The Milwaukee Panthers unofficially kicked off a season filled with elevated expectations Tuesday night at the Klotsche Center with an evening that featured a dunk contest, a scrimmage and more than enough flair for the head coach.
“The good news is we only do this once a year,” Panthers coach Bart Lundy cracked after the 20-minute scrimmage that included plenty of lobs and turnovers but not so much defense.
Roughly 500 fans flocked to campus to watch Milwaukee’s first public showing ahead of a highly-anticipated season in which the Panthers are picked to finish second in the Horizon League.
The practice featured 10 minutes of drills, a dunk showcase and a 20-minute running clock scrimmage.
Don’t expect to learn everything there is to know about a team from one such night, but the Panthers still showed some glimpses of what they might look like – especially from an array of newcomers.
Here are x observations.
Big man Langston Wilson will help stretch the floor
The greatest off-season roster project for Lundy and staff was replacing the entirety of the front court depth. Starting forward Ahmad Rand – the only true big man in the starting lineup last year – graduated, as did reserve center Moses Bol and lightly-used forward Vin Baker Jr. Backup forward Jalen Johnson transferred. Even 6-foot-7 wing Justin Thomas, who often defended at the four, transferred.
Milwaukee picked up the pieces, bringing in 6-foot-9 Langston Wilson, a graduate senior on a transfer from Washington, and 6-foot-10 junior Faizon Fields from Old Dominion. Both will see significant minutes in the frontcourt.
Darius Duffy, a 6–foot-8 junior, will also be in the primary frontcourt rotation.
Wilson’s versatility flashed in the scrimmage. He’s lean and athletic, making him a threat around the rim, but can also step out and shoot. That perimeter threat from a big man is something the Panthers lacked entirely last year.
“We’re more skilled,” Lundy said of his frontcourt. “We can do more on the perimeter, we can do a little more offensively than we could do last year.”
Another transfer who will make an immediate impact
Lundy recruited guard Erik Pratt out of high school when the 6-foot-5 guard was playing in Florida and Lundy was coaching at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pratt committed to play for Lundy but because of the complications across college basketball because of the pandemic, it didn’t work out and Pratt ended up attending a junior college.
After one year at JuCo and another at Texas A&M, Pratt hit the transfer portal. The Panthers were all over him.
“After he went to junior college, he kind of blew up,” Lundy said. “So I’ve signed him twice now. We had a little heads up on him.”
Pratt joins an already deep backcourt but brings some important elements to the table. First, he can not only shoot but he can create his own shot. He has a good feel for the game on both ends. With his size, he gives Lundy more options with length.
In practice scrimmages this fall, Pratt has been as high-octane a scorer as anyone on the team.
“He’s really good,” Lundy said. “He’s really a high IQ player. He’s skilled and has positional size. I actually think we have great positional size this year.”
Freshman Makuei Riek showcases potential on offense
The most impressive-looking true freshman was undoubtedly guard Makuei Riek out of Rochester, Minnesota.
The 6-foot-6 Riek shot 4 of 6 from the field and hit a three-pointer on his way to scoring nine points in eight minutes of action Tuesday. He displayed a versatile package on offense, comfortable roaming on the perimeter while also throwing down a 360 dunk on a fastbreak.
Between BJ Freeman, Kentrell Pullian, Elijah Jamison, Angelo Stuart, Markeith Browning and Dominic Ham, Milwaukee is loaded with returning talent in the backcourt, and also adds Pratt to the mix. That means Riek’s path to playing time will have obstacles, especially early on, but if he continues to add strength and sharpen his defense, he has the makings of a good player.
Bradley Tech graduate will force his way into the rotation
Learic Davis hit the transfer portal and came home.
Milwaukee might have gotten a steal because of it.
Davis, who graduated from Bradley Tech High in 2022 after earning City Conference MVP honors his senior year, initially signed with Tennessee State but found his way back home after not playing in his redshirt freshman year.
Davis is as athletic as they come. He’s a high-riser who made SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays in high school for a dunk he threw down in a game but also possesses a smooth ball handling package for his size at 6-foot-7. At one point late in the scrimmage with his team down three – by which point the effort on defense had gone up a notch – Davis blew past Freeman on a baseline drive and threw down a two-handed dunk.
It’s often talked about how smaller defenders can defend up against taller ones, but Davis is someone who might be able to defend “down” and pester smaller, twitchy point guards with his length and quickness.
