https://uncwsports.com/news/2020/1/10/me...enter.aspx



Men's Basketball 1/10/2020 12:09:00 PM Joe Browning

Seahawks Face Phoenix At Schar Center

ELON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's basketball team goes up against a new coach in the Colonial Athletic Association for the second straight game when the Seahawks take on Elon early Saturday at the Schar Center.

The Seahawks, 5-13 overall and 0-5 in the CAA, meet the Phoenix, 4-13 and 0-4, in a 4 p.m. tip at the 5,100-seat venue. It marks UNCW's second visit to the maroon and gold arena after dropping an 84-77 verdict last February.

UNCW will be facing new Elon skipper Mike Schrage for the first time. He was named Elon's 18th head coach back on April 5, 2019.

"We just need to continue to prepare on the defensive end," said UNCW Head Coach C.B. McGrath. "Elon has a couple of players who take the majority of their shots and are the focal point, but we have to make sure we don't ignore the rest of their players. We have to understand that every single possession on defense is important, and we can't give in for a second."

UNCW is still seeking to get back on track following an extended dry spell. The Seahawks have not won since a 122-66 rout of Emory & Henry back on Nov. 26 at Trask Coliseum and lost, 79-63, on Thursday night at William & Mary.

The Tribe used the potent inside combination of senior bookends Nathan Knight and Andy Van Vliet to pull away from the Seahawks midway through the second half and remain unbeaten in the CAA. Knight closed with 17 points and 17 rebounds for his NCAA-leading 13th double-double, while Van Vliet, a transfer from Wisconsin, ended up with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Sophomore guard Jaylen Sims came out red-hot in the first half for the Seahawks, bucketing 17 points, and finished the night with a team-high 21 points. Junior guard Ty Gadsden added 10 points for the Seahawks, who forced 15 turnovers and scored 23 points off those Tribe miscues.

Elon, meanwhile, led Charleston at halftime, 38-36, but CAA Preseason Player of the Year Grant Riller came alive in the second half to propel the Cougars to a 73-65 victory. Riller exploded for 21 of his 30 points in the final period and went a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line.

Graduate guard Marcus Sheffield, II, a transfer from Stanford, paced Elon in scoring vs. CofC with 19 points. Junior forward Simon Wright posted a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards for Elon, which made 9-of-30 triples on the night.

The pesky Phoenix, who are averaging 28 three-point attempts per game, had four players connect from deep against the Cougars. Schrage's club has 86 more attempts than its opponents and ranks fourth in three-point field goals made in the NCAA Division I ranks.

The Seahawks have passed the midway point in the season with only 13 games remaining - seven at home and six on the road.

Saturday's matinee will be carried over the air on The Breeze, 95.9 FM, with play-by-play voice Mike Vaccaro on the call. The game may be heard worldwide on the station's website, http://www.959thebreeze.com. A video stream of the contest will also be carried on FloSports.com.

Seahawk Storylines

Saturday marks the 23rd meeting between the two schools, but just the 12th as CAA opponents. UNCW owns a 12-10 advantage in the series and has taken six of the last nine contests since Elon joined the CAA in 2014-15.

UNCW stands 7-4 against Elon since the Phoenix joined the circuit.

The Phoenix won the first six games in the series before the Seahawks claimed six consecutive matchups until Elon's win on Feb. 28, 2015. The two teams did not play for 19 years before resuming the series during the 2004-05 campaign. Mike Schrage is the fifth Elon coach the Seahawks have faced through the years.

In the last meeting between the two clubs, 10th-seeded UNCW placed six players in double figures for the first time in 2018-19 and avenged a pair of seven-point losses during the regular campaign with a 93-83 upset of No. 7 Elon in the first-round of the CAA Tournament on March 9, 2019, at the North Charleston Coliseum.

UNCW and Elon are squaring off for the ninth time in January. The two teams have split eight meetings in the first month of the year.'

The Seahawks have eight games against North Carolina opponents this season and stand 3-3 vs. state foes in 2019-20. UNCW owns a 248-249 (.498) record against 29 opponents from North Carolina heading into Saturday's contest.

Elon's Mike Schrage is one of six new coaches the Seahawks face this year. UNCW is 1-4 against first-year coaches this season.

The Seahawks are 1-8 away from home, 0-7 in true road games and 1-1 in neutral site games. UNCW's lone victory away from the Port City came on Nov. 23 when the Seahawks edged FIU, 66-63, in the Battle for the Capital in Washington, D.C.

Junior guard Ty Gadsden, who sat out the first 10 games following hip and hernia surgery last summer and missed five more games due to another mid-season injury, is rounding back into form. The Charlotte guard came off the bench to contribute 10 points in 18 minutes vs. W&M on Thursday.

74-69 Elon. Streak goes to 11 straight losses.

Very curious to see what the spread will be on this one.

ESPN has Elon by 4.5 over uncw

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(01-10-2020 07:36 PM)tke75hawk Wrote:  ESPN has Elon by 4.5 over uncw

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Yikes.


