UWM

UWM Dismisses Torre Johnson

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

MILWAUKEE - Torre Johnson, a senior forward from Milwaukee, has been dismissed from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team while Roman Gentry, a sophomore guard from Sioux City, Iowa, has left the team for personal reasons.

Head coach Rob Jeter made both announcements following practice this afternoon.

Johnson was originally suspended by Jeter Saturday following an off-court incident.

"I have had the chance to speak to Torre and express to him my extreme disappointment in his behavior," Jeter said. "The conversation also gave me the chance to tell him this was not something we could accept and that he would no longer be a part of our basketball team."

Johnson started all 10 games this season for the Panthers, leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

Meanwhile, Gentry cited family concerns in wanting to return closer to his home in western Iowa.

"For some time, Roman has told us of his desire to return closer to his home so that he can spend more time dealing with his family responsibilities," Jeter said. "Because he has a daughter at home, he has bigger responsibilities than this team and I can understand that. I don't agree with his leaving us in the middle of the season but that is his decision. We certainly wish him the best and hope he can be successful in the future."

Gentry started the first four games of this season before playing more limited minutes off the bench in the last six contests. He averaged 5.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

UWM Suspends Torre Johnson

Press Release — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:50:11 -0800

Senior Torre Johnson has been suspended from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team, UWM head coach Rob Jeter announced today.

"We learned of the situation involving Torre Johnson this morning and I want to make it completely clear I find this kind of behavior totally unacceptable," Jeter said. "This touches a nerve with me and, based on the facts as I have them now, it is simply something I cannot tolerate. I understand there is a process to follow in gathering all available information and any additional facts, but I am taking the swiftest action I can at this time."

Johnson is UWM's leading scorer and rebounder through the first 10 games of the season, averaging 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

Marquette Has Little Trouble With UWM

Press Release — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:59:40 -0800

MILWAUKEE - Dominic James scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures and 13th-ranked Marquette shot 54.1 percent from the field in a 100-65 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Friday night at the Bradley Center.

The Golden Eagles (5-1) made 8-of-17 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes and then went inside to make 21-of-31 from inside the arc in the second half.

Ricky Franklin scored 14 points and Deion James added 10 for Milwaukee (3-4), which shot just 32.3 percent from the field in the second half as the deficit grew steadily.

The Panthers could never get either of their top-two scorers on track in the game. Torre Johnson was in foul trouble much of the game and played just 16 minutes. Meanwhile, Paige Paulsen scored just four points in 29 minutes, getting only seven shots from the field.

"They did a very good job of getting into our guys defensively," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "Paige had a smaller guy on him in Wesley Matthews, but he has been playing the three for us and has faced smaller guys. Certainly with Torre, he is our leading scorer and not having him out there effects what we will do offensively. But, I just thought it was a good solid defensive effort by Marquette."

The Golden Eagles used a 14-1 run burst to take control of the game late in thefirst half. The Panthers were in it until then, with the game tied at 13 at the 12:30 mark. UWM was still within 18-17 after a Tim Flowers free throw with 11:39 remaining before Marquette launched its first run. The Golden Eagles scored 11 of the next 12 points to build a 29-18 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.

UWM struck back, though. Deion James hit a pair of threes to pull Milwaukee
within 34-28 and a Kaylan Anderson free throw made it 34-29 with 4:50
remaining. But, the Golden Eagles exploded from there, as two-straight threes
by Jerel McNeal along with a three from David Cubillan gave Marquette a 48-30
edge with just under two minutes left. UWM trimmed a single point off the lead
before the half, with Marquette leading 50-33 at the break.

Marquette then expanded its lead to 25 points in the first three minutes of the second half and remained in control the rest of the way.

"Does it hurt? Absolutely, because we didn't play sound-enough basketball," Jeter said. "I can take away some positives. We had some guards step up and play well. We had only 14 turnovers, and nine of those came in the second half when we had a young group out there and things were getting away from us."

The Panthers will return to action Thursday night, beginning Horizon League play at UIC. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and can be seen live in Milwaukee on Time Warner Sports.

