Prudently planning personnel

Saturday afternoon, the Milwaukee Panthers will trot out a lineup very similar to those of the recent past.  Kaylon Williams, Paris Gulley, Ryan Allen, James Haarsma and Tony Meier will likely be the starting five.

We can only hope those won’t be the final five.

The Milwaukee Panthers take a break from their busy Horizon League schedule to take a shot at the Fairfield Stags of the MAAC.  It is the MAAC, right (double check…yup)?  They’ll try to improve to 17-12 overall and head to Chicago on a nice note.

The Stags are on a roll, and you’ll find out more about them later tonight, but they aren’t the issue right now.

The issue is Milwaukee’s injury report.  Unlike the NFL, head coaches aren’t required to disclose injuries to the press.  Coach Jeter doesn’t have to say Kaylon Williams is probable or Evan Richard is questionable.

If he did have to disclose the list, you’d find about eight players on there.  Ryan Allen (ankle), Kaylon Williams (knee), Kyle Kelm (shoulder, foot), Evan Richard (back), Ryan Haggerty (elbow), Ja’Rob McCallum (wrist), Lonnie Boga (shoulder), James Haarsma (head).  I included that last one because it’s painfully obvious that Haarsma is in a funk and he probably needs a few days off mentally to refocus and get himself ready to roll.

This is what we know. Of the top five teams, Milwaukee has beaten all but one of them – that would be Youngstown State, who escaped at the Beeghly Center when Kaylon Williams’ three to win it rimmed out.  So you know the talent is there to make the run needed to win the Horizon League Tournament.

We know Williams and others need rest – badly – and that sitting through the weekend would cure a lot of ills.  We know that the Fairfield game means nothing – it would have no effect on seeding, and only serves as another game for Jeter to try and get to 20 wins, a dubious milestone now that teams routinely play 31 games per season.  We also know that UIC and Loyola are not going to be easy outs, and the Panthers have an outside shot at the three seed (technically we have a shot at the two seed, but I’m not holding my breath).

Certain players will need more rest than others, while some of them (Tony Meier) should play the same amount of minutes as they have been to keep them consistent.

As it is Senior Day, I think Kaylon and Ryan Allen should start the game.  But that doesn’t mean they need to play a lot. Ten minutes should be enough to keep them loose for the following Thursday at UIC – there’s no need to push that knee tendinitis further than it has to be pushed.

There’s also the truth in that you can allow guys like Shaq Boga, Demetrius Harris, Evan Richard and Christian Wolf minutes for them to get better on the court against a legitimate opponent.  I’ll go so far as to say that these four should play more minutes than most of the team, especially Boga, Harris and Richard.

So please, by all means come out with the usual starting five.  Just make sure that they aren’t too ragged to go on a six-game winning streak starting next Thursday.

@MKEPanthers poor practice situation, from a rival’s perspective

Juggling with time

It definitely wasn’t the score, no matter what you may think.  It wasn’t the place, although there haven’t been a lot of happy memories in this particular gym.  Nor was it the standings, which muddied and looked darker than just a couple hours before.

The truth is, none of these things were the worst part of Sunday’s loss at Wright State.  The worst part was time.

Williams is battling knee tendonitis, and really needs to take time off.

As in, the Milwaukee Panthers are running out of it.

With another crushing loss in the books (this one due to point differential), the Black and Gold are looking at a major uphill battle to achieve their goal of returning to the NCAA tournament.

Make no mistake. That’s still the goal.  Only now the hill is a big steeper.  It started to mount that night seemingly so long ago in East Lansing, Michigan, when the Panthers played 38 minutes of basketball toe-to-toe with what is currently the #12 team in the nation in its home gym.

The hill got a little bigger after losing to Wisconsin, then Marquette. That one brought made the mound significantly larger, because there went any legitimate shot at an at-large bid.

Injuries along the way made it harder to climb the hill, steeper than ever before.  Evan Richard, who you could count on for 20 minutes of fundamentally sound basketball with fireworks, suffered a back injury and missed most of this rough stretch.

Kelm is battling a stress fracture in his foot.

Every thing that has happened, the hill has gotten steeper. Can’t host the conference tournament at the Cell, creating a potential “road” game in the semifinals? Dropped out of the top spot after missing a game-winning shot in the final possession at Youngstown? Head into Cleveland dejected, only to come out moreso?

It all adds up over time, and now the Milwaukee Panthers are looking at the possibility of playing on the road in the conference tournament just to get to the quarterfinals, something they haven’t done since the 2006-07 season.

So, with your only shot at the NCAA tournament to win the Horizon League Tournament, what can you do?

The obvious thing that needs to be done is win.  Milwaukee needs to win, at least until they are ensured that nothing Wright State can do will knock them from that top spot.  The Raiders still have hard games left, so talking about potential tie-breakers would be a moot point here.

