districtballer
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The University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) is a public school in scenic Wilmington, NC. It was established in 1947 and has about 13,000 students. Its most distinguished attendee has to be current Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari, who didn't graduate but was a student at the Dub for sometime before transferring out.
The Seahawk Basketball Tradition:
While the Seahawks were never especially successful on the court until the turn of the millennium, the Seahawks were the face of the CAA in the first half of this decade. They racked up 4 CAA Championships and subsequent NCAA tournaments in 2000, 2002, 2003, and most recently in 2006. The first 3 appearances were during the Brett Blizzard era. Brett Blizzard was one of the most prolific players in CAA history, with a silky smooth jump shot accompanied by a mother with looks that could kill.
UNCW legend Brett Blizzard
The highlight of the Blizzard era has to be the Seahawks' 93-89 overtime win over the 4th-seededTrojans of USC as a 13 seed in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament. The next year the Seahawks lost a heartbreaker as Maryland won their first round matchup 75-73 on the strength of a half-court prayer at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net. Then-freshman John Goldsberry set an NCAA tournament record with perfect 8 for 8 shooting from behind the 3-point line that game. Most recently the Dub won the CAA in 2006 and were awarded with a #9 seed, but blew an 18-point second-half lead to lose in overtime 88-85 to the #8-seeded George Washington Colonials of the A-10 in the first round. The Seahawks largely dominated the Rams during this time period, although Mike Doles had something to say about that in one of the matchups, hitting 3 after 3 to lead the Rams to one of their most memorable victories of the decade.
After that the inexplicable happened. The UNCW AD basically ran Jerry Wainwright protégé Brad Brownell out of town and replaced him with Charlotte assistant Benny Moss. The program took a nosedive from there, sandwiching 7-win seasons around a 20-win campaign in which the Seahawks failed to make the postseason. The once-proud CAA power has since been relegated to rebuilding mode for the past couple of seasons.
Head-to-head, the Rams lead the all-time series with a 19-17 record.
The 2009-2010 Seahawks:
The 2009-2010 Seahawks sport a 4-7 record with Penn State of the Big10 as its best win. UNCW most recently lost a heartbreaker at the Robins Center, building an 8-point lead with 3 minutes to go in the game only to lose 66-64. The Seahawk guards could not withstand the Spiders’ full-court pressure and turned the ball over repeatedly in crunch time. Seeing as this is the function of the VCU press and style of play, this bodes well for the Rams.
The Seahawks are led by the diminutive but quick and crafty Chad Tomko. He leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per contest and dishes out a team-leading 5.1 assists per game. He is undersized and not particularly strong, but he makes up for it with speed and craftiness in the backcourt. He has range out to the NBA 3-point line but is considerably streaky. He often plays out-of-control and looks for his own shot before deferring to teammates.
UNCW big man John Fields
Last season, the Seahawks had no inside presence to speak of and opponents pounded the ball inside to the Seahawks' detriment as they had no answer in the post. This season, the Seahawks had ECU transfer John Fields come online and he has made an impact in the frontcourt. The 6’9 Fields is averaging 13.6 points and 9.2 boards per game to go along with a CAA-leading 3.2 blocked shots per game. While Larry Sanders' resurgence in the past several games has slipped him out of the top spot, Fields is a force to be reckoned with in the CAA. He is long and athletic and really rebounds the ball very well. He is a good weak-side shot-blocker and will take the ball hard to the rack regardless of who is in the way. Freshmen Keith Rendleman (6’7) and Matt Wilson (6’11) as well as RS Freshman Will O’Huaregbe (6’8) also provide additional size and strength in the post.
Coach Benny Moss recruited a trio of JUCO guards in Ahmad Grant, Jeremy Basnight, and Trevor DeLoach. Grant has cracked the playing rotation and at 6’3 with a 7-foot wingspan, he’s a long and athletic addition to the Dub in the backcourt. He is also a very proficient 3-point shooter, nailing nearly 52% of his attempts from behind the arc. The rest of the team is similar to what we’ve seen in the past with Montez Downey, Dom Lacy, and Darryl Felder rounding out the rotation.
Tomorrow’s tilt at the Stu is a battle between two teams who play at the fastest-tempo in the CAA. VCU leads the league in possessions per game with 72, and UNCW is second at 70.7. The Dub will attack the press and try to get up and down the floor just as much as the Rams. The Dub is a proficient 3-point shooting team at 36.6% overall from behind the line. They are similar in offensive output to the Rams, averaging 73.6 points a game to the Rams’ 75.5 points per contest. However the Seahawks are far more prone to turning the ball over (17.3 per game), as evidenced by the meltdown at Richmond. The Rams will need to stay true to their identity and press the Seahawks from the tip-off to the final buzzer. If the Rams reach their stated target of turning over the Dub more than 20 times, the Rams will be in a good position to pull out the win.
DB’s Prediction:
The Rams even up the conference record with a big win over an undisciplined and overmatched UNCW squad. John Fields will get his, but Larry Sanders will prove he is the best big man in the CAA as the Rams roll to a comfortable first conference win. Rams by 14.