- UWM Media Relations

UWM Suspends Avery Smith

Press Release — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:15:16 -0700

MILWAUKEE - Senior guard Avery Smith has been suspended indefinitely from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team for a violation of team rules, head coach Rob Jeter announced prior to tonight's exhibition game with UW-Parkside.

"As a head coach, I strive to give my players every opportunity and chance to succeed. But, with the season starting tonight, I need to concern myself with the progress of the entire team and not just one individual," Jeter said. "We have a large group of players on the team, both veterans and newcomers, and those players have been showing their commitment every day to making us a better team and a better program. So, I have focused my energy on getting the guys in that locker room ready for tonight's game."

Smith was UWM's leading scorer a season ago, averaging 15.5 points per game, and was a preseason first-team All-Horizon League selection.

Wright State Continues to Roll, Beats UWM

Bill Kintner — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:03:57 -0800

DAYTON – At the half Wright State led the visiting University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 35-29.

Former Wright State player and radio color commentator Dave Dinn pointed out that if the Raiders came out strong the first five minutes of the half they could put the Panthers away, if not it could turn out to be a tough night.

Milwaukee (8-18, 5-9 HL) didn’t score a point for the first 4:47 minutes of the second half as Wright State defense went into lock-down mode and their offense went on a 17-0 run to easily defeat the Panthers 76-50.

The Raiders’ defense held Milwaukee to 20 percent shooting (4-20) in the second half, including 1-10 from 3-point land. For the game the Panthers did not have a single player score in double figures.

In the locker room at half time Wright State Coach Brad Brownell stressed defense as the key to completing this game for a win.

“I just told them we were going to win this game defensively. That we needed to come out and guard at a high level and try to stem their run, explained Brownell.

The Raiders’ defense was so good the expected Milwaukee run never came.

“When you shoot 20 percent in a half, that’s just not going to get it done, especially when you play a team as good as Wright State,” said Milwaukee Coach Rob Jeter.

“This time of year you can’t beat yourself. We had way too many turnovers. We started the second half with two turnovers and I think in our first 10 processions we might have had seven or five turnovers. We had 20 for the game. You can’t beat a team of this caliber turning the ball over that many times.”

In the first 10 minutes of the first half it was a different story.

Milwaukee went up 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Paige Paulsen. Wright State’s Drew Burleson came back with a jumper 30 seconds later to make it a 3-2 Panther lead.

Milwaukee exploited several defensive break-downs by the Raiders to maintain a small lead that they got up as high as six points when Kevin Massiah slipped by two Raider defenders to slam home a thundering dunk at the 7:51 mark to make it 23-17

Wright State (17-8, 10-2 HL) then rolled off 15 straight points including 11 points from DaShaun Wood to take a 32-23 lead.

A jumper and then a 3-pointer by the Panthers’ Roman Gentry got the lead down to five points, which is the spread that the Raiders took into the locker room at the half.

This game was the fifth straight win for the Raiders but it was also the 100th career win for Wright State Coach Brad Brownell.

Brownell didn’t dwell on his accomplishment; he was just very pleased with the Raiders’ play tonight.

“I think we played exceptionally well defensively in the second half and it was one of our better games offensively as well in terms of efficiency with our assist to turnover ratio, baskets to field goal percentage,” explained a pleased Brownell. “I thought we clicked in a lot of ways. It is one of those nights we really had things going and they were probably a half-step off.”

Wood led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Wright State’s Todd Brown with 17 points and Burleson with 15 points.

Notes:

*Tonight’s win for Wright State guarantees them of at least a three seed in the Horizon League Tournament and at least a first round bye.

*When Jeter was asked to compare Wright State and Butler he said they were both very good teams, but did not offer an opinion as to which team might win on Saturday night, but he did say he might watch. “They are one and two (in the Horizon League) and they are going to get a chance to play. If we are not playing that night I will be in front of my computer watching that game.”

*Milwaukee leads the all-time series with Wright State 19-15. The Panthers have won 11 of the last 13.