Beyond that, any stretch run to win the Horizon League Tournament will require four victories, beginning on Tuesday February 28th.  I say you mark that date on the calendar and consider something drastic: the second Milwaukee clinches a home game in the conference tourney, shut down Kaylon Williams, Ryan Allen, James Haarsma and Kyle Kelm.

Haarsma hasn't been truly productive for a couple weeks, and could use the time off to get himself straightened out.

That’s right. Take four of your starters and give them ample time off to rest up for what will be a killer conference tournament.

Milwaukee is looking at beating Wright State, Green Bay, or UIC at home. Then they would have a neutral court game against Butler, Youngstown State, or Detroit. A victory in that game would set up a road game or neutral game against Valparaiso or Cleveland State.

I know it sounds crazy, but if you get the Panthers as close as possible to 100%, does this seem like such a tall task?

None are easy games. Aside from Loyola, I don’t expect an easy game for anyone in the conference tourney.  But a home game, in the Klotsche Center (Costello has yet to return my e-mail asking about the venue), packed with students?  I know that it’s not the semifinals of the conference tournament and you’re not talking about the champions, but Milwaukee Athletics can really accomplish great things when it has got a big game to promote.

Say the season ends today, and Milwaukee has to beat Wright State at home on Tuesday the 28th. Do you think Kaylon Williams and Co. will be fuming about Sunday’s game? Maybe just a little bit.

That would set up a second round game at the ARC against Youngstown State.  It’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season.  Is it impossible to beat YSU on a neutral court? Of course not.

Beating Cleveland State, at Valpo, would be a tall task.  But again, it’s doable – if this conference is guilty of anything, it’s cannibalizing each other.  And Milwaukee, a healthy Milwaukee, would have a shot at this game.

What it all comes down to is getting healthy.  A healthy Milwaukee Panthers program was the top dog in the Horizon less than a month ago, and that’s what the Panthers need to worry about right now.

If they drag this out, and the players find themselves tired and ragged going into the Horizon League Tournament, it could be a very short stay in March Madness.

Eli Holman is no cautionary tale

Don’t close your eyes when the Detroit Titans are introduced tonight in front of the crowd at Calihan Hall.  Take it in.

For allegedly assaulting three frat boys, Holman missed much of Detroit's non-conference schedule. An appropriate response.

Ray McCallum Jr., Chase Simon, Jason Calliste, Doug Anderson and LeMarcus Lowe will trot out as the starting lineup for the Titans, but they won’t be the five with the most minutes.

Barring foul trouble, the player with the most minutes at the center spot in tonight’s game will be Eli Holman.

Eli Holman, I say.  Since coming back from “indefinite leave,” Eli Holman and the Detroit Titans are 9-6, sitting at 7-6 in the conference and in sixth place, setting themselves up for a home game in the conference tournament.

In case you need a refresher, Eli Holman went on indefinite leave after allegedly assaulting three members of a frat house on Detroit’s campus back in September, breaking one kid’s nose.

The story went down like this. One of the basketball players at a frat party was hanging on pipes in the basement. After asking the player repeatedly to not hang from the pipes, Holman assaulted one of the students.  Fearing for their safety, the fraternity brothers fled, with Holman attacking two more, eventually knocking one to the ground and breaking his nose.

It was at this point that Holman’s teammates restrained him, and the members of the Titans’ basketball team left the scene.  Holman did not commit any other crimes that night.

Holman slams home the ball. Would you like to see that fist cave in your nose?

In case you’re wondering, that is Aggravated Assault in the state of Michigan.  What are the penalties for this, you ask?  I just so happened to stumble across them using my super Google powers:

Aggravated assault is a misdemeanor in Michigan. It is defined by Michigan statute as an assault, without a weapon, that results in a serious or aggravated injury.

I’d certainly consider a broken nose to be serious or aggravated injury.  The fact that Holman’s attack was put through with little provocation and he needed to be restrained from continuing to pummel a defenseless frat boy is all I need to know that this wasn’t your run of the mill “kid talks smack, guy punches kid, end of story.”  Holman had little provocation, then proceeded to chase and assault three fraternity brothers during the incident.

This was reported in the Varsity News, UDM’s student newspaper.  The same paper reported that the student with the broken nose was holding off legal action pending the response by the university.

So, what was the response by the university?

Eli Holman took an “indefinite leave of absence” from the program.  He ended up missing ten games (the Titans have played 25 so far), coming back to the program before the St. John’s game, but first appearing on the bench in the Titans’ match-up with Western Michigan, a game in which Holman scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

It was the day of the St. John’s game, when word had spread of Holman’s return, that I sent an e-mail to Detroit’s AD Keri Gaither to ask her about Holman’s status.

Her response:

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for your support & interest in Titan Athletics.

