#HLMBB Preview: Milwaukee

November 01

Joey Yashinsky

Milwaukee Panthers

Last year: 11-24 overall, 4-14 Horizon League

Coach: Pat Baldwin (1st year)

Team Preview
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor

Not a whole lot was going right for the Milwaukee Panthers in February of 2017. They played eight games in the month and lost every one of them. Then the calendar flipped to March and everything changed.

Milwaukee crushed Detroit Mercy in the opening round of Motor City Madness; then out-slugged heavyweight Valparaiso in a defensive battle for the ages; then knocked off one of the conference’s hottest teams in UIC, before finally succumbing to eventual champion Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League Championship game. It was an inspired run through the bracket by the tournament’s bottom seed.

The best part of all? Almost the whole squad is back.

First-time head coach Pat Baldwin is taking over the program from LaVall Jordan (now at Butler) and welcomes back several key pieces.

Redshirt junior Brock Stull is a true jack-of-all-trades for the Panthers. The 6-foot-4 guard is a lethal perimeter threat, rebounds the ball in traffic, and creates easy opportunities for others. Due to Milwaukee’s 10th-place finish, Stull was left off end of year all-conference teams, but he righted that wrong at Motor City Madness, averaging 16 points and seven rebounds on his way to a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament team.

His partner in crime at Joe Louis Arena was pivot man Brett Prahl. The “Prahl Driver” made a huge leap as a junior, and Baldwin will hope to see a similar uptick in production this year. The statistics of Prahl will never jump off the page, but his defensive energy and ability to finish around the rim are key components to the Milwaukee attack.

The ceiling for the Panthers this season could depend on the continued maturation by a pair of sophomores, August Haas and Bryce Nze.

Haas started every game as a freshman, no small order for a point guard in the rough-and-tumble Horizon League. The lefty from Denmark was rock steady directing the offense, and despite averaging just five points per game, was responsible for some of the biggest shots during Milwaukee’s surprise tournament run. Baldwin will demand a high level of play from his point guard, since that was the coach’s position during his outstanding playing career at Northwestern. (Baldwin graduated as the Wildcats’ all-time assist leader and also won a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award.)

Nze, at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, is one of the most dynamic athletes in the conference. When he was able to stay out of foul trouble, Nze was a demon in the paint area, swallowing up rebounds and shooting an almost unheard-of 70% from the field in Horizon League play. He and Prahl make up one of the best inside tandems in the conference.

Much will also be expected of Jeremiah Bell, a super-sub who torched Detroit Mercy for 31 points in the opening round of the tournament. Baldwin says that Bell “probably has more athleticism than anyone on the team, and we’ll need him to score for us to be effective.”

As for Baldwin, he comes to Milwaukee in high regard off Chris Collins’ staff at Northwestern. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a coach more dogged in his preparation to take over a new team. When asked how much Milwaukee tape he watched this summer, Baldwin replied, “I watched every single game.”

After last year’s unexpected journey to the Horizon League championship game, the Panthers won’t be sneaking up on anybody this season. But that’s just fine with them.

The band is back together, and they’re determined to repeat that memorable Motor City Madness performance.

Maybe even cut the nets down this time, too.

Motor City Madness
Support the Panthers at the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Basketball Championships March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased at campus box offices now and online starting December 15. For more information, click here.

#HLWBB Preview Schedule (10 am ET)

10/30/2017	UIC
10/31/2017	Northern Kentucky
11/1/2017	Youngstown State
11/2/2017	IUPUI
11/3/2017	Cleveland State
11/6/2017	Detroit Mercy
11/7/2017	Milwaukee
11/8/2017	Oakland
11/9/2017	Wright State
11/10/2017	Green Bay
11/13/2017	#HLWBB Preview

#HLMBB Preview Schedule (2 pm ET)

10/30/2017	IUPUI
10/31/2017	Cleveland State
11/1/2017	Milwaukee
11/2/2017	Youngstown State
11/3/2017	Green Bay
11/6/2017	Wright State
11/7/2017	Detroit Mercy
11/8/2017	UIC
11/9/2017	Northern Kentucky
11/10/2017	Oakland
11/13/2017	#HLMBB Preview