After a terrific first year, the pressure is on for coach Bart Lundy, UWM Panthers
Year 1 of the Bart Lundy era at UW-Milwaukee really couldn’t have gone much better.
Brought aboard from Queens University to rejuvenate a moribund program, Lundy hired a staff, recruited and signed nearly an entirely new team and subsequently led the Panthers to their first 20-win season in seven years, their first postseason appearance in nine years and their first postseason victory in 17 years with a win over Stetson in the College Basketball Invitational.
Now, the pressure is on.
Fans are coming back. Media interest has increased. And, predictably, expectations have risen – so much so that UWM was predicted to finish second in the Horizon League in the conference’s preseason poll behind 2022-2023 tournament champion Northern Kentucky.
“I think when you are trying to turn something around you want to turn it as fast as possible to get momentum,” Lundy said. “Now, we go into the second season. And there's more expectation. There's hopefully more buzz about what we're doing.
“I think we've had a good not a great offseason. But we've put in we put in good work. This is a new team with new challenges and greater expectations. So, we have to we have to try to find a way to meet those expectations.
“I think that's what everybody wants, and hopefully we exceed those.”
The UWM Panthers were better in the first year under coach Bart Lundy than under Pat Baldwin
The Panthers have certainly set a high bar.
Despite getting meaningful contributions from only two players from the Pat Baldwin era, they:
Set program records for points (2,659), blocked shots (186, a total that also ranked fourth in Division I), field goals made (944), field goals attempted (2,062), rebounds (1,330) and rebounds per game (39.1, which ranked 15th in the NCAA).
Led the Horizon League in field-goal defense (40.6%), a mark that ranked as second-lowest in school history.
Registered a 12-win improvement over 2022-2023, which ranked them as the 10th most-improved team in the NCAA.
Won the most games in the program since 2004-2005.
Went 14-6 and finished second in the Horizon League, their best finish in conference since winning the regular-season title in 2010-2011.
And went 15-3 at home to tie the program record for most home victories since 2004-2005.
UWM has a decent shot at bettering many of these numbers this season with the team’s top three scorers – BJ Freeman, Kentrell Pullian and Markeith Browning II – all returning and seven new scholarship players who, when combined, will provide Lundy with the most high-level physical talent the program has boasted since the Bruce Pearl and early Rob Jeter era.
“This group has the ability to be excellent,” Lundy said. “They have the ability to win this league. They have the ability to go the NCAA Tournament. They have the ability to win games in the NCAA Tournament.
“But none of that is preordained, and none of that happens without going about the right process.”
BJ Freeman is the UW-Milwaukee Panthers' best returning player
At the head of the class will be the 6-foot-6 Freeman, a junior swingman who arrived last year as a little-known prospect out of Selma, North Carolina, and finished having recorded one of the best individual seasons by a Panthers player in many seasons.
In 32 games, Freeman led the Panthers in scoring (18.2 points per game), rebounding (5.1) and three-pointers (74), and his 43-point outburst against Stetson ranked as the second-highest scoring effort ever by a UWM player.
Not surprisingly, Freeman’s efforts attracted the notice of a number of high-major Division I programs that were offering big NIL money in an attempt to get him to transfer.
But Freeman remained true to Lundy and the Panthers, returned to the East Side and now is in line to be named the top player in the Horizon League when all is said and done (he earned first team all-Horizon League honors in the preseason).
“It was just a lot of stuff coming towards me that I was uncomfortable with,” Freeman recounted. “But I knew what the coaching staff brought, and everything they said to me was true. I couldn't ask for a better staff or teammates. All the fans here are amazing, the campus here is amazing.
“That is what brought me back. I’m just looking forward to carrying it on.”
Lundy said there are two distinct areas in which Freeman needs to improve.
“First, he has to understand that people are going to load up to him. He's going to be the beginning of every scouting report,” he said. “He's a terrific not only scorer but playmaker, but his moves have to be quicker and his decision making has to be a little quicker because the defense will react to him more than they did this time last year.
“Then the second part of that is off the court, or within the guts of our team, his leadership role has increased. He carries a lot of responsibility. To whom much is given, much is required. And I think he's taking that seriously.
