Seahawks Pick up Pace, Pressure in Victory over Patriots
UNCW locked down defensively to pull away in final exhibition
That’s what it’s supposed to look like.
With a deep rotation and extended pressure, UNCW attacked from the start and pulled away in the second half of Thursday night’s exhibition game for a 101-72 victory over Francis Marion at Trask Coliseum.
Everyone on the roster managed to get into the game, with nine Seahawks playing 14 minutes or more, while 12 were able to get into the scoring column — a massive departure from last season, when UNCW routinely relied on a seven-man rotation.
Jaylen Sims led the way with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Mike Okauru chipped in 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Joining them as double-figure scorers were freshman Trazarien White, who put up 15 points in an impressive debut, and junior guard Shykeim Phillips with 11 points and 4 assists.
Here are the takeaways from the victory, as the Seahawks get back to work ahead of Tuesday night’s regular-season opener at Illinois State.
Who We Are
There are a number of reasons why, but last season, the Seahawks only showed flashes of the identity that Coach Takayo Siddle wants in his program.
Obviously, this is nowhere near a finished product, but Thursday night’s performance showed the framework of how we can expect UNCW teams to play under the second-year head coach.
The Seahawks pushed the tempo to 73 possessions, generating 32 fast-break points and six dunks as the defensive pressure extended 94 feet, trapped at midcourt and kept fresh with one substitution after another.
With the pace UNCW wanted, it piled up 101 points, hit 12 of 25 3-point attempts and attacked the basket to the tune of generating 40 free throws. Part of building an efficient offense is creating easy buckets, and with 22 assists on 28 buckets, the Seahawks put one another in position to score all night.
Siddle was especially pleased with that last point, as he saw his team make a big step forward from what he’d recently seen in practice.
“We made an adjustment from last week going into this week,” he said. “Twenty-two assists — I love it, I love it. This is a team that can be really good on the offensive end if we share the basketball, because we have so many weapons.”
In contrast, UNCW ranked 308th nationally last season, with assists on 45 percent of its made field goals.
On the Defensive
The thing about extending your defensive pressure and trapping is, if you’re unable to take the ball away, opponents end up with easy looks around the basket.
And although the Seahawks came out with defensive energy, they generated just four turnovers and didn’t do a great job in the halfcourt, as the Patriots hit 14 of 30 attempts from the field — including 4 of 8 beyond the arc.
“Started off the first half trying to get everybody to jell,” Okauru said. “It was new for everybody.”
Overall, FMU scored on 50 percent of its first-half possessions for 1.11 points per possession and had a turnover rate of 11.1 percent.
Clearly, Siddle had his team’s attention at halftime, as the Seahawks turned up the intensity another notch, forcing 11 second-half turnovers that went the other way for 15 UNCW points.
“Second half, I think we dusted off those cobwebs and played with a lot more energy, Okauru said. “I’d probably rate it a C-plus, B-minus.”
In all, the Patriots managed 0.84 points per possession in the second half and went 0/7 from beyond the arc — a point of emphasis in UNCW’s defensive scheme.
Siddle wasn’t thrilled with the Seahawk defense, which ultimately allowed FMU to score 1.00 point per possession while shooting 44.6 percent from the field with 15 turnovers.
“Thinking about it right now without watching tape, I know we have to continue to improve on the defensive end,” he said. “Containing the basketball and making sure we help each other and stay connected on that end of the floor.”
Something Old…
The biggest storyline coming into Thursday night was how the newcomers would fit together for the Seahawks.
In the end, though, it was veterans that filed up the stat sheet as Okauru and Sims both played well, beyond just their scoring outputs.
Sims showed last season he’s plenty capable of going for 20 points on any given night, but didn’t often impact the game in other ways — something that Siddle and his staff emphasized with him over the offseason.
“Just becoming a better basketball player, that was our challenge to him … with his I.Q., competing more on the defensive end, being more of a two-way player,” he said.
Sims managed to score 19 points on just seven field goal attempts thanks to generating 11 free throw attempts, with 10 makes. He chose his spots to attack well, made good decisions and made a point to rebound, grabbing eight boards.
“I thought he competed defensively — still made some errors — but I thought he took a step forward in that area,” Siddle said. “I thought he played a really good game.”
Okauru, meanwhile, spent the majority of the night playing the wing, where he too had an efficient offensive performance (5/10 FGA, 5/6 FTA) while occasionally stepping in to run the show. Defensively, he’s strong and experienced, and has the length to disrupt passing lanes.
Together, they combined for 35 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and just 3 turnovers — a pretty solid line.
…Something New
As much as you can tell from one exhibition game, the future of UNCW basketball is in good hands with White and fellow freshman Jamarii Thomas.
Both got off the bench early and didn’t for a second look like they were intimidated by the speed of the game.
In fact, White was honored with the “Toughness Chain” in the locker room, recognizing his grit in his first collegiate contest.
White, a 6-6, 180-pound wing, went 7/7 at the free throw line and hit 2 of 4 3-point attempts.
“Loved his energy; I thought he competed at a high level on the defensive end,” Siddle said. “I thought offensively, he was really aggressive … a lot of the times, he settles for threes and pull-ups. I’m always on him about mixing his game up, and he did a really good job of getting to the paint and making plays and he was able to get to the foul line.”
Thomas, meanwhile, scored 6 points to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists with just one turnover in 18 minutes.
Several times, he drove the lane and kicked to the wing for an open 3-point attempt, while also managing to get himself a few looks in the paint.
Ultimately, Thomas’ minutest this season will be decided by how much progress he can make as a defender.
“We’ve been on him a lot — we give him a lot of tough love, but he’s improving — we’re challenging him on the defensive end,” Siddle said. “He gets lost a little bit, but I thought tonight, he played better. Offensively, he’s gifted; he can get to the paint, he’s a really gifted passer. I was pleased with his effort tonight.”
Built Fornes This
Who would have guessed that Jaylen Fornes would be UNCW’s minutes leader in a 2021 game?
The graduate transfer got the start and played 26 minutes, finishing with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in an all-around solid performance — the kind of game you’d expect from a guy who’s played in more than 100
The perfect example of what he can bring to the table happened late in the first half, when the Seahawks’ lead was cut to 43-38 at the 1:52 mark.
Fornes then gets a steal and hits a three, and on UNCW’s next trip, hits a tough jumper to make it 48-38 with 49 seconds remaining.
It doesn’t show in the final margin, but that sequence helped shift the momentum back toward UNCW for good.
Trimming the Rotation
Don’t expect to see minutes divided up like this on Tuesday night, as the rotation and specific lineups are very much still up in the air for Siddle.
It’s unclear why, but Jamahri Harvey didn’t enter the second half after playing 6 minutes early on — suggesting perhaps a minor injury or holding him out as a precaution.
The Seahawks appreciate the depth they’ve got, but in order to maximize the best lineups for the longest periods, Siddle would like to pare down the rotation a bit moving forward.
“I’m still trying to figure out what we have; I’m trying to get it down to about eight or nine guys,” he said. “All the of the people on our team can play; I’m just trying to get guys that are playing in the game to impact winning in different ways than scoring.”