MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Panthers have won nine of 11, and at 11-5, they're off to their best start since 2015.
"We had a lot of new guys come in and Coach Lundy, he's just the one that turned it all around," Panthers Guard Markeith Browning says. "Last year we struggled a little bit. So we understood where we were last year and we just wanna be better than that. Take baby steps and be the best we can."
"We just have a bunch of fighters," Panthers Head Coach Bart Lundy says. "A bunch of workers, guys that like to play. Our chemistry developed pretty quickly. We had it off the floor but they've got it on the floor. They're like brothers. We play hard together. They argue hard with each other, which is good and bad sometimes."
After several bleak seasons, they face Northern Kentucky Thursday night. The winner will be on top of the Horizon League.
"I feel like when it's a game of runs, momentum is really the game," Panthers Guard Kentrell Pullian says. "So it's like defense, and then you go back playing on, getting the offensive boards, and defensive boards. Those are the wins of the game."
"It's huge in the sense that there's 13 new guys here," Lundy says. "And as the leader of this program, I'm trying to get buy-in."
"It's honestly a blessing," Browning says. "We worked hard for it. We just wanna stay at number one. That's the most important thing. Once you get to this spot, everybody's coming for you, and they aren't expecting it to be us. So, we just want to hold it down while we can."
And now the Panthers are making their sales pitch for fans to check out the product.
"I will say this," Lundy says. "I came here from North Carolina on the premise that I had seen this place filled when I was at Marquette. I know that was a big game here in the city. But I know that this place has been filled and that's part of the reason I made this change. We're putting a good product out there. Whether we beat Northern Kentucky, I don't know. But we got a good product out there and it's fun to watch and it's a great atmosphere and it's a good place to enjoy the city."
The Panthers clearly have new energy, and while there are still about two months of the season and more rebuilding to do, this team is more exciting.
