Count me in as one of those people who thought UWM's days as the feel-good sports story in town were numbered.

Marquette was heading to the Big East, the Brewers were finally turning the corner, the Bucks landed the top pick in the draft, and poor little UWM; the Cinderella Sweetheart of last year's NCAA Tournament -- lost its high-octane, highly popular head coach.

It wasn't too far of a stretch to picture Milwaukee's public institution of higher learning to begin a recession back to the dark days of Ric Cobb when Rob Jeter was introduced as head coach.

Sure, he had been a successful assistant under Bo Ryan during his two-year stint on the East Side, and Jeter enjoyed even more success under Ryan when the two took over the program at Wisconsin.

But the swing offense favored by Jeter couldn't possibly work with Milwaukee's seven seniors who stunned the college hoops world with last season's run to the Sweet 16. Implementing the steady and deliberate swing with a group more suited and accustomed to 40 minutes of in-your-face pressure was akin to making a Kentucky Derby favorite train for Olympic Equestrian.

Matt Doherty -- formerly of Notre Dame and North Carolina fame -- was available, so were a better-known handful of coaches and assistants looking to work their way up the ladder.

But Jeter? Come on.

Nobody knew that this Milwaukee team -- which got waxed by Memphis in the season opener -- would even make it to the post season this year. Of course, despite a lofty ranking, nobody was really sure that Memphis would end up with a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

The Panthers didn't panic when the Badgers had them down big. Instead, Jeter calmly and coolly helped mount a comeback that fell short. Again, he didn't let his guys lose focus after a loss to Green Bay, then back-to-back late-season losses to Missouri State in the ESPN Bracket Buster, and Illinois-Chicago.

No, instead Jeter got his team together and clinched the Horizon League's regular season title then he cut down the nets after winning the conference tournament title at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Even then, few expected this bunch to again play David vs. Goliath in the Big Dance. But that's just what happened when the Panthers walked onto the court in Jacksonville Thursday morning.

The Panthers took charge from the get-go, building a double digit lead only to see it whittle away by halftime. Even when the fourth-seeded Oklahoma Sooners seemed to get close to taking over, it never looked like the Panthers were in serious danger.

That kind of confidence comes from the top.

I'll admit, Jeter's hiring wasn't my favorite move at the time. He didn't have the flash, it seemed, to boost the program out of the mid-major doldrums and Marquette's Big East shadow.

It turns out, Jeter didn't need any of that. He was just the man for the job.