Panthers showed potential in preseason games
Nov. 8—Through three exhibition games against Division I opponents this preseason, the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team has shown glimpses of what the Panthers can be this season.
In its opener Oct. 24, KWC fell 85-75 at Saint Louis, getting double-digit scoring performances from Beezy Fernandez (22) and Kaeveon Mitchell (15).
Nearly a week later, the Panthers invaded the KFC Yum! Arena in Louisville and came away with a 71-68 victory over the Cardinals, spurred again by Fernandez (19 points, seven rebounds) and Mitchell (13 points).
KWC wrapped up its exhibition slate Monday night with a 90-64 defeat at Western Kentucky, in which the Panthers hung around for the first half before WKU pulled away after intermission.
It's hard to gauge what all that means, of course, and how it will translate to Wesleyan's regular-season performance.
Saint Louis, coached by former Madisonville-North Hopkins High School and University of Kentucky standout Travis Ford, is coming off of a 21-12 campaign but features a fairly unproven roster.
KWC came up with big shots in big moments against Louisville, and the Panthers converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the victory. However, the Cardinals went just 4-28 last year under first-year coach Kenny Payne, and there aren't a lot of signs that Louisville will be much improved this time around.
In their loss to Western, the Panthers were paced by Logan McIntire's 15 points but couldn't overcome the Hilltoppers' hot second-half shooting (64.3%). WKU is now under the guidance of first-year coach Steve Lutz and are expected to compete within Conference USA, but the Hilltoppers are still somewhat of a mystery.
So, where does that leave Wesleyan?
In a preseason poll, the Panthers were voted by coaches to finish eighth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference — the same spot they held a season ago. KWC went 15-14 overall and tied with three other teams at 11-9 in the conference but fell to eighth via tiebreaker, then lost 75-70 to top-seeded Walsh in the first round of the G-MAC tournament.
By all accounts, the Panthers are primed for more success in 2023-24.
Head coach Drew Cooper and his staff have found a nice balance between returners like Fernandez, Mitchell, Alex Gray, Edward Jones Jr. and Kennedy Miles, and newcomers like McIntire, Jake Evans and Dom Subota.
Wesleyan can comfortably play more than 10 players and, with the talent, depth and size of this year's squad, the Panthers will have all the potential to surpass their preseason expectations. KWC coaches have gotten three exhibition games to mix and match lineups to see who has the best potential to produce, which should provide a head start when the Panthers open the regular season.
Wesleyan will host the G-MAC/GLIAC/GLVC Crossover for the first time, facing Illinois Springfield and No. 5 Indianapolis this weekend at the Sportscenter.
It's hard to accurately predict how the Panthers' preseason performances will roll over into the regular season, but simply having the chance to play three Division I opponents should pay off down the stretch. With KWC set to open against two high-quality opponents on back-to-back days this week, the Panthers need all the playing time to gel that they can get.
Through its first three exhibition games, Wesleyan has shown glimpses of what its final product could be — and the first step starts Friday.
