A year ago, things couldn't have been going much better for Rob Jeter.
The first-year head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers was sitting pretty; he had a talented, senior-laden squad that was the cream of the Horizon League crop. It all paid off with a regular season and tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament that ended in the second round.
And, oh yeah, after turning down a lucrative offer from Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference, Jeter wound up with a contract extension and a pretty decent raise.
This year, things haven't been quite as pretty.
Jeter is taking his lumps, rebuilding and deciphering a rotation that is without seven seniors and two transfers. At 4-12 (1-2 in the Horizon League), it will be a long road back to the Big Dance.
Entering the season, the Panthers roster had just nine NCAA Division I starts. All nine of those belonged to Paige Paulsen, who recorded them while playing at Northern Illinois two seasons ago.
But while the results on paper have been less than encouraging, Jeter - who played and was an assistant coach under current Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan - likes what he is seeing thus far.
"When you look at where we started I like where we're at now," Jeter said. "With all the young guys and new guys we had, we had to start from the beginning and teach just about everything."
Roles are starting to be more defined and a rotation has started to manifest itself.
Kevin Massiah and Paulsen are starting to develop a rhythm in the front court while Allan Hanson is getting a better grasp of the Swing offense. Avery Smith has done well in the sixth man position, and has improved on defense.
"We didn't have any roles when we started," Jeter said. "As a coach and staff, we had to see what everybody could do. We're starting to see now what the guys are good at and they know what they need to get better at."
Even in their losses, the Panthers have shown a fierce bite. They led by five in the second half at Michigan, and lost five other games in the final five minutes. The Panthers upset Wyoming, 75-73, late last month and gave No. 15 Butler all it could handle before falling, 55-50.
This past Thursday, these young Panthers took another step forward by holding on against a scrappy Detroit team for a 65-64, overtime victory.
That, Jeter says, is the sign of a young team learning the ropes.
"We're starting to see things come together," Jeter said. "We're being more aggressive, we're getting a better understanding of the offense, and we're playing better defense. Things don't just happen overnight."
And that's the beauty of this thing.
In the Horizon League, only one team will get an invitation. The way things play out; you don't have to be the best team the league has. You just need to be the hottest team by the time the conference tournament rolls around in March.
That works just fine for Jeter, who figures he'll need that the time between now and then to turn this bunch into a well-oiled machine.
"We've got time, sure," Jeter said. "But that's a long way off. All we worry about is going out and playing every game better than we did the game before. That's the only way you can get things done in this game."
He's heard the naysayers deride the fact that he took Milwaukee to the tournament with Bruce Pearl's players. Such is the nature of college basketball. It's easy to walk into a situation where there are talented and experienced players with a championship pedigree.
The challenge comes in accomplishing the task yourself.
Only time will tell if this group will have what it takes to replicate the successes of the Milwaukee teams that put the school on the national map. Jeter is confident that the right pieces are in place to build a foundation of his own.
In the meantime, the education continues.
