By now most Knoxville Panther Basketball fans have scanned the boys schedule and have likely noticed a new addition this season. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is defending class 3A state champion Cedar Rapids Xavier on January 14th. Coach Jeff Larson said he got an email through a state schedule clearinghouse from Xavier Coach and Former Iowa Hawkeye Standout Ryan Luehrsmann about needing a game to fill out their schedule. After thinking about it for a few days, Larson says he sent Luehrsmann and email thinking he would get a thanks but no thanks reply. To Larson’s surprise, Luehrsmann not only was interested in playing the Panthers, but told Larson that they were one of the finalists to be an opponent of the Saints. So, a few weeks later when Marshalltown opted out, the Panthers had one of the most well-known teams in the state of Iowa on their schedule. Larson knows this will be a very difficult game to win, but he wants his guys to compete and to see what it takes to get to where they want to be. If playing Xavier is not enough, the Panthers on the following Tuesday welcome Pella High into Panther Gym. So the Panthers could very well see two of the top five teams in class 3A on back-to-back games this season.