“It's probably the first time he's been really challenged in this area in his career.”
Kentrell Pullian and Markeith Browning II will play big roles for UWM in 2023-24
Joining Freeman as returning major contributors will be the 6-4 Browning and 6-foot Pullian.
Browning is the ranking player in the program in terms of seniority with two previous seasons and he might also be the most athletic – which is saying something considering some of the newcomers who will be pulling on Panthers uniforms for the first time.
Browning finished third on the team in scoring last year at 9.6 points per game with his 46% shooting being derived mostly from his drives to the rim and finishes in the paint. He also tied Freeman’s average of 5.1 rebounds per game and registered the third-most assists.
Pullian, meanwhile, finished second in scoring (10.1) as one of only three Panthers to play in all 34 games. He’s an effective and scrappy rebounder (4.4) despite his height and a reliable shooter with 60 three-pointers made at a 39.2% clip in addition to 80.3% accuracy at the free-throw line.
Sophomore Elijah Jamison is pegged as the starting point guard a year after he was named to the Horizon League’s all-freshman team.
The 6-3 Jamison, who also played in all 34 games, isn’t especially flashy but possesses a moxie that allows him to quietly fill up a box score.
And more will be expected this season of senior guard Angelo Stuart, a perimeter marksman who battled through an ankle surgery last year, and sophomore Zach Howell, who flashed potential in small doses off the bench.
Transfers Langston Wilson, Faizon Fields, Learic Davis and Erik Pratt could be key additions for UWM
Then there are the newcomers.
Graduate transfer Langston Wilson (6-9) from the University of Washington and junior Faizon Fields (6-10) from Old Dominion will help bolster the Panthers up front in the wake of the graduation losses of Ahmad Rand and Moses Bol, albeit in a much different way.
There will be some real explosiveness on the wing with Bradley Tech product Learic Davis, a 6-7 human highlight reel who transferred in from Tennessee State, junior-college transfer Aaron Franklin and Texas A&M transfer Erik Pratt.
There are also some intriguing prospects who might become contributors depending upon how quickly they develop, 6-9 Simeon Murchison of Milwaukee Hamilton, 6-8 Darius Duffy and 6-6 Makuei Riek.
"Every group is different and the guys that are coming back had really good chemistry," Lundy said. "We added pieces, and I think it has to take time. There has been some some butting of heads. We don't have one alpha; we've got multiple alphas on this team. So, they're trying to learn to coexist and work through things.
"That's an ongoing process. But when you have have good players, that kind of happens. I think we have the ability to have really good chemistry."
On the whole, UWM projects to be a better shooting team.
"We can can definitely stretch the floor," said Lundy. "We are more skilled in the at those positions than we were last year."
Defense and rebounding remain non-negotiables for Lundy, so those who do both will likely earn the most playing time. Jamison and Pratt will be tasked with providing better ball security – maybe the Panthers' biggest weak spot last year – with transfer Pierce Spencer possibly out for the season following a knee injury.
Panthers face a difficult nonconference and Horizon League schedule early in 2023-24
The early portion of UWM's schedule is daunting, with consecutive road games at Providence and Colorado on Nov. 11 and 14, a two-game tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida, leading into Thanksgiving and games at UW-Green Bay (Horizon League opener), St. Thomas and UC-Davis in early December.
The Panthers close out 2023 with four straight home games, the final two of which restart conference play. The Horizon League tweaked its scheduling format, doing away with the four- and sometimes five-game home and road slates that had become the norm, with the Panthers only having one stretch of three straight away (Feb. 8-14) and at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (Feb. 17-25).
As far as how Horizon League play could shake out, five teams – Northern Kentucky, UWM, Wright State, Cleveland State and Youngstown State – received first-place votes in the preseason poll.
Oakland was picked to finish sixth, then after that there was a sizable dropoff to teams 7-11. UW-Green Bay, under first-year coach Sundance Wicks, was picked to finish last.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coach Bart Lundy, UW-Milwaukee Panthers face high bar in 2023-24