GO RAMS!
The Seahawk Basketball Tradition:
While the Seahawks were never especially successful on the court until the turn of the millennium, the Seahawks were the face of the CAA in the first half of this decade. They racked up 4 CAA Championships and subsequent NCAA tournaments in 2000, 2002, 2003, and most recently in 2006. The first 3 appearances were during the Brett Blizzard era. Brett Blizzard was one of the most prolific players in CAA history, with a silky smooth jump shot accompanied by a mother with looks that could kill.
UNCW legend Brett Blizzard
The highlight of the Blizzard era has to be the Seahawks' 93-89 overtime win over the 4th-seededTrojans of USC as a 13 seed in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament. The next year the Seahawks lost a heartbreaker as Maryland won their first round matchup 75-73 on the strength of a half-court prayer at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net. Then-freshman John Goldsberry set an NCAA tournament record with perfect 8 for 8 shooting from behind the 3-point line that game. Most recently the Dub won the CAA in 2006 and were awarded with a #9 seed, but blew an 18-point second-half lead to lose in overtime 88-85 to the #8-seeded George Washington Colonials of the A-10 in the first round. The Seahawks largely dominated the Rams during this time period, although Mike Doles had something to say about that in one of the matchups, hitting 3 after 3 to lead the Rams to one of their most memorable victories of the decade.
After that the inexplicable happened. The UNCW AD basically ran Jerry Wainwright protégé Brad Brownell out of town and replaced him with Charlotte assistant Benny Moss. The program took a nosedive from there, sandwiching 7-win seasons around a 20-win campaign in which the Seahawks failed to make the postseason. The once-proud CAA power has since been relegated to rebuilding mode for the past couple of seasons.
Head-to-head, the Rams lead the all-time series with a 19-17 record.
The 2009-2010 Seahawks:
The 2009-2010 Seahawks sport a 4-7 record with Penn State of the Big10 as its best win. UNCW most recently lost a heartbreaker at the Robins Center, building an 8-point lead with 3 minutes to go in the game only to lose 66-64. The Seahawk guards could not withstand the Spiders’ full-court pressure and turned the ball over repeatedly in crunch time. Seeing as this is the function of the VCU press and style of play, this bodes well for the Rams.
The Seahawks are led by the diminutive but quick and crafty Chad Tomko. He leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per contest and dishes out a team-leading 5.1 assists per game. He is undersized and not particularly strong, but he makes up for it with speed and craftiness in the backcourt. He has range out to the NBA 3-point line but is considerably streaky. He often plays out-of-control and looks for his own shot before deferring to teammates.
UNCW big man John Fields
Last season, the Seahawks had no inside presence to speak of and opponents pounded the ball inside to the Seahawks' detriment as they had no answer in the post. This season, the Seahawks had ECU transfer John Fields come online and he has made an impact in the frontcourt. The 6’9 Fields is averaging 13.6 points and 9.2 boards per game to go along with a CAA-leading 3.2 blocked shots per game. While Larry Sanders' resurgence in the past several games has slipped him out of the top spot, Fields is a force to be reckoned with in the CAA. He is long and athletic and really rebounds the ball very well. He is a good weak-side shot-blocker and will take the ball hard to the rack regardless of who is in the way. Freshmen Keith Rendleman (6’7) and Matt Wilson (6’11) as well as RS Freshman Will O’Huaregbe (6’8) also provide additional size and strength in the post.
Coach Benny Moss recruited a trio of JUCO guards in Ahmad Grant, Jeremy Basnight, and Trevor DeLoach. Grant has cracked the playing rotation and at 6’3 with a 7-foot wingspan, he’s a long and athletic addition to the Dub in the backcourt. He is also a very proficient 3-point shooter, nailing nearly 52% of his attempts from behind the arc. The rest of the team is similar to what we’ve seen in the past with Montez Downey, Dom Lacy, and Darryl Felder rounding out the rotation.
Tomorrow’s tilt at the Stu is a battle between two teams who play at the fastest-tempo in the CAA. VCU leads the league in possessions per game with 72, and UNCW is second at 70.7. The Dub will attack the press and try to get up and down the floor just as much as the Rams. The Dub is a proficient 3-point shooting team at 36.6% overall from behind the line. They are similar in offensive output to the Rams, averaging 73.6 points a game to the Rams’ 75.5 points per contest. However the Seahawks are far more prone to turning the ball over (17.3 per game), as evidenced by the meltdown at Richmond. The Rams will need to stay true to their identity and press the Seahawks from the tip-off to the final buzzer. If the Rams reach their stated target of turning over the Dub more than 20 times, the Rams will be in a good position to pull out the win.
DB’s Prediction:
The Rams even up the conference record with a big win over an undisciplined and overmatched UNCW squad. John Fields will get his, but Larry Sanders will prove he is the best big man in the CAA as the Rams roll to a comfortable first conference win. Rams by 14.
GO RAMS!
