Panther Madness Invades FIT Clemente Center

Doug Flutie (backward hat) got on the court during Panther Madness

After a seven-year hiatus, Panther Madness returned to the Clemente Center, ahead of the men's and women's basketball teams starting their 2017-2018 seasons.

There was a celebrity in the house as well, as Doug Flutie was paired with Sam Daniel in the demonstration of one of the events. 

The night included fan-involved games such as knockout, lay-up drill, and NBA two ball, as well as a three-point shootout between the men and women Panthers and a dunk contest featuring seniors Sam Daniel and Michael Milligan, along with freshman Nieja Jordan.  

Jordan won the contest, making two dunks, while Daniel went for degree of difficulty as he attempted to get a pass from a seated Antonis Pefanis (sophomore guard), as he leaped over Pefanis. 

Unfortunately, Daniel was unable to finish on three attempts but did finish a couple dunks later in the 15-minute scrimmage that concluded the nights' festivities, with Panthers coach Billy Mims as the referee. 

As you can imagine, Mims was more than happy to see his team back out on the floor and is looking forward to opening his 13th season as Panthers head coach on November 10, against Morehouse College as part of the NCAA South Regional Tipoff at Rollins College. 

The Panthers, who finished 15-14, including a 7-11 conference record, have a nice mix of upperclassmen, as well as a good crop of newcomers, which has Mims firing on all cylinders and ready to get this season started. He ran through some key guys after things wrapped up. 

“You saw Nieja Jordan (freshman forward) tonight, he is incredibly athletic,” said Mims. Mate Papai (freshman center) is very strong in the paint and a very smart player. Darius Wright (freshman) who is gonna be a very good backup guard and it's nice to see Valur Valsson (sophomore guard) eligible to play this year from Iceland, we're looking for big things out of him.” 

The Panthers return four starters, including Daniel, who was named Division II Bulletin All-American earlier this week. “He's a returning All Conference player, All-American player and last year he set the all-time record for three's in a season at Florida Tech,” said Mims. “At the end of the day, he's got high expectations on Sam Daniel this year.” 

The big thing for the Panthers is to get everybody on the floor. Pat Anderson (senior guard), Derek Murphy (junior guard/forward) and Pefanis were all out for the scrimmage. 

“Tonight, we were showcasing the start of our season and promoting our players,” said Mims “But three pretty good players weren't out there. We have a lot of talent out there, but we also have a lot of depth and there seems to be some really good chemistry in this group of guys.” 

That depth will be tested early, as Mims said Pefanis had knee surgery in Greece over the summer, so he isn't cleared. There is a chance that he will be able to go in the first game, but Mims just isn't sure. Murphy has a stress fracture in his foot and as Mims pointed out, although it's not a clean break, sometimes the stress fracture can be trickier than a full break. He's in a boot and can't do anything for a few more weeks. 

“I don't think he'll be ready for opening night, but as soon as he's ready to play, we expect big things out of Derek”, said Mims. “We just gotta get healthy and be ready for a tough start on the road. We love playing in the friendly confines of the Clemente Center, but our season, we're gonna be tested.” 

Besides playing Morehouse College to start the season, the Panthers will also play Clark-Atlanta University the following day. They return to Rollins to start their Sunshine State Conference schedule against the Tars on November 15. 

The Panthers first home game will be against Lindenwood University (MO.) on November 18 at 2:00 p.m. Lindenwood is coached by Lance Randall, who used to be a coach in the Sunshine State Conference, at Saint Leo. He's now in his third season at Lindenwood.

“It's gonna be a tough year,” said Mims. “Our schedule may be the toughest we've played in a long time. I think it's one of the toughest schedules in Division II college basketball. 

It's really good to start on the road like that with tough tests, win or lose” he continued. “Because if you're gonna be a good team and have a great season, guess what... you're gonna finish on the road too.” 

Another fun night lies ahead for the Panthers before they start the season, as they will welcome some Panther greats back to the Clemente Center for Alumni Night on Thursday, October 26. The festivities are scheduled to get underway at 7:00 p.m. 

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