner-up Butler was the unanimous choice to win the league, with Detroit and high school All-American Ryan McCallum picked second. Cleveland State, which has all five of its starters back, was picked third, with Valparaiso and its four returning starters fourth. Shelvin Mack of Butler was named the league's preseason player of the year. No Panthers were voted onto the preseason all-league squad.
• Other Predictions
Various preseason publications have the Panthers picked anywhere from second to sixth. USA Today's College Basketball Special Edition has the Panthers picked for second behind Butler. Tone Boyle is placed on the all-league first team, while Anthony Hill has a spot on the all-league second team. Lindy's College Basketball picks the Panthers for third, with Boyle on the all-league second team. Then there are two publications that have lower expectations for the Panthers. The Sporting News has UWM fifth (and Cleveland State sixth), while Athlon picks the Panthers sixth.
• Sorting Through The Schedule
A first-ever home game with crosstown-rival Marquette, a home matchup against NCAA Tournament darling Northern Iowa and road contests with Wisconsin and DePaul highlight this season's schedule. The Panthers will also again play a full round-robin schedule against Horizon League competition, including a pair of games with NCAA runner-up Butler. In all, the schedule involves 13 regular season home contests and 17 games outside of Milwaukee. The non-league schedule includes four games against teams that played in the postseason a year ago, with the 11 non-conference opponents having averaged 18 wins a year ago.
• Ticket Time
There are plenty of ways for Panther fans to see the team in person this season. Single-game tickets for all but two of UWM's games this season are currently on sale through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $10-$20. Tickets can be purchased at all Milwaukee-area Ticketmaster outlets and by phone at 800-745-3000. Based on availability, tickets for the Nov. 23 game with Western Michigan and the Nov. 27 contest with Marquette will go on sale in mid-November. Full and partial season-ticket packages also remain available through the UWM Ticket Office. Special alumni, faculty and staff deals are available for full season packages. Plus, both of the Four-Pack ticket offers currently on sale include tickets to the game with Marquette. The Panther Ticket Office is located in the Pavilion and is open weekdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 414-229-5886 for more information.
• On The Tube
UWM and Time Warner Cable Sports32 announced a multi-year extension in August that keeps Sports32 as the official television broadcast partner for Panther Athletics. The agreement includes live coverage of men's and women's basketball games and coaches shows, including "The Rob Jeter Show" and "The Sandy Botham Show." In addition, Sports32 will provide coverage of UWM volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer and baseball. This season, Sports32 will carry 10 locally-produced UWM men's games. The full schedule is nearly complete, and in all, the Panthers will have more than 15 games televised by Sports 32 or the ESPN family of networks. Daron Sutton and Adrian Tigert return as the television broadcast team for the Panther men.
• Radio Waves
UWM men's basketball games return to WISN (AM 1130) for a fourth-straight year. The ongoing agreement between Panther athletics and Clear Channel includes live coverage of all regular season and postseason games, starting with the Nov. 12 contest at Portland. Bill Johnson returns for his 12th season as the play-by-play voice of the Panthers. Coverage includes a 15-minute pregame show. Home games also include the return of "Panthers Extra," a live postgame show from Major Goolsby's in downtown Milwaukee. Bob Brainerd and Adrian Tigert will again team up as hosts of the show, which includes interviews with coaches and players along with complete postgame analysis. "Rob Jeter on Basketball," the weekly radio show with the head coach of the Panthers, will again air live from Harry's Bar and Grill on Oakland in Shorewood. That show will debut Jan. 10 and run throughout the league season and postseason.
