Four Takeaways: Seahawks Head Home on a High Note
UNCW took care of business early and never looked back vs. Delaware State
It took fewer than four minutes for UNCW to take a double-digit lead on Wednesday as the Seahawks took care of business early and never looked back in an 87-63 victory over Delaware State at Trask Coliseum.
Ty Gadsden scored 21 points and Joe Pridgen finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to log his fourth double-double as Coach Takayo Siddle shuffled his lineups all day, giving all 10 healthy Seahawks at least 12 minutes.
Here’s what we learned as UNCW (6-3) won its third straight game to close out its nonconference schedule:
Uncharted Territory
Last time UNCW won three straight games, not one current player was on the roster and Siddle, then a third-year assistant, was celebrating the program’s second consecutive CAA title in Charleston.
The Seahawks won’t be raising a banner for Wednesday’s victory, but it was a significant step for a program that had neither finished the nonconference schedule with a winning record nor won a game in December over the past three seasons.
Over that period, the team headed home for Christmas at 2-9, 4-9 and 5-8. Things weren’t exactly expected to change this season for a team chosen eighth in the CAA preseason poll, with Jaylen Sims voted an honorable mention All-CAA team pick.
“I don’t think anyone would say we would be 6-3 after nine games,” Siddle said. “We’ve had some bumps in the road … we come in and we work. That’s the culture that I’m building, that me and my staff are building and the guys are starting to buy in. We haven’t had many hiccups lately with that.”
It’s obvious the Seahawks are more consistent in their effort all over the floor and it’s definitely clear they’re having a little more fun. That much was obvious every time former walk-on Brent Jenkins scored on Wednesday, with every player on the sideline going crazy.
But those aren’t the only differences.
“It’s different; it really is different,” guard Ty Gadsden said. “Everybody is doing good knowing what their role is on the team … the coaches are doing a great job communicating to us what they want from us, and I think we’re just going out and executing it.”
Starting on Defense
This system is capable of producing ridiculous offensive performances, but every bit of success for this program under Siddle will start with getting stops.
On Monday, it was turnovers that fueled the big first half run that took Campbell out of the game, and on Wednesday, the Hornets gave the ball up six times in the first seven minutes, shooting 4/11 from the field as UNCW looked poised to run away with it.
Then, the Seahawks’ offense stopped moving the ball, relied too much on one-on-one offense and missed shots. It’s no coincidence that, over the next 12 minutes, DSU committed just one turnover.
The halftime conversation was pointed.
“I thought we got really stagnant, so what I told them is, ‘Since we’re not scoring the ball, don’t let it affect your defense,’” Siddle said. “I thought our energy level dropped a few notches and we kind of got on our heels and we weren’t as energetic and as aggressive as we needed to be. I think that was just letting our offense affect our defense and our energy.”
UNCW came out of the break focused, forced two quick turnovers, forced the Hornets to miss their first four field goal attempts of the second half and used Gadsden’s personal 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 54-31 by the 15:05 mark.
There’s plenty of evidence mounting to prove just how quickly a few stops can turn the game for the Seahawks and it’s no longer a matter of getting buy-in.
“Once we got our defense going, that just gave us more rhythm on offense and the game came pretty easy once we got the energy on defense,” Gadsden said.
In all, UNCW is averaging 18.6 points off turnovers.
Dodd’s Chance
After Imajae Dodd came on strong through the CAA schedule last season, there was a natural assumption he’d pick up where he left off as a sophomore.
So far, that hasn’t been the case, as the big man has averaged just 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.1 minutes this season, even sitting out Campbell game while healthy on Monday.
Given an opportunity on Wednesday, however, Dodd made the most of it, finishing with six points, four rebounds and five deflections in 16 minutes.
Siddle was impressed with Dodd’s production and activity on the court, and how he’s handled the situation with a smaller role to this point.
“The guy that really opened my eyes tonight was Imajae Dodd,” Siddle told UNCW play-by-play man Mike Vaccarro. “He played with great energy, he was communicating and he was confident in himself.
“His attitude has been great and he’s been coming in, punching the clock every day. His attitude has been really good, he’s starting to get more confident in the things we’re doing and more confident in himself.”
An effective rebounder last season, Dodd’s emergence would be a major boost to an already-thin frontcourt after the announcement that junior forward Ian Steere has left the program.
“I want him to play but I need to be able to trust him, and he took a step forward with me tonight,” Siddle said.
A Well-Earned Break
After dealing with the rigors of school and basketball amid COVID-19 protocol that has seriously altered the typical college experience and limited contact with family and friends, the Seahawks have a few days off.
Players were free to depart for their holiday plans after the game and not due to return to Wilmington until 11 a.m. on Sunday to begin preparations for the first CAA weekend at Drexel.
“I think most of us really need it and I think we’re going to come back with more focus than ever because we know going into conference play, we have a lot of work to do; we’re not done yet,” Gadsden said.
As the Seahawks get ready for conference games, they’ll be closer to having a starting point guard Shykeim Phillips back from an infection in his leg.
The sophomore is back with the team and working out, with Siddle projecting a “mid-January” return for him at this point.
Meanwhile, Ja’Juan Carr remains away from the team while attending to personal business. Siddle didn’t have an estimate for his return, but said the freshman is still a member of the program.
