UNCW bounced back with an easy victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday

UNCW 71, Florida Gulf Coast 55

Box Score | Siddle Postgame Interview

If you’ve ever checked out Takayo Siddle’s Instagram account, it doesn’t take long to notice his appreciation for motivational quotes and wisdom shared by legendary coaches and athletes.

The clips typically feature the guys you’d expect to hear from — Kobe Bryant, Nick Saban and Mike Krzyzewski — in relation to overcoming adversity, focusing on the process and everything involved in winning at a high level.

But there’s one clip that has seemingly established itself as a favorite, and not long after Tuesday’s disappointing performance, Mick Cronin’s discussion of humility made another appearance on Siddle’s Instagram story.

It’s a great bit of wisdom, and worth a watch if you haven’t heard it before:

For context: Cronin, then in his first season at UCLA, delivered his remarks in Dec. 2019 following a home loss to Cal State Fullerton that dropped the Bruins to 7-6.

A couple of highlights from Cronin:

“Until we realize that the only reason teams do things like defend, really execute their plays, is because they have humility. … We need to get some humility, is my opinion.”

“Cool does not win. You’ve got to be willing to do the uncomfortable things that go into winning…”

“Winners know why they win. Losers? They don’t know why they lose. They think it’s the coach, or their teammates, the referees. Winners know that intangibles win games. Preparation. Adherence to the game plan. Execution. Physicality. Toughness.”

The Seahawks, spending their Thanksgiving together in Fort Myers, Fla., had those thoughts to ruminate on for three full days with Siddle and the coaching staff delivering, in his words, a little “tough love.”

In response, UNCW (5-1) brought energy from the opening tip on Saturday, delivering the best defensive performance of the season in a 71-55 victory over Florida Gulf Coast (1-6) at Alico Arena.

“That was a humility win, that was a culture win,” Siddle said. “I’m very proud of them.”

A few takeaways as the Seahawks return home after a 2-1 trip to Florida.

Defensive Identity

When a team’s energy and focus slips, defense is typically the area where it becomes painfully obvious and there was no hiding it in Tuesday’s debacle at the hands of Appalachian State.

The Mountaineers 60.3 percent shooting performance was UNCW’s worst defensive mark since 2021, when a squad ravaged by a flu bug allowed Southern Miss to shoot 62.5 percent from the field. App State’s 75 percent shooting on two-point attempts was UNCW’s second-worst performance in the past 25 years.

“That was the main emphasis going into the game,” Siddle said. “We hadn’t been guarding like we’re capable of, so we worked on it, we pointed it out, we talked about it a lot. We wanted to make sure, going into the game, our defensive energy and toughness was where it needed to be.”

Consider it done.

The Hawks came out flying, quite literally, when Noah Ross dove on a loose ball to end FGCU’s first possession, and just a minute later, fought to cause a jump ball. Everyone in teal was fired up, with Khamari McGriff giving him a big hug and a slap on the rear after the play.

That energy never waned as UNCW forced the Eagles into a few season-low numbers in field goal percentage (35.3 percent), assists (six), field goals (18), and points (55) — all of which were the Seahawks’ best defensive marks of the season.

“I thought we were very disruptive; they couldn’t get in a flow,” Siddle said. “We broke their rhythm with our pressure in the fullcourt, in the halfcourt. We were communicating; I thought we were very connected on that end.”

There was also a concerted effort to prevent transition opportunities, with FGCU managing just 13 points on 11 transition possessions (14.8 percent of their total possessions.) UNCW had allowed 40 points on 29 transition possessions over the past two games, accounting for 20.3 percent of all possessions.

McGriff, playing a career-high 20 minutes, played what looked like his best defensive game of the season, helping contribute to a drastic improvement in protecting the paint. After the Seahawks allowed 50 (App State) and 34 (Murray State) points in the paint over the past two games, FGCU managed 20 points in the paint on Saturday.

It definitely appeared McGriff was making an effort to be more physical defensively in the paint, and rather than playing the ball, did a good job of using his body and positioning while the Seahawks brought some well-timed double teams, too.

Finding Some Flow

When UNCW gets started on the defensive end, the offense is generally not far behind.

Such was the case again on Saturday, as the Seahawks rebounded from two straight games with pretty poor movement — the ball and the guys off the ball — to hand out 11 assists on 25 made field goals — good for a 44 percent assist rate.

“I didn’t think anything was forced,” Siddle said. “We talk about making the right play, making the play that’s presented to you, taking what the game gives you — I thought we were well balanced on that end of the floor.”

There were a number of possessions against App State with four guys standing on the perimeter watching a ballhandler attempt to drive before putting up an ill-advised midrange jumper.

Against FGCU, the Seahawks hit a cutter on a season-high seven possessions per Synergy, got out in transition 10 times and ran only two isolations — a departure from the 14 vs. App and Murray.

With another positive performance, Synergy now ranks UNCW in the 94th percentile nationally overall. Individually, Donovan Newby ranks in the 97th percentile for offensive production while Trazarien White ranks in the 92nd.

Tray, After a Few Plays?

Whatever the reason, White came off the bench twice on the Fort Myers trip.

Rather than sulking about losing his spot in the starting lineup, White immediately got to work in both games, going for 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting Saturday and 18 points on 9 of 15 shooting on Monday vs. Murray.

Obviously, White has had plenty of huge games as a starter, but could this be a special case? Sometimes, guys like to spend a few minutes on the bench to watch the game flow, observe what the defense is doing and prepare to attack when their number is called.

White played 28 and 29 minutes in the two games, so it didn’t affect anything about his role, aside from watching a few trips up and down the floor.

Do we think Super Sub Trazarien is going to become something?

Next Up

UNCW visits East Carolina on Thursday night, marking the Hawks’ first visit to Minges Coliseum since Dec. 7, 2020.

The Pirates appear to be on an upward trend under second-year coach Mike Schwartz thanks to a talented group of scorers, led by RJ Felton and Brandon Johnson.

With last season’s 74-61 victory at Trask, UNCW moved to 38-30 all-time vs. ECU.