Milwaukee Men’s Basketball 2019-20 Season Preview

After a tumultuous 2018-19 campaign, Milwaukee is preparing for a revenge tour and the team has great aspirations of bringing a Horizon League Championship back to UWM.

Coach Pat Baldwin is set to start his third season at the helm for the Panthers, and this year he will be doing so with a complete roster that he and his staff have crafted themselves. There are several familiar faces returning from last year’s team that made strong contributions on the court, but also some very talented young men that will be seeing the floor for the first time in a Milwaukee uniform.

Two high-impact players returning from last season are Darius Roy and DeAndre Abram. They are both Seniors this year and they managed to shoulder the load offensively a year ago for the Panthers. Darius Roy is a ball-dominant guard that seems to have no trouble finding his way to the basket at any point throughout a contest. Whereas, DeAndre Abram’s long, athletic frame allows him to shoot the outside jumper, as well as create a highlight slam at the rim. These two incredibly talented ballplayers are leaders of this Milwaukee team and Coach Baldwin hopes to see them both ramp up the intensity on the defensive end during the 2019-20 season.

A couple of new players coming into the fold this season are Te’Jon Lucas and Harrison Henderson. They both transferred to UWM last year, but had to redshirt due to the NCAA transfer regulations. Both Lucas and Henderson will be eligible to play for two seasons in a Panthers uniform. There is tremendous excitement around these two young men specifically, as they both have experience at the high Division I level.

Lucas spent his first couple years as a collegiate athlete at the University of Illinois, playing in one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball, known as the BIG 10.

Before his time at Illinois, Lucas grew up right here in Milwaukee, playing basketball at Washington High School. His return to his home city has been a seamless transition, and hopefully his debut as a Panther will be as well. Greatness is a word that will often be associated with him in the future, as he will get to showcase his dynamic playmaking abilities in downtown Milwaukee for the next two seasons.

I had the opportunity to speak with Lucas about his experience playing at the highest level of college basketball, and how it will translate to the mid-major game.

“It can definitely translate, but it’s still Division I basketball. We’re still playing basketball. It’s still the same game, so we just have to go out there and perform. Nothing’s changed,” said Lucas.

I was impressed with the intensity in his voice, showing that regardless of the level of play in the Horizon League, it’s important for him to prepare the same way as he did at Illinois. I followed up with Lucas in regard to Milwaukee’s incredibly challenging non-conference schedule this season, playing dominant programs like Wisconsin and Kansas.

I asked him how he will prepare for the challenge of playing against those top tier programs.

 “It’s literally marked on my calendar at home. I can’t wait. We’ve got a bunch of games that are going to be good. All of them are going to be competitive, but especially Wisconsin and Kansas, we are going to take those very seriously. We’ve got to do that for every game,” said Lucas confidently.

Lucas’ reiteration that the preparedness for each game does not waver depending on the opponent is an example of his competitive nature, and a true representation of his leadership qualities being put forth right out of the gates.

Coach Baldwin had nothing but compliments to share about Henderson, transfer from a very prominent athletic school, the University of Southern California.

I had the chance to ask Coach Baldwin about the level of competitiveness a guy like Henderson brings to Milwaukee, being that he came from such a respected program like USC, as well as his astonishing height and build that is not often seen in the Horizon League.

“With Te’Jon and Harrison, they understand what’s at stake. They understand the competitiveness that you have to have in order to win. They can make the plays that they naturally see, instead of me always having to coach what to do,” said Baldwin.

Henderson is an extremely unique player. Standing at 6’10” and 240 pounds, he is able to easily find success scoring the basketball with his back to the basket. Henderson also feels comfortable putting the ball on the floor and creating space for himself around the perimeter. Defense is always an emphasis with Pat Baldwin coached teams, so it will be very interesting to see Harrison Henderson be challenged by his coach and teammates to excel on the other end of the floor. The USC transfer has waited long enough to play here in Milwaukee, and he will get the chance to contribute immediately for the Panthers. Milwaukee hosts Concordia University Wisconsin at Panther Arena on November 5^th at 7 p.m. to tip-off the 2019-20 regular season.