UWM men's basketball 2022-23 season at a glance
Panthers at a glance
Coach: Bart Lundy (first season; 433-189, 20th season overall).
2021-22 record: 10-22 overall, 8-14 Horizon League.
2021-22 postseason: Lost, 80-69, to Illinois-Chicago in first round of Horizon League tournament.
Home court: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Tickets: (414) 229-5886.
Starters
23 Ahmad Rand (6-8 Sr., F): Averaged 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and an impressive 1.1 blocks in 13.4 minutes over 29 games at Oregon State last season. Should be an immediate difference-maker in the lane.
11 Vin Baker Jr. (6-9 Sr., F): Averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 26 games (11 starts) last season at UWM. Athleticism is off the charts but needs to bring it defensively more consistently basis.
25 Justin Thomas (6-7 Soph., G): Averaged a modest 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28 games at Navarro College (a JUCO) last year, but his myriad talents on both ends make him an intriguing prospect.
1 Markeith Browning II (6-4 Soph., G): Averaged 4.4 points and two rebounds in an uneven, injury-marred freshman campaign with the Panthers. Could be in line for a huge bump in playing time and production.
5 Angelo Stuart (6-1 Jr., G): At his fourth school in four years, Stuart averaged 1.2 points in 17 games at Division I Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic season. Averaged 22.2 points and his 104 three-pointers at a 40.5% clip in 32 games at Hutchinson Community College last year.
More:With a new coach and (mostly) new roster, UWM seeks to turn the page
Reserves
0 Brian Taylor II (6-4 Fr., G): A St. Louis native who originally signed to play for coach Pat Baldwin, Taylor was a four-year starter in high school and averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals last season.
2 Elijah Jamison (6-3 Fr., G): Scored 2,664 points in four years as a prep, a total that ranks fifth all-time on the North Carolina High School Association list.
3 Zach Howell (6-5 Fresh., G): Hit nearly 300 three-pointers while scoring a school-record 2,186 career points in four years at Springfield (Mo.) Catholic.
4 Jordan Ratliffe (5-10 Sr., G): Was expected to make an impact after transferring in from Division II North Carolina-Pembroke, but suffered a torn ACL in preseason workouts and will redshirt.
10 BJ Freeman (6-6 Soph., G/F): Swingman who averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists while hitting 65 threes (37.1%) in 33 games at Dodge City (Kansas) Community College last season.
12 Kentrell Pullian (6-0 Soph., G): Panthers’ final signee for this season; averaged 12 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 24 games last season at Division II Eastern New Mexico.
20 Vincent Miszkiewicz (6-7 Soph., F): Redshirted last season after transferring from Division II Purdue University Northwest. Began his career at Division I Incarnate Word, where he averaged 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 31 games (29 starts) as a freshman in 2019-20.
21 Vinko Polovic (6-7 Fr., F): Walk-on from Franklin who graduated from Don Bosco Prep in Crown Point, Indiana.
22 Dominic Ham (6-5 Jr., G): Walk-on who transferred after two seasons at Georgia Highlands College, a JUCO in Rome, Georgia, where he averaged 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18 games a year ago. Son of former NBA player and current Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham.
24 Jalen Johnson (6-7 Jr., F): Averaged 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in 30 starts last season at Alabama A&M. In three years there (75 games), Johnson put up 11.9 points on 50.1% shooting and 5.5 rebounds.
33 Moses Bol (7-1 Grad., C): Averaged 1.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 25 games for the Panthers last season – his first-ever Division I action after not playing in a game for two years at Central Florida.
35 Keon Edwards (6-8 Soph., G): Consensus top-100 recruit coming out of high school at Hillcrest (Arizona) Prep who has played at both DePaul and Nebraska. Had limited production for the Cornhuskers last season in 19 games (five starts).
Reason to believe
In the matter of only a few months of his hiring, Lundy put together a roster long on athleticism and versatility. His 20 years of experience as a head coach have prepared him for this moment, and he and the Panthers are hungry to prove their preseason pick as the ninth-best team in the 11-team Horizon League is too low.
Reason to doubt
As good as Lundy is expected to be, integrating 13 new players might prove to be a Herculean task. There is also precious little Division I experience on hand, which means many key contributors are going to be learning on the job. The Panthers’ first two Division I opponents are Purdue and Iowa State, so there won’t be any easing in.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Projected starters and reserves for the UWM men's basketball team
