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HIGH POINT -- The High Point Panthers are a basketball mid-major without the name recognition of a Butler or a Southern Illinois, but they are a program on the rise that the world is starting to notice.

Thanks to the coaching of Bart Lundy and the strong play of seniors Arizona Reid and Mike Jefferson, High Point is gaining national recognition. This season, the Panthers played in the NIT Tip-Off and in February they will compete in an ESPN BracketBusters matchup.

"We've got a balance of really tough games and games that we can compete in," Lundy said. "We're a decent basketball team and nobody's heard of us. So nobody really sees the benefit of playing us. It has been a rough road, and sometimes we spend more time on scheduling than anything else."

The Panthers split their two games in Seattle in the NIT, losing to Utah in the opener and bouncing back to beat New Jersey Tech the following night.

"We gained a lot of experience," Jefferson said of playing in the NIT. "Our young guys got thrown into the fire a little bit.

"I think we're leaving here a better team. It was great to play in the NIT after watching it for years on TV."

Lindy's and CBS Sportsline are among the publications to make Jefferson a preseason All-Big South Conference pick.

"Those are great preseason accolades," Jefferson said. "When I found out about it I was excited, but I know it's a bigger bull's-eye on my back. I just want to work hard to prove them right."

Lundy is counting on Jefferson to provide stability for the team at point guard.

"He's given us tremendous senior leadership," the coach said. "He really understands what we're trying to accomplish, especially offensively. He does a good job of understanding the tempo we want to play at. He came to us as more of a scorer and has developed into more of a cerebral point guard."

High Point topped 80 points 11 times last season, but Lundy envisions the team playing at a slower tempo than a season ago.

The Panthers look for three seniors to lead them to the top of the conference this season, but a preseason injury to 6-foot-7 Jerald Minnis will leave him on the bench all season. Minnis' absence will put more pressure on sophomore Cruz Daniels to produce in the post.

"Cruz has played well," Lundy said of the 6-11 center. "He is not tremendous offensively at this point, really more because he doesn't look for it than an inability to score.

"Defensively and rebounding he gives us something that not many people at our level have -- the guy who can get 10 boards and block 10 shots in a game. He's a defensive presence back there."

While Lundy looks for Jefferson to run the team and Daniels to provide an intimidating presence, High Point will depend on Reid, the reigning Big South player of the year, for everything else.

Reid shows no signs of slacking off in his senior season. He is averaging 24.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game heading into tonight's home opener against Warren Wilson.

The Big South coaches recognize the skill of Reid and the Panthers, picking them to dethrone perennial power Winthrop in the preseason poll.

"It's flattering for our program," Lundy said. "But in our league until someone knocks Winthrop off, they're the team. It's been our goal since our staff got here to win the Big South and make the NCAA tournament."

Jefferson also has his sights set on making the NCAA tournament.

"Anything less than a Big South championship," Jefferson said, "is going to be a down year and will be unacceptable."