WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – With the college basketball season roughly a month away from tipping off, the UNCW men’s and women’s basketball teams spent Thursday expressing their excitement for the upcoming year during media day inside Trask Coliseum.
The men’s team finished 21-10 last year, its third straight season with over 20 wins, but missed the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year.
Fifth-year head coach Takayo Siddle lost four double-digit scorers from last year’s team, but added several players through the transfer portal who are expected to be key additions. He said he looked for size inside to compete with teams like Towson, which knocked the Seahawks out of the CAA Tournament last year. UNCW now has six players 6-foot-7 or taller, including 6-foot-11 freshman Makoi Mabor and 7-foot Niagara transfer Harlan Obioha. Siddle said it’s the biggest team he’s ever coached.
“We want to try to prepare for some of the better teams in our league,” Siddle said. “So having these big guys in practice just across the board, crashing the glass, flying around with their length and size, it’s only going to help us when we’re getting ready for conference play.”
The Seahawks have road matchups at Kansas and defending CAA champion Charleston, among others, but for players, they’re excited about the home slate – which opens on Nov. 4 against Mount Olive.
“I’m just excited to see everybody back in Trask. It’s been empty and lonely in here all offseason, you look around the seats are empty, but I’m ready to run out and see 5,200 (fans) ready to go,” junior guard Nolan Hodge said.
The women’s squad, meanwhile, is looking to improve after back-to-back five-win seasons. Second-year head coach Nicole Woods added nine players in the offseason, including North Carolina transfer Alexandra Zelaya and Bradley forward Isis Fitch. Many newcomers said Thursday the main reason they chose UNCW was because of Woods and the culture she’s creating.
Woods said while many will again predict the Seahawks to finish near the bottom of the CAA, her group is confident heading into the season.
“We know what we have in the locker room, and our goal is to have the number one turnaround in the country this year. And we believe we can do that based off the young women we have in the locker room,” Woods said.
UNCW will open its season with two road tests at Virginia Tech and North Carolina. The Seahawks home opener is against Clinton College on Nov. 10.
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