*Milwaukee’s next game is at home on February 14th against Loyola at 8 p.m.

*Wright State’s next game is at UIC on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

UWM Signs Four to Letters of Intent

Press Release — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:23:04 -0800

MILWAUKEE - Tim Flowers of Chicago, Ill., Anthony Hill of Milwaukee, Wis., Kevin Johnson of Chicago, Ill., and Deonte Roberts of St. Paul, Minn., have all signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, head coach Rob Jeter announced today.

The quartet of highly-regarded players will join a UWM program that has won the last three Horizon League regular season titles and has won three NCAA Tournament games over the past two years.

Flowers and Johnson are teammates at Simeon High School in Chicago, which won the Illinois Class AA state title last year and is ranked seventh in the country this season by USA Today. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Flowers is ranked as the 72nd-best prospect in the country in the Class of 2007 by Hoop Scoop, while he also is rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and ranked seventh among seniors in the state of Illinois. He averaged 18.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last season while leading his Simeon team in scoring 15 times and in rebounding 28 times. He averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the state tournament.

"Tim is one of the best rebounders in the country at the high school level and has a real knack for playing around the basket," Jeter said. "He is also a tremendous leader on his high school team, both vocally and how he plays. He has a real presence about him, holding his teammates accountable for their play and really acting as a coach on the floor. He is a perfect fit."

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Johnson is ranked 11th in the state of Illinois after emerging this summer with strong play on his Mean Streets Express AAU team alongside Flowers and Memphis recruit Derrick Rose. He was called one of two elite power forwards in the Chicago area by the Chicago Sun Times heading into this season. Last season, Johnson averaged just over three points and three rebounds a game in a reserve role for Simeon.

"Kevin is a player with great potential who is extremely athletic and can play both forward positions," Jeter said. "He possesses the type of length we need at the front of the press and will give us another athlete in the frontcourt. He is also a tremendous student and is very excited about the opportunity to get his education at Milwaukee."

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Hill appears poised for a stellar senior season at Bradley Tech High School after a breakout summer on the AAU circuit. Hill earned honorable mention all-City Conference honors last season after averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game.

"Anthony just keeps getting better and better," Jeter said. "He has worked very hard on changing his body over the past 12 months, becoming a strong, powerful interior player. His game has really evolved as he has grown from a 6-5 center to a 6-7 guy who can play both inside and out. He is also another local addition to our program, and we're happy to have him join the Panther family."

The 6-foot-3 Roberts is playing this season at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., after a standout high school career in Minnesota. Roberts averaged 22.3 points per game in his final year at Saint Bernard's High School in St. Paul, scoring 20 or more points 20 times and 31 points in two occasions. He was named to the Associated Press All-State team twice while also earning all-league honors.

"Deonte is a highly-skilled player who is also a tremendous competitor," Jeter said. "He is a very good on-ball defender and excels in the open court. He has also developed an excellent mid-range game. He was a standout high school player who should grow even more as a player this year and gives us another wing player who can really help us."

UWM also has a pair of Division I transfers sitting out this season that will be eligible for game action next year. Torre Johnson comes from Oklahoma State and will have one year of eligibility remaining, while Deion James comes from the University of Tulsa and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

"When you start to look at all of the pieces we are putting together, our newcomers next year will provide a great compliment to the strong group of young guards we assembled this year," Jeter said. "We now have a large core group that will play together for three years, in addition to the upperclassmen who will return next year or are sitting out."

Michigan 66 - UWM 59

Press Release — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:01:24 -0800

ANN ARBOR, MI - Avery Smith scored 23 points but it was not enough to overcome 26 points from Courtney Sims as the University of Michigan claimed a hard-fought 66-59 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday night at Crisler Arena.

Milwaukee led by five early in the second half and was still within four with under a minute to play but the Wolverines made five free throws to seal the win.

Paige Paulsen added 13 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Massiah had 10 points and seven boards for the Panthers (1-3), who put a major scare into a Wolverine team that was receiving votes in both of this week's national polls.

