The grace period is one of the best inventions of our time.

There’s nothing like a little buffer zone to get things in order, and for late-starters, a grace period allows for some time to get things moving a little bit (like a car spinning its wheels before it moves).

But like most things, eventually the comfort a grace period offers disappears.

With the Ohio Valley Conference season beginning in six days, it’s time for the Panther men’s basketball team to get it.

Three games into the season and the Panthers have yet to play very well, having lost to Xavier, St. Louis and Western Illinois.

The logical reasons for their losses are easy enough to come up with. The team is adjusting to a new coaching staff. Young teams often struggle early, especially on the road.

Saturday, Eastern begins a three-game homestand against Indiana State before jumping right into OVC play.

And while in past seasons the Panthers have been able to adjust all the way through Christmas break, that luxury now has vanished.

Last season, the Panthers had 11 games to get themselves ready for the all-important conference season. However, because of a new, balanced schedule in the OVC, the start of league play has been moved up a month.

This can mean different things for different teams.

For a team struggling, the early start to OVC play gives coaches a chance to know what kind of team they have sooner.

Often prior to conference play, teams in smaller conferences like the OVC hit the road to face better schools in better conferences.

It’s hard to tell how good your team is as it’s being run off the court by a Big Ten opponent. However, if that same team is being blitzed by, say, Jacksonville State, a coach knows he’s in for a tough year.

Conversely (the transition, not the shoe worn by Dwyane Wade or my dad), winning early OVC contests doesn’t necessarily mean all that much.

Early wins don’t necessarily indicate who the conference’s best teams are. They indicate which teams are most ready to win now.

The Panthers will do more damage in February than they will in December. This is what young teams do.

However, for Eastern to be more than a spoiler, they need a strong start. And even though Indiana State is a non-conference foe, it’s imperative Eastern doesn’t wait too long to get going.

If the team is serious about contending, it first has to start winning.

Dan Woike is a senior journalism major. Email him a [email protected] if you think there should be more of a buffer between his opinions.