What to Watch for: UNCW returns home to meet Coastal
Can the Seahawks keep up the defensive intensity they had on Tuesday?
UNCW (1-2) vs. Coastal Carolina (1-0)
7 p.m. | Trask Coliseum | FloSports | Listen | StatBroadcast
There’s no time to dwell on a loss.
Maybe, though, UNCW will be able to ride the wave of its second-half success at Pittsburgh into Thursday night’s matchup against Coastal Carolina at Trask Coliseum.
It’s a busy week for the Seahawks, who will be playing the second game of a three-game, five-day stretch, ending with Saturday’s trip to Delaware State.
The quick turnarounds don’t allow much time for rest, but the advantage is that Coach Takayo Siddle will get a great opportunity to see just how much his team can grow in the matter of a week.
This is a good matchup against a program at the same level that is also trying to integrate a number of new players.
Here’s what to watch for.
About the Chanticleers
Big man Essam Mostafa was dominant in Coastal’s only game, scoring 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a 101-73 victory over Ferrum last Tuesday.
Mostafa is the most well-established player on the roster after losing top scorers Devante Green (Michigan) and DeAnthony Tipler (East Tennessee State) to transfer.
At 6-9, 250 pounds, Mostafa is going to be a handful in the paint, while Ebrima Dibba led a deep group of guards against Ferrum, finishing with 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Vince Cole, Garrick Green, Rudi Williams and Josh Uduje all had double-figure scoring nights in the opener for Coach Cliff Ellis, who is beginning his 15th season at Coastal and 47th overall.
The Chants were chosen 7th in the Sun Belt preseason poll.
Keep the Fire
If UNCW locks in defensively and plays with the intensity it had in the second half at Pitt on Tuesday, the Seahawks will win plenty of games.
Obviously, Pitt isn’t an ACC contender, but the Panthers still have some ACC size and athletes on the roster.
UNCW completely negated that advantage with 94 feet of pressure, active hands and good positioning that resulted in several charges.
Pitt shot 7 of 22 from the field (31.8 percent) and committed eight turnovers as the Seahawks made a game of it, feeding off the energy it generated for itself on the defensive end.
That all happened in spite of a dreadful offensive performance, as UNCW made just 10 of 34 attempts in the second half.
One thing that often happens in college basketball is that if a team is struggling offensively, it doesn’t maintain its focus on the defensive end.
Tuesday night is proof of why you’ve got to keep on fighting, even when the shots aren’t going.
Play that hard and that well for 40 minutes, and UNCW will win this game and plenty more.
Be Aggressive
The game turned in favor of UNCW when the Hawks stopped settling for jumpers on Tuesday night, and that’s been a theme of the offense last season.
When things are going well, the Hawks are moving the defense, getting the ball in the lane and working from there.
When things are going poorly, the Hawks are passing around the perimeter and unable to hit the high post before launching a contested shot either beyond or just inside the arc.
The key to Trazarien White’s emergence has been his aggressive approach, which checks out in the numbers, too.
According to Hoop-Math, White’s 11 shots “at rim” are most on the roster. Next up? Shykeim Phillips has 10. Pretty easy to say those two guys have been UNCW’s best players this season.
The reasons for Jaylen Sims’ offensive struggles are right there in the numbers, too, as half of his shots have been 2-point jumpers, hitting 2 of 12 attempts. At present, Sims’ free throw rate of 37.5.
Last season, Sims’ offensive production was fueled by his ability to get inside the arc and play through contact, as only 37.2 percent of his attempts were 2-point jumpers, and he was among the best in the nation at getting to the free throw line, finishing with a free throw rate of 65.9.
Sims, of course, was lost to an injury last season on Jan. 25. It’s possible he’s still working back to full-speed, but the faster he can get there, the better for the Seahawks.
His ability to create shots for himself and other is incredibly valuable for how UNCW will be able to run its offense.
In all, UNCW is 15 of 59 on 2-point jumpers — not one assist among them. The Seahawks’ team free throw rate is currently 28.9 percent, versus 37.2 percent last season.
Tra Day
Maybe White moves into the starting lineup tonight, maybe he doesn’t — what’s important is that he plays the same role as he did on Tuesday night, when he finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
Most importantly, he brought the energy level up for everyone on the floor thanks to his aggressive approach.
Per KenPom, White’s offensive rebounding rate (16.5 percent) is 57th best in the nation, while he’s 32nd in free throw rate and 39th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes.
Every one of those are numbers that represent effort and toughness, and the freshman is among the best in the nation so far this season.
His overall offensive rating is best on the roster, while he showed his defensive potential with three steals at Pitt.
The great thing is, this is only the start for White, who will continue to polish up his game. Regardless of how his game develops over the next several years, there’s no doubt he’ll play hard enough to impact the game in one way or another.
A Little Luck?
Not all of the Seahawks offensive issues can be chalked up to shot selection.
There were some GREAT looks on Tuesday night that just didn’t go down.
Jaylen Fornes was 1 of 5 from beyond the arc, and he had several late in the game that looked dead-on. Alec Oglesby hit 2 of his 4 3-point attempts, and they were all good shots.
Oglesby, who dealt with a preseason injury, has proven it at the Division I level and he’s absolutely due for a breakout performance.
One of these nights, the Hawks are going to get the bounces that have eluded them to this point.
Benny’s Back
Hopefully, the Trask crowd is kind to former UNCW coach Benny Moss, who makes his return as a member of the Coastal coaching staff.
Moss, then 36 years old, came to Wilmington after six seasons alongside Bobby Lutz at Charlotte, where he’d built a reputation as a strong recruiter.
Through no fault of his own, Moss was in a tough spot from the start, as negative feelings about the departure of Coach Brad Brownell — fresh off another CAA title — lingered among the fanbase, with some giving up their financial support of the program.
To make matters worse, the loss of T.J. Carter torpedoed Moss’ first season, as UNCW went 7-22 overall and finished 4-14 in the CAA.
Although the Seahawks rebounded to go 20-13 and finish third in the CAA in 2007-08, UNCW was unable to sustain that momentum, and Moss was fired in Jan. 2010.
He’s a heck of a nice guy, and it’s too bad things didn’t work out for him at UNCW. Given the circumstances, it would have been a hard time for anyone.
With Moss on track to take over at Coastal when Coach Cliff Ellis hangs it up, hopefully his experiences in Wilmington will help him to more success in the future.
Tip-Ins
UNCW is 10-2 all-time vs. Coastal Carolina, including a 6-0 mark at Trask.
In the most recent meeting between the teams, Ellis’ Chants topped Moss’ Hawks 90-86 on Dec. 19, 2007 in Conway, S.C.
This game marks the first time UNCW will meet a Division I opponent in front of fans in Trask since Feb. 2020.
UNCW ranks 348th of 358 teams nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 35.3 percent.
The Seahawks are shooting 37.6 percent on 2-point attempts — 352nd nationally.
UNCW has taken care of the ball this season, averaging nine turnovers per game. Its turnover rate of 13.4 percent ranks 22nd nationally.