Dion Harris added 17 for Michigan (4-0), but it was the 6-foot-10 Sims that proved unstoppable for UWM.

The Panthers recovered from a slow start to claim the halftime lead. Michigan scored the first eight points of the game before Milwaukee countered with 10 of the next 12 points to tie the game at 10 just five minutes in. The Wolverines rebuilt a six-point lead at 21-15 but a three by Allan Hanson and a free throw by Sam Mauldin brought the Panthers within 21-19 with 4:57 remaining.

After Michigan pushed its lead back to four at 25-21, the Panthers held the Wolverines scoreless over the final four minutes of the half in taking over the lead. A three by Paulsen brought the Panthers within a point before a three by Smith gave UWM a 27-25 advantage it would carry into the locker room.

A three by Paulsen with 16:38 to play in the game made it 34-29, but the Wolverines countered with the next 12 points for a 41-34 lead. They could not shake the Panthers, though, who pulled within a point at 43-42 on two free throws by Smith and were still within two at 49-47 after another basket by Smith.

The Wolverines then turned to Sims, who scored 10-straight points to give Michigan a 61-54 lead with 2:27 left. A Smith three pulled Milwaukee to within 61-57 with 47.3 seconds remaining, but UWM could get no closer.

UWM 72 - Radford 60

Press Release — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:14:07 -0800

MILWAUKEE - Paige Paulsen scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 72-60 win over Radford on the first night of the John Thompson Foundation Classic at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers also got 12 points apiece from Avery Smith and Allan Hanson while forcing 24 turnovers by Radford.

Chris Oliver led the Highlanders with 18 points.

UWM's led 45-43 with 11:53 remaining before it pulled away. A three by Charlie Swiggett and a basket by Smith pushed the lead to 50-43. Ryan Thornton then followed moments later with a three to make it 55-45, and Radford would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. A jumper by Paulsen gave UWM its largest lead of the night at 66-51 with 3:17 to play and Paulsen added five more points down the stretch to help secure the win.

"I thought we put together a good second 10 minutes of the first half and then in the second half I thought we played well," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "With such a young team, you want guys to just weather some of the ups and downs. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. The effort is there, and the execution is getting better all the time. I know the guys in the locker room feel good, I feel good, and it gets us off to a positive start for this season."

The Panthers recovered from a slow start to build a 30-24 halftime lead. In
fact, Radford scored the first eight points of the game, holding UWM scoreless over the first 5:38. But, Milwaukee broke the ice on a Paulsen tip-in and eventually tied the game at 13 on a three-pointer by Hanson.

Radford scored seven of the next nine points to rebuild its lead to five and
still led 22-18 with 5:08 remaining. But, sparked by three-point baskets from
Hanson and Paulsen, the Panthers finished the half on a 12-2 run to claim a
six-point lead after 20 minutes.

- From UWM Media Relations

UWM Adds Johnson to Roster

Press Release — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:41:59 -0700

MILWAUKEE - Torre Johnson of Milwaukee, Wis., has joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team as a walk-on, head coach Rob Jeter announced today.

Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward, played in 30 games this past season for Oklahoma State. He finished third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game while also contributing 4.2 rebounds per game. He will have to sit out the 2006-07 season due to NCAA transfer regulations and then will have one season of eligibility remaining.

Johnson played two seasons at Garden City Community College, earning first-team All-America honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association. He averaged 21.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore, earning First-Team All-Jayhawk Conference honors while also being named the Most Valuable Player of the Jayhawk Conference Western Division. Johnson holds Garden City records for most points in a career with 1,306, while also setting records for most field goals made in a game (15), a season (286) and a career (547).

At Milwaukee Juneau High School, Johnson was an all-city conference, all-area and all-state performer, averaging 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots per game his senior season.

UWM now has 19 players on its men's basketball roster, 15 of which are in their first or second years in Milwaukee. Nick Hansen and Kevin Massiah are the only two seniors on the roster.

Kevin O'Connor
Sports Information Director