Drury Panthers

[crazznewt]

One thing about the GLIAC teams, they grow them big up in Michigan!

A lot of teams are going 10 deep now. Have watched a number of games in this early season and that definitely is the trend now. A few years ago on Glenville State was doing it. Now dozens have mimicked that style of play.

Amy Eagan, Molly Miller and Nyla Milleson all had Drury teams that featured guard heavy, ten player rotations. Nyla's as far back as the early 2000's.

[crazznewt]

This is my quote from early August after the schedule was released: "On paper, the schedule looks to be a big challenge for a young Lady Panther squad and I would anticipate some early losses. However, the freshmen have shown a lot of improvement after summer workouts and have tremendous upside. I still think they will be ready by March".

I made this prediction based on the fact all of Drury's freshmen had very successful high school careers. Hopefully, by the time 2026 rolls around, a handful are contributing. If not, this Lady Panther team will finish with the worst record in their history.

I'm looking forward to watching the Panthers play tomorrow at the "O". I think this will be a fun team to watch.

[Bballfan]

A loss to Saginaw isn't the worst thing. It just shows the disparity between the GLIAC and GLVC in women's basketball right now. Saginaw was picked 7th in the GLIAC. I think that is about right.

I still think Drury women will win the GLVC. Hard to tell this early. Rockhurst has played nobody. Quincy has a couple wins against GMAC teams (one okay, one awful). Maryville does have a decent win against a GLIAC team projected 4th in that conference. So they are probably going to be Drury's biggest threat in the league.

Nothing is wrong with a young team you can build around. The problem will be will they all stay. In this era of NIL, transfer portal, and all about me, it is becoming harder and harder to keep a team together for 4 years.

[crazznewt]

I talked to a legendary local coach last night at the Great Southern Bank Arena. He says the dominating trend of D1's recruiting mainly from the portal will continue and he likes the adjustment Drury has made by recruiting from the high school ranks. The alternative is recruiting unproven international players, which is a big risk.

The Lady Panthers have eight freshmen on the roster and five freshmen already signed for next season. The men have seven frosh on their roster but did recruit Avante Nichols from the JUCO ranks. This is one of his three dunks already this season:
https://x.com/DruryMBB/status/1989535939257835685?s=20

Times have changed. It has nothing to do with the coaches. Enjoy the new process.

[Bballfan]

The problem will be.... more so on the men's side.... retaining the players. Because the small D1's will poach players from D2 to replace the players they lost to bigger D1's.

Agree about the international players. That is become more of a trend now too.

[crazznewt]

Retaining any good transfer or freshman is going to be a challenge. Fundraising is going to be very important going forward for the smaller schools to remain relevant. I know we have said this is not sustainable, but I see players getting paid by supporters of a certain program. This is the second year in a row I've seen this work and it sucks bad.

I am really happy that Colin Hardrick returned for his sophomore year for the Panthers. I heard he had several offers for greener pastures but chose to stay.

The 40 year veteran coach I referred to in my last post said he is glad he to be retired and not have to deal with it.

[Bballfan]

The 40 year veteran coach I referred to in my last post said he is glad he to be retired and not have to deal with it.

That appear to be the sentiment of a lot of veteran coaches approaching retirement. One factor why Saban left.

One thing for sure. Greed knows no bounds. So athletes hopping from 2 to 3 schools during their college years is unfortunately become more and more common. Free agency every year!

[crazznewt]

Oops

[crazznewt]

A loss to Saginaw isn't the worst thing. It just shows the disparity between the GLIAC and GLVC in women's basketball right now. Saginaw was picked 7th in the GLIAC. I think that is about right.

I still think Drury women will win the GLVC. Hard to tell this early. Rockhurst has played nobody. Quincy has a couple wins against GMAC teams (one okay, one awful). Maryville does have a decent win against a GLIAC team projected 4th in that conference. So they are probably going to be Drury's biggest threat in the league.

Nothing is wrong with a young team you can build around. The problem will be will they all stay. In this era of NIL, transfer portal, and all about me, it is becoming harder and harder to keep a team together for 4 years.

I think the Lady Panthers can still win the league, but this depends on the health of two players in particular who have been battling injuries. This is shaping up to be an ugly season. I hope I'm wrong.
The Men have plenty of young talent. Isaiah Otyaluk is a 6'7" high percentage sharpshooter who can dunk on people straight up and high under the basket. He has three dunks in three games.

Avante Nichols is a 6'3" high energy guy who wants to dunk early and often. He has a lightning first step and has perfected getting to the basket as a result. He has 7 dunks in the first three games.

