At least we can say that they’re getting better.

Though it’s hard to say that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team posting a 1-4 record going into Thanksgiving is a good thing, there are positive points you can take out of the opening of the non-conference schedule.

No ifs, ands or buts about it. UWM has progressed in field goal percentage every game since the opening victory over Radford. Every team that has played the Panthers so far has done a great job getting in the face of Panther shooters. The team’s best field goal percentage on the season remains its 38 percent performance against Radford. However, in its four losses, the team shoots a little more efficiently each time out.

For example, UWM shot a paltry 28 percent from the field against Washington State University. The Panthers did not choose the right spots on the court to shoot from, and they put up bad shots.

Avery Smith, who was great against Radford, relapsed into the 2005-’06 Smith, the one who could slash to the basket yet never had the ability to finish his shots. The Panthers got behind, and the players took chances without respect for the game clock.

The game against the University of Alabama-Birmingham showed a little improvement. While they only shot 32 percent from the floor, the Panthers had a little more patience. They ran the swing, their patented offense, better than in the contest with Wazzou. They didn’t rush shots, and the score, like their field goal percentage, showed a slight improvement.

In each of the next two games, against the University of Michigan and the University of Northern Iowa, they showed an improvement in their shooting. In Ann Arbor, Milwaukee shot a blistering 47 percent from three-point range. Mostly this can be attributed to playing from behind, although Avery Smith made a trey in clutch time to give the Panthers a lead going into halftime.

While Northern Iowa took care of the Panthers, UWM played well within their offense. They didn’t throw up unbelievably bad shots, and that is something to make any Panther fan proud.

However, they continue to let opponents have a field day against them. All four teams to beat UWM shot over 40 percent from the field. In fact, UWM opponents have shot a blistering 50.75 percent this season.

Why such a high percentage? Of course, the average fan would love to blame it on Milwaukee’s lack of a dominant post player. Marcus Skinner and Paige Paulsen have done their parts so far, but they aren’t the big-time post players that Adrian Tigert, Derrick Ford, James Wright and Jason McCoy have been the past couple seasons. If UWM has any chance at continuing its streak of Horizon League Championships, it will be with Skinner or Paulsen down low.

There is good news on that front, however. UWM received the National Letters of Intent from the four players of their 2007 recruiting class: Tim Flowers and Kevin Johnson of Chicago, Anthony Hill of Milwaukee, and Deonte Roberts of St. Paul.

On the other hand, I believe that the Panthers are not contesting shots the way the coaches would like, which leads to such a high percentage. Sure, the opponent’s bigs are throwing down with ease and crashing the glass even easier, but when all three of Northern Iowa’s starting guards were 50 percent or over from the field, there is a problem. The players need to get a hand in the face of their opponents. Without contesting shots, you basically ask the other team to beat you playing a running game of horse.

And that is no way to pull in a victory.

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