UNCW at No. 1 North Carolina
9 p.m. | Smith Center | ACC Network | Listen | Stats
It’s been seven months since the Seahawks made their proclamation in front of a national television audience, finishing off their 10th double digit comeback of the season to claim the College Basketball Invitational.
After 27 wins and a share of the CAA regular-season title, there was no disputing Coach Takayo Siddle when he said, “UNCW Basketball is back.”
The 2021-22 Seahawks will forever be the team that brought us back — one of the most beloved, memorable squads to call Trask Coliseum home.
Now, it’s time for the 2022-23 Seahawks to use that foundation to rise to new heights.
And if Thursday night’s exhibition victory over Emory & Henry is any indication, this UNCW team has all of the ingredients to it’ll need to soar back into The Big Dance in March.
The Seahawks already have a new believer in national college hoops analyst Debbie Antonelli, whose son, Patrick, plays for the Wasps. After the game, she stopped by the UNCW locker room to speak to the team, where she noted the Hawks’ defensive activity.
“You guys got a chance, a real chance",” she said. “You’re long, you’re athletic, you’ve got experience, you’ve got scorers…”
Good thing, because the Seahawks are going to need all of that and then some on Monday night as they’ll tip off the season against a No. 1 North Carolina team that didn’t lose much from a national runner-up finish in April.
Here’s what you’ll need to know for the opener.
About the Tar Heels
Losing your last game of the season? Can’t relate.
But seriously, no team got hotter than Carolina over the final month of the season and ended up an Armando Bacot (16.3 point, 13.1 rebounds) twisted ankle away from a stunning national championship.
He’s back, and so are Caleb Love (15.9 points), RJ Davis (13.5 points) and defensive stopper Leaky Black. Add in a slew of five-star recruits and one of the best transfers on the market in Pete Nance (14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds at Northwestern) and you get the favorite to cut down the nets in April.
There is some question about whether Davis (hand) and Puff Johnson (knee) will play.
The absence of Davis would be significant, as he serves a steadying influence next to Love, whose game teeters between absolutely magnificent and massively frustrating.
Carolina will do what Carolina does: crash the boards, feed the big men and look to beat you in transition.
Length + Depth = Havoc
With two normal recruiting classes under Siddle, UNCW is getting closer to having the talent and numbers it needs to pressure and push tempo offensively.
During the preseason, Siddle said the Seahawks are about “60, 65 percent” of the way to fulfilling his stylistic vision.
What exactly does that mean?
We got a little glimpse on Thursday when the lengthy, 6-7 Maleeck Harden-Hayes wreaked all kinds of havoc at the top of the press, while the Hawks aggressively trapped and pursued the ball across all 94 feet.
Ultimately, E&H turned the ball over 24 times while UNCW finished with 58 deflections, helping fuel 27 points off turnovers and 15 points on the fastbreak.
“It’s been fun for sure, just for me, playing in a system that fits me,” Harden-Hayes said. “(I’m) able to run around be long, get deflections and get tip-outs. I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can fit that role, and that’s what makes us such a good team.”
It was a pretty good showing of what’s possible for the Hawks, but it’s nowhere near a finished product, as the Wasps took advantage of several transition defense lapses for easy buckets.
Obviously, the Tar Heels — known for the transition excellence — are on a different level.
The Hawks will create a few easy buckets with their pressure, but in order for it to pay of, they can’t let Nance and Bacot repeatedly get loose on rim runs.
Embrace the Opportunity
If UNCW is going to compete, Shykeim Phillips will have to play more than six minutes. (Good analysis!)
Phillips four-foul, six-minute performance on Thursday was such a bizarre anomaly that you really can’t imagine that will happen ever again. You’d get better odds for him scoring 30 in Chapel Hill.
Somehow, a little good came from it, as Jamarii Thomas took advantage of his opportunity, finishing with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, continuing the brilliant play we saw from him in the CBI.
He rode that wave of confidence into the summer and appears more than ready to be a lead guard.
“He took the momentum from the CBI Tournament into spring workouts, into summer workouts and into the preseason, and he’s a completely different player,” Siddle said. “He’s confident; he can really score the basketball. He's a dynamic guard and we need him out on the floor a lot; he brings a lot to our group.”
With Phillips getting his normal complement of minutes, Thomas won’t have to save the day offensively — but if he can just be himself, as a creator, defender and bring his usual level of infectious energy — that’ll be good enough for the Seahawks.
Old Habits
The most obvious concern from the exhibition victory came in the form of 30 attempts from 3-point range, with the Seahawks making nine. On a total of 32 made buckets, UNCW had 10 assists.
Siddle made it very clear that would be an area of emphasis in preparing for Carolina.
“My thing at the top of my pregame speech was, ‘Be a basketball player,’ and what I mean by that is just making the play that’s presented to you and I didn’t think we did that enough tonight.
“We had some moments where we did, but going into practice on Friday leading up to the game on Monday, we have to take a huge step in that. I’m going to be on them about sharing the basketball and making the right play. So much that goes into it; they were wanting to kind of showcase themselves a little bit in front of the home crowd. Maybe they were getting too deep on their drives, and they didn’t see the guys who were open enough. They’re unselfish kids, so I think we can make that adjustment.”
A pretty clear trend established last season, with the Hawks putting up an average of 20.5 3-point attempts (making 36.6 percent) in victories, while attempting 24 in losses (hitting 26.6 percent).
The best things happen for the Seahawks when they’re attacking the basket and getting into the lane, versus hoisting up 3-pointers after tossing it around the perimeter.
Against a high-major team with ample big men, it could be easy to fall into that trap — but it sounds like Siddle will make sure that doesn’t happen.
We Belong Here
Take a look up UNCW’s roster, and there’s a lot of guys that high-major programs would love to have. Heck, several of them began their careers at that level.
The Seahawks have the length and athleticism to compete with everyone on the schedule. It’s only a matter of bringing the toughness and physicality to make it happen.