When Kevin Keatts took the reins of the University of North Carolina Wilmington basketball program last year, the coach had a crew of upperclassmen that had laced up many times for Seahawks games, albeit most of those games were losses.
But Keatts used that experience, leading a Seahawks team that had six consecutive losing seasons to an 18-14 record that put them in a four-way tie for the Colonial Athletic Association and earning the team’s first postseason trip since 2006.
This year, the 2014-15 CAA coach of the year has a different challenge. Three starters are gone from the team that went 12-6 in the conference. Replacing them are eight newcomers, including four freshmen and four transfers.
“With our seniors, those guys had played in at least 90 games. When I took the job, they hadn’t had a lot of success, but they had experience,” Keatts said. “My challenge this year is to figure out how to win with a little more talented group that’s not experienced.”
The Seahawks will see the return of two starting guards: senior Craig Ponder, who averaged 11.6 points per game last year; and sophomore Jordon Talley, who contributed nearly nine points a game.
Who will join them on the court is yet to be determined, Keatts said, as early season practices and play will help the coach determine who sees the court this season, adding “the cream will rise to the top.”
“We need a lot of guys to contribute to the team,” Keatts said. “On any given night, it’s two or three different guys who can lead us in scoring.”
Forward Dylan Sherwood is expected to be one of those guys, as his 5.8 points per game average leads all returning lettermen. The redshirt graduate student improved his outside shooting last season to fit with Keatts’ up-tempo system that spreads players across the floor and maximizes speed and quickness.
“I realized that’s something I had to work on if I wanted a part in the offense,” Sherwood said of his outside shot. “It comes from a lot of hours working on my own.”
One of the freshmen recruited by Keatts is Devontae Cacok, a 6-foot 7-inch forward from Riverdale, Georgia, who averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds a game and relishes playing in transition.
Cacok said his primary focus since joining the Seahawks is building the strength and bulk needed to make the transition to the college game, while still maintaining the speed and conditioning needed to play in Keatts’ offense.
“I know in college I need to be bigger and stronger to carve my space in the paint to get rebounds,” said Cook, who has gained 15 pounds since arriving on campus. “I’m still able to do what I did in high school, I’m just a lot bigger now.”
As Keatts evaluates the newcomers to his team, he stresses the fundamentals and not necessarily scoring.
“I tell every freshman, the difference on you getting on the floor is how well you defend,” Keatts said. “We need to get all of our post guys involved with rebounding.”
Doing so may be what separates UNCW from its conference rivals, three of which shared the regular season CAA title with the Seahawks last season. But unlike Northeastern, William & Mary and James Madison, UNCW wasn’t expected to have such success last season. Keatts noted the Seahawks were picked to finished ninth in the 10-team conference.
“We joined the party,” Keatts said. “Now we want to stay at the party.”
Helping with that goal will be the raucous atmosphere at Trask Coliseum, Keatts said, noting UNCW led the conference in attendance last season.
“I expect to do that again this year,” the coach said. “It’s a tremendous atmosphere. When this place is packed, there’s no other place in the country that I’d rather be. Our fans do a good job of cheering us on. It gives us a tremendous advantage.”
The Seahawks open their season at Trask Coliseum with an exhibition game against Barton on Nov. 8 and their first regular season game versus Milligan on Nov. 13.
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