Defense has been a common theme for the Panthers during the run up to the 2010-11 season men's basketball season.
The defense did the trick Monday night in the exhibition opener against MSOE. The Panthers limiting the Raiders to a 25.9 percent shooting clip for the game. In fact, MSOE made just 5-of-33 shots from the floor in the second half.
Indeed, it was just an exhibition game against a Division III foe, but make no mistake – defense is an area of great focus for the Panthers this season.
“We’re just trying to make sure we’re getting better in those areas where we know we can take even bigger steps forward,” Rob Jeter told me when practice opened a couple of weeks ago. “We’re scoring the basketball and averaging around 70 points per game. That’s not bad and should be good enough to win. Defensively is where we want to shore a few more things up and really be able to get some stops, especially in the last five minutes of games. We can be better at closing things out, or maybe even getting a bigger gap in there earlier in the game so that the last five minutes aren’t quite as close. We feel good about that.”
Offensively, the Panthers have gotten better in each of the last four seasons. In 2006-07, UWM averaged 64.7 points per game, a number that went all the way up to 69.7 points per game last season. If the Panthers go up by even another point per game this season, they’ll be above the 70 point per game mark, a scoring total which has led to wins more than 75 percent of the time under Jeter.
UWM’s shooting percentages have also gotten better, with the Panthers shooting 43 percent overall last season after a few years under 40 percent. It hasn’t even taken great shooting for Milwaukee to claim victory, as the Panthers are 32-4 under Jeter when shooting 45 percent or better.
On the defensive end, UWM allowed 71.5 points per game in the 2006-07 season and have had that down below 69 points per game since then. Last season, Milwaukee allowed 68.1 points per contest. The 2005-06 squad was always looked it for its offensive talents, but that squad allowed just 66.5 points per contest and went 22-9.
So, even another minor improvement of defense – shaving one or two points off the board for the other team – would likely seem to be enough to again increase the Panther win total this season.
The Panthers have added some difference-makers on defense. While many are eager to see Kaylon Williams run the offense, and jumped out of their season when Williams and Ryan Allen hooked up for an alley-oop Monday night, those two players may have an even great impact on the defensive end.
“The big plus with those two players is on the defensive end,” Jeter said. “We’re trying to take points off of the board for the other team. Last year we were able to take that scoring average down, which allowed us to be a little more successful. Our win total went up because we were better defensively. Those two guys give us yet another dimension on the defensive end and can help us continue to take points off the board for the other team.”
As was clear Monday night, both of those junior college transfers will play a big role for the Panthers this season.
“Kaylon’s leadership ability is vital in stepping in to replace Ricky Franklin at that point guard position,” Jeter said. “He can come in and lead the team and get guys better shots. He is going to really set things up at that position, and he’ll be getting other guys chances to score rather than being someone who looks to score first. And, defensively he is very strong.
“With Ryan, his athleticism and his ability to really sit down and be disruptive on the defensive end is going to be huge for this team. I truly believe we can put him on a player and tell him to make it difficult for that guy touch the basketball. If he can do that most nights, he is going to give us a better chance to win.”
