MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Athletic Department is set to honor the first men's basketball team in program history to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament this coming Saturday. This season marks the 20-year anniversary of the 2002-03 campaign, the first time the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
That winter, the team won a school-record 24 games and claimed its first-ever Horizon League Tournament championship. The Panthers then just missed an upset of Notre Dame, 70-69, in a first-round contest. The team entered the tournament as a 12-seed in the West Region and faced the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish in Indianapolis.
The full roster has been invited to attend the game against Cleveland State Saturday evening and will be recognized and honored for their accomplishments. A large contingent of the roster is set to be in attendance.
Led by head coach Bruce Pearl, the Panthers earned their first NCAA tournament bid after beating Butler, 69-52, in the Horizon League championship. Tournament MVP Clay Tucker scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and they did it all in front of a record crowd of 10,115 at what was then the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee – then the largest home crowd ever for a Panther game.
Tucker led the offense that season with averages of 18.3 points per game, while adding 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He was one of four players to average double-figures, joined by Dylan Page (17.7 ppg), Ronnie Jones (10.8 ppg), and Jason Frederick (10.3 ppg). On the court, MKE's 24 wins marked the most in the school's Division I history and equaled the most in the program's 107-year history.
2002-03 Milwaukee Panthers roster
| Player |
# |
Class |
Pos. |
HT. |
WT. |
Hometown |
Stats Summary |
| Derek Huff |
1 |
SR |
F |
6-8 |
245 |
Louisville, KY |
1.3 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.1 Ast |
| Chris Hill |
2 |
SO |
G |
5-10 |
160 |
Chicago, IL |
Redshirt Season |
| Ronnie Jones |
5 |
SR |
G |
5-9 |
165 |
Las Vegas, NV |
10.8 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 3.0 Ast |
| Mark Pancratz |
10 |
FR |
G |
6-3 |
185 |
Schaumburg, IL |
1.4 Pts, 0.4 Reb, 0.4 Ast |
| Joah Tucker |
13 |
SO |
F |
6-5 |
220 |
Milwaukee, WI |
Sat out due to transfer |
| Dan Weisse |
14 |
SR |
G |
5-11 |
175 |
Oshkosh, WI |
3.3 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast |
| Dylan Page |
15 |
JR |
F |
6-9 |
230 |
Amherst, WI |
17.7 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 1.3 Ast |
| Marcus Conigliaro |
20 |
FR |
G |
6-2 |
195 |
Milwaukee, WI |
0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast |
| Fernando Johnson |
21 |
FR |
C |
6-9 |
245 |
Milwaukee, WI |
0.5 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.1 Ast |
| Jose Winston |
22 |
SR |
G |
6-0 |
180 |
Milwaukee, WI |
1.8 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 2.5 Ast |
| Jason Frederick |
24 |
SR |
G |
6-4 |
185 |
Waukesha, WI |
10.3 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 2.4 Ast |
| Clay Tucker |
30 |
SR |
G |
6-4 |
195 |
Lima, OH |
18.3 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 4.1 Ast |
| Adam Finley |
32 |
FR |
F |
6-7 |
230 |
Genoa, IL |
0.4 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.0 Ast |
| Justin Lettenberger |
33 |
SR |
F |
6-6 |
190 |
Manitowoc, WI |
6.1 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 1.2 Ast |
| Nate Mielke |
40 |
JR |
C |
6-11 |
235 |
Waterloo, IA |
6.5 Pts, 4.9 Reb, 0.8 Ast |
| Rob Sanders |
42 |
SO |
F |
6-7 |
210 |
Toledo, OH |
2.0 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.6 Ast |
| Adrian Tigert |
44 |
SO |
F |
6-6 |
230 |
Oshkosh, WI |
Redshirt Season |