I wish I could give you a definite answer but the truth is, I don’t know. We are all hoping to have Eli return as soon as possible.

Again, thanks for your support.

Keri

The first and third sentences are the stock answer that writers love to get.  The middle one, where she addresses the question.

She doesn’t know.

The athletic director? Doesn’t know?  What kind of world is this?

When Torre Johnson got drunk and hit his girlfriend, he was immediately apologetic and cowered in a closet to avoid further spats.  He was off the team by noon the next day.

The one time I met him in person, Eli Holman seemed like a genuinely happy-go-lucky guy. But demeanor in front of fans is no excuse for actions away from the cameras.

Eli Holman attacked three frat boys, in a scene with many eyewitnesses, and had to be pulled off one that had been pinned to the ground and was absorbing blows.  He got a two-month vacation from the program and although he isn’t starting, he’s played starter’s minutes in almost all of the 15 games he has appeared in.

For misdemeanor Aggravated Assault in Michigan, the punishment is up to one year in prison and $1,000 in fines.  With three counts, Holman should have been looking at up to three years of prison time.  He’s lucky he doesn’t have prior convictions, because those would come with a possible “enhanced sentence.”

Of course, just because he doesn’t have prior convictions doesn’t mean it’s the first time Holman has exhibited violent behavior.  He left Indiana after a verbal spat with Tom Crean (totally understandable, Tan Tommy is a douche) which culminated in him knocking over a potted plant.  Last year, he missed a game for suspension after punching a UIC player in the groin.

If you ask me, Holman is too much like a kid.  Frustrated with your role on the team? Temper tantrum. Angry that the game isn’t going the way it should? Punch the guy in the balls. Don’t like the frat boy pushing you around? Push him til he doesn’t push back.

This is not the behavior of someone who deserves a full-ride scholarship to a reputable NCAA D-I university.

Essentially, Holman missed the part of the schedule that matters least – non-conference.  He came back when the Titans needed him most, and he’s been back ever since.  The Titans are 9-6, 7-4 in conference since his return.

The worst part about it, other than the alleged assault itself, is the enabling of Holman by Detroit Titans Athletics.

What do Ray McCallum Sr., Keri Gaither and the rest of the Titans tell us with their actions in this situation?

Victories mean more than justice.

Here’s to hoping the Black and Gold serve some up tonight.

Keeping chase

Have you ever been to a horse race?

Even though it only takes one lap to finish – this ain’t NASCAR – the winner is not the sprinter, but the one who goes the distance.

We’re in turn three, only five games away from the finish line (four for Valpo).  And for the second time in as many years, Milwaukee does not control its fate.

Last night, Valparaiso emerged from the battle in Cleveland as the front runner.  Despite tying the Vikings in the loss column (3), Valpo swept the season series with Cleveland State and thus owns the tie-breaker.

It was a decisive victory for the Crusaders, a road laugher against the team many of us thought of as the top dogs.  Cleveland State’s aura of impenetrability was dashed quickly by Valpo, who dropped their high-scoring hammer on the Vikings.

If Panther fans were hoping for some clarity Thursday night, they were left disappointed.  Now three teams are within two losses of the championship, and five teams are within three.  Butler knocked out Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center, giving the victory for the night to the state of Indiana (no Hoosiers) and pushing a gridlock at both first and third place.

And then we have Milwaukee.  Banished to ESPN3 by the Horizon League, ESPN and their own failure in social media marketing, the Panthers will play surging Detroit with third place up for grabs, yet again.

It’s intriguing, really – should the Panthers lose tonight, the Panthers would find themselves in a four-way tie with Butler, Detroit, and Youngstown State.  Tiebreakers are a non-starter, as there’s very little chance that a four-way tie persists at the end of the season.

Milwaukee can put the slimmest of margins between themselves and the pack with a victory in Calihan Hall, their third in a row at the storied gym and in the process put any thoughts of them finishing out of the top six to rest.

The thing is, a victory at Calihan Hall shouldn’t direct your eyes at the rest of the pack. Instead, set your sights dead on Cleveland State.

Should Milwaukee go 5-0 the rest of the way, all the Panthers would need is for Cleveland State to lose one more conference game and they’d be guaranteed the #2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.  I’m a big proponent of the “go 1-0 every game” philosophy, but it’s intriguing to know that all you need is one stumble from the Vikings to get the double-bye.

The possibility that Cleveland State could lose one more time (besides at Milwaukee) is intriguing.  They play a home game against Butler, a road game at Green Bay, and home games against Detroit and Wright State.  There are no Chicago schools remaining on the schedule, no bunnies to feast.  Their “worst” opponent remaining is Wright State, who is only four losses behind them in the right column.

So the championship is not out of the question, especially a co-championship or a second-place finish. Milwaukee just has to drop all the B.S. and take care of business – a victory every game from here on out.