The Eastern Illinois Panthers were a team full of livewire players who could run and gun with just about anyone.  This kind of tempo was perfectly suited for the fast paced Ohio Valley Conference.  The problem was that new Coach Rick Samuels players did not have the experience or the consistency to keep up with the better teams in the league.  Still, on any given night, when the Panthers were hitting their stride and pulling on all cylinders they almost beat some mighty good teams.  They do have that kind of talent.  And more is coming from the master recruiter from Iowa.  Samuels, as good as he is as recruiting, was a man filling some pretty big shoes in his first season.  Legendary coach Don Eddy might not be Bob Lanier but around these parts he almost fits perfectly in a Violent Femmes song.  The Handy Man put this program on the map leading his teams to NAIA nirvana with a couple of final fours.  Two years ago was a different story however as the Panthers leaped up to D-1 and were overmatched even in the below average Mid-Continent conference.  EIU knew they needed someone who could bring in some better talent to Charleston and to be honest Eddy was done.  They promoted his assistant Samuels and the new coach has definitely brought in some fresh young talent.  This meant ‘transitioning’ some of those older players who had been so important to the success of this program at the lower levels.  These players were nowhere near the talent level to compete consistently at D-1 and especially a strong mid-major like the OVC.  

Seniors John Milholland and Tom Katsimpaliss have been the vanguards for this program almost since its inception.  Eddy built his program around these two studs.  ‘Tomkat’ as he will be forever known around these parts was an undersized (six three) post player who the entire motion offense evolved around.  He was never the highest scoring big man but he could put the hole in the basket and was terrific at making sure the offense was moving in the right direction.  A true team player who showers his teammates with accolades even when he was leading the team to national tournaments with his variety of shots from anywhere near the key.  Katsimpalis (no wonder they gave him that cool nickname) was ironically recruited from his hometown of Gary Indiana for track by coach Pat O’Brien and turned down North Carolina State because O’Brien sold him on the great quail hunting around Charleston. This was long before athletes specialized in one sport and when winter came around he tried out for the basketball team. Eddy soon planted him at the post and he was the flagship for the last three years. How did he do at track?  Well, he was a decent pole vaulter but once he showed what he could do on the court his scholarship was quickly transferred over to the hoops program.  Good choice. This Kat bleeds blue and gray and will do whatever it takes for EIU to succeed.  He will be the team captain for the second time this upcoming year and will be  taking a reduction in minutes for the betterment of the program.  As far as playing basketball after college there is little chance of a six three post guy playing pro ball but no matter to Tomkat as he will stay around Charleston in some capacity helping this University grow. Please don’t ‘cry a little bitty tear’ for him because he married the homecoming king and is expecting his first son this fall.  You go TomKat! 

Milholland was the opposite end of the basketball spectrum but also came from the Hoosier State, Terre Haute to be exact.  He learned under the tutelage of the great shooting instructor Virgil Sweet at Westlake High and immediately had impact once he enrolled at EIU.  Long before the three point became vogue Milholland used his technique of ‘thumb on the outside seam, middle finger pointing to the valve stem and most off eliminate all unnecessary motion’ to become the primary long-range bomber for the Panthers.  He and TomKat led the group when Eddy got the fortuitous call three years ago in early March that a team had dropped out and they needed a quick and local replacement to get to Kansas City for the NAIA national tournament.  Obviously that would not happen today as the 17 and 13 Panthers ‘leaped’ at the chance to play with the big boys and shocked the KC fans by winning three games and getting to the final four before finally succumbing.  The Mr. Outside-Mr. Inside combo of Milholland were the catalysts for a team that pressured the ball hard and relied on their motion offense and Little John’s clutch shooting to literally put EIU on the basketball map and the rest of this programs trek to basketball highlands soon followed.    

 Junior Derrick Scott has come down from Chicago to play for the Panthers. This cat quick 5’10 kid is a true point guard  He is the leader of this team who sets the tone for all of those scorers on the wing. He does not score much but he plays terrific in your face defense and knows how to get the ball to his shooters on the side at just the right moment so they can just catch, go up and shoot.  Just ask Junior Charlie Thomas!  Thomas got some productive minutes and is another gifted shooter and comes into this upcoming year as huge part of the team that went to the NAIA tourney.  He, like Milholland, has a picture perfect jump shot but is not athletic or big enough to guard small forwards at this level.  His relationship with Scott goes back to JV days where those two got their feet wet.  Samules has emphasized perimeter players who are a bit more athletic but this program will continue to rely on stellar long-range shooting. 