The team as a whole had 8 dunks in their 40 point blowout win in their last game. SBU only beat the same team by 11 two days earlier. Hopefully the talent is more of a factor than the inexperience on this team.

[crazznewt]

Paige Robinson is playing in Spain's top pro league and still making baskets from all over the court. (Suggestion: mute the sound)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DReSF...EyeG9tdXVxY21m

At this point, Maryville has to be considered the favorite to win the GLVC IMO.

[panthersclawz1]

Not a good day to be a Panther on day two of the Thanksgiving Classic.

My early season observations: the men have recruited well. Thomas and Epps have major potential. Epps has the slow and steadiness that reminds me a little of Brandon Lockhart. That said, they are lackadaisical. They could’ve beat Concordia. Not a chance against MO Central’s insane three-point effort. They need to string together a streak of early-conference wins or this will be Foster’s final voyage. But they certainly have the talent. Unlike…

The women: They miss Caitlynn Daniels badly. Badly. They don't have a single point guard on their roster. Halladay is the closest. King is a two guard trapped in a point guard’s body. Mendel is their best player. Gibbons is a close second. The drop-off after those two is seismic. The loss against a previously (0-5) Arkansas Fort Smith team that has one winning season since 2018 is one of the worst in program history. And that’s the second year in a row I've thought that. They have zero freshmen who can immediately make an impact. The recruiting effort for this season is deeply troubling. With eight freshmen on the roster, I would think at least one would immediately contribute out of sheer luck. The GLVC women’s side is abysmal though, so this Lady Panthers team could still win 20 games. Or they could win 10. I wouldn’t be shocked by either. Their future feels dark.

[Bballfan]

Yea that's a bad loss for Drury women. A real bad loss. You are right. The GLVC is a really bad conference for women's bball this year. The GLIAC of course is at the opposite and of the spectrum with the GMAC somewhere in between.

[crazznewt]

Not a good day to be a Panther on day two of the Thanksgiving Classic.

My early season observations: the men have recruited well. Thomas and Epps have major potential. Epps has the slow and steadiness that reminds me a little of Brandon Lockhart. That said, they are lackadaisical. They could’ve beat Concordia. Not a chance against MO Central’s insane three-point effort. They need to string together a streak of early-conference wins or this will be Foster’s final voyage. But they certainly have the talent. Unlike…

The women: They miss Caitlynn Daniels badly. Badly. They don't have a single point guard on their roster. Halladay is the closest. King is a two guard trapped in a point guard’s body. Mendel is their best player. Gibbons is a close second. The drop-off after those two is seismic. The loss against a previously (0-5) Arkansas Fort Smith team that has one winning season since 2018 is one of the worst in program history. And that’s the second year in a row I've thought that. They have zero freshmen who can immediately make an impact. The recruiting effort for this season is deeply troubling. With eight freshmen on the roster, I would think at least one would immediately contribute out of sheer luck. The GLVC women’s side is abysmal though, so this Lady Panthers team could still win 20 games. Or they could win 10. I wouldn’t be shocked by either. Their future feels dark.

I agree with all of this.With the success the Lady Panther freshmen had in high school, I also would have thought a couple would have contributed at this point. As thin as this team is, continuing injury problems for Storey and Halliday is devastating. At this point, I'm just hoping for two wins on Monday night.

[Bballfan]

It is a big jump from high school to college, no matter how successful they were. Of course there are exceptions, but a lot of times it takes a full year of college before many athletes make an impact. You see this most often in men's sports, where freshman will just redshirt and take the time to get bigger, faster, and stronger.

Just have to have patience. The season is only two weeks old.

[crazznewt]

It is a big jump from high school to college, no matter how successful they were. Of course there are exceptions, but a lot of times it takes a full year of college before many athletes make an impact. You see this most often in men's sports, where freshman will just redshirt and take the time to get bigger, faster, and stronger.

Just have to have patience. The season is only two weeks old.

Drury has had their share of contributing freshmen, but the last one I remember was Paige Robinson. We have an idea how much money good transfers are getting so its understandable recruiting high school seniors . It's a long term plan that in theory, should work....If the players can be paid enough to stay.

The fan support is a fraction what it was. Casual fans won't support an average program. Especially when they are used to watching one of the best D2 schools in the country that is routinely loaded with D1 talent.

The school is trying to make it work. Drury has cut costs by broadcasting games online, eliminating exotic early season trips, not upgrading video equipment for GLVCSN, cutting graduate assistant positions, etc. It's like you have said, Bottom line, Greed has no limits.