The Panthers had a difficult time up front.  Juniors Craig DeWitt and Scott Keeve got some minutes and opportunities to play the two post spots.  Keeve is a tough board guy and has some size but has limited offensive skills outside of a bulldozing low post game and they are developing the ultimate bull in the china cabinet down low who is about half a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier.  He does get some buckets muscling in but has nowhere near size who can hang down low in this league with the tremendous athletes in the OVC.  Dewitt is a much more consistent and can take it out on the perimeter but gets overmatched physically.  This Cali kid had no intention of coming to play in cold weather but he was convinced on a great visit when two upperclassmen took him under their wing and Eddy who ‘can talk the fuzz off a Georgia Peach’ convinced him to come east.  Good choice.  Dewitt was a huge part of the great NAIA teams and might be the most complete player on the roster. Dewitt actually began the season starting but quickly accepted a role coming off the bench.  He is not overly athletic but knows how to play and is a leader as he showed by not just accepting his demotion but relishing it no matter if he was playing 20 or 5 minutes.  Fellow Junior Jeff Furry also got some valuable playing time in the paint.  He is kind of a combo fo DeWitt and Keeve as he can bang but also can hit a 15 footer.  All three are helpful on the boards and will once again battle for minutes as one post is now taken by a behemoth of a man who eats up more space then the Millennium Falcon hitting hyperdrive.

The Panthers cand get away with this smaller lineup because they have a true spaceeater in the middle.  The most talented panther was at times the team’s biggest strength and at other times, their biggest weakness.  Sophomore Kevin Duckworth is a man amongst men. Another Illinois native Duck can truly can block out the sun.  At seven foot and 300 pounds, Duckworth has the size to be great.  He also has an awful lot of talent.  Duckworth is gifted with a nice touch for a big man and knows how to use his body.  He also has a wonderful outside touch especially for a man his size. He sometimes relished his size and doesn’t work to take advantage of his wonderful physical gifts. He is still not a terrific board guy as he really does not get off the ground but even with that should grab more just by taking up all of that space.  But he does have a nice mid-range game and can hit jumpers out to about 15 feet but this team wanted him down on the blocks dominating smaller big men with a variety of shots that never look like they are going in but somehow do.  He has great English around the hoop and had some games where he just terrorized smaller opponents.  When he was on the Panthers were almost unbeatable against anyone.  The last three games of the regular season Duckworth averaged over 20 points and 9 boards and blocked over three shots a game.  His potential is off the charts and if this gentle giant can stay motivated like he did in these games then watch out.  To be honest though as much as the Duck Man gets crap about his weight and lack of motivation (and dancing as of course he loves Otis Redding) the truth is this guy should be the focus of this offense.  Samuels just never did that until the end of the year and let his multitude of scorers play off his great screens and fire at will instead of getting this gifted big man the ball over and over again and try to make the other team stop him.  When you have a guy this talented and big you have to ride that horse.  Sure he had some problems but he should have averaged over his 11.8 average and 7.8 boards a game and is a better passer than he showed but come on there were way too many possessions that he did not touch the ball and we are not just talking fast breaks.  We will never know how good he can be if he does not get more attention and yes he did get frustrated but so would you.  To be honest when he is on no big man in this league can touch him and the Panthers would have won many more games if he would have been used effectively the first three quarters of the year.  He is that good.  And contrary to popular belief the Duck has a huge heart and he does work his tail off.  Foul trouble, turnovers, lethargy and whatever else were problems for the big man but he will get a shot at the next level on sheer size and skill alone.   

The Panthers have more talent on the roster but seem pretty set so for one of these next few to break in, they will have to get some breaks.  Sophomore Dennis Mumford is the biggest of this bunch.  This spindly 6’9 kid from Canton Ohio spent his first year here on the JV primarily trying to bulk up.  Mumford has game but definitely needs to increase strength and stamina if he is going to survive in the OVC.  A large group of seniors might have seen their last significant playing time in Charleston.  Post players Lloyd Ludwig (a terrific board guy), Bob Carson, Dean Brauer, Bob Rickett, Charlie Sessions and John Wilson are on the roster but unless something happens will ot be getting many minutes.  Good players who are just not big enough for D-1.  Senior Andy Sullivan is in the same boat on the wing and junior Yoder is just not quick enough at guard.  Sophomore Ricky Robinson is a wing who is big enough (6’6) and more than athletic enough for D-1.  Now, he has to get more time on the court and improve his shooting and ballhandling but the future is bright for this young stud. 

The Eastern Illinois Panthers under the leadership of Coach Rick Samuels had an up and down season in the fun and gun Ohio Valley conference.  Samuels has brought in a bunch of new kids in the last two years trying to upgrade this once big-time lower division program into the real big-time of D-1.  Last year did not go so well for the Panthers but there is hope in Charleston Illinois.  After all this was the programs first year in the OVC and they did prove they could score with anyone around these parts but defense was a whole different thing.  From here on Samuels just has to keep this team moving forward and hopefully that big man in the middle can become a little more consistent because if he starts playing like he is capable then the OVC has a new Goliath to deal with.  And Charleston is not that far from Lawrence.