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Maybe UNCW needs to get some grad transfers too since most of the other teams are basically 1-3 years older than our team. It freaking matters in the short term. Having older guys that are more physically and mentally mature makes it far easier. That's part of Keatts success. And, he got a few guys that were proven commodities as far as knocking down shots at this level whether that was spot shooting or off the dribble. He got lucky with Flemmings which ended up getting us 2 CAA titles because we needed that 1 more guy to make us unstoppable.

Our Hawks are really getting it handed to them right now so I hope that they can learn and all come back a year older. They do need a big or 2 that is older and ready for next year. If they had a guy or 2 like the Tribe had last night to go with the returning guards, they would be fine, if not good. You can't get dominated down low each night and expect to win without exceptional guard, wing and PF(small ball) play. You could argue that they have that now, but some are not ready to yet to roll each night.

If you lose the rebounding battle each night and give up size, you're not going to win consistently. That's just basketball 101. Coach needs to address that immediately or else. And, he has to know that at this point. If he does go out and get that done, next year should be a different story you would think. It's obvious what the issue is. The D has actually been good lately given the lack of size and the easy put backs after an initial missed shot.

(01-10-2020 11:32 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Maybe UNCW needs to get some grad transfers too since most of the other teams are basically 1-3 years older than our team. It freaking matters in the short term. Having older guys that are more physically and mentally mature makes it far easier. That's part of Keatts success. And, he got a few guys that were proven commodities as far as knocking down shots at this level whether that was spot shooting or off the dribble. He got lucky with Flemmings which ended up getting us 2 CAA titles because we needed that 1 more guy to make us unstoppable.

Our Hawks are really getting it handed to them right now so I hope that they can learn and all come back a year older. They do need a big or 2 that is older and ready for next year. If they had a guy or 2 like the Tribe had last night to go with the returning guards, they would be fine, if not good. You can't get dominated down low each night and expect to win without exceptional guard, wing and PF(small ball) play. You could argue that they have that now, but some are not ready to yet to roll each night.

If you lose the rebounding battle each night and give up size, you're not going to win consistently. That's just basketball 101. Coach needs to address that immediately or else. And, he has to know that at this point. If he does go out and get that done, next year should be a different story you would think. It's obvious what the issue is. The D has actually been good lately given the lack of size and the easy put backs after an initial missed shot.

Those of us who have been very critical of McGrath have said two things.

1. PRESS. At this level you have got to have a defensive strategy to win games. Low scoring games with physical defenders, ala Brownell, or press with high volume scorers, ala Keatts. It seems like he's finally turned the corner on the press.

2. When Cacok and O'Connell were getting ready to graduate and Cylla ended up transferring, getting some big men to replace them was imperative. We harped on it non-stop and nothing ever happened. We predicted failure with no big men and no press and were beat up on this board for being so negative. It was a predictable train wreck.

When I was predicting potential lineups before the season, I flat out stated thay McGrath was going to have to press whether he liked it or not, and I based my predicted lineup on that one fact. It had everything to do with the fact we had ZERO size in the post.

So yes, he has to recruit big men who can play and contribute immediately next year. Gred transfer is really the only way to achieve that. Even though we are pressing, if he doesn't get some size in the post we will be bottom 4 again and he'll be gone. It's that important to this program and his job.

I agree and have stated that if he DOES get some big men and we DO continue to press, we have the potential to finish top 3-4 in the CAA next year and he will likely save is job.

It's not complicated.

To add to what 82 is saying, we need to get the few big men we have moving. Seemingly every possession, we send the ball down to Linssen or Dodd. Then the coaching staff yells "Split!!" And nothing seems to happen.

Not using the pick 'n' roll with Cacok was a sin. Dodd seems like another good pick 'n' roll option. I'd love to see that change being made.

(01-11-2020 03:50 AM)82hawk Wrote:  When Cacok and O'Connell were getting ready to graduate and Cylla ended up transferring, getting some big men to replace them was imperative. We harped on it non-stop and nothing ever happened.

There were big men in the grad transfer portal. It made no sense to me that they didn't get the best one they could get - even if they thought he wasn't that good - with that last available scholarship.

Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

(01-11-2020 04:00 AM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  To add to what 82 is saying, we need to get the few big men we have moving. Seemingly every possession, we send the ball down to Linssen or Dodd. Then the coaching staff yells "Split!!" And nothing seems to happen.

Not using the pick 'n' roll with Cacok was a sin. Dodd seems like another good pick 'n' roll option. I'd love to see that change being made.

Dodd has strengths similar to Cacok. He is very athletic, very strong and has great hands. He would thrive off a high pick and roll with a lob over the top just like Cacok did. He also doesn't have the post up size and moves to finish down low.

Interesting side not. Cacok is starting to dribble drive down the lane with a finish. From what i've seen of HS tapes of Dodd, he already has a decent handle and could receive the ball off a pick and finish at the basket.

(01-11-2020 09:06 AM)82hawk Wrote:  

(01-11-2020 04:00 AM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  To add to what 82 is saying, we need to get the few big men we have moving. Seemingly every possession, we send the ball down to Linssen or Dodd. Then the coaching staff yells "Split!!" And nothing seems to happen.

Not using the pick 'n' roll with Cacok was a sin. Dodd seems like another good pick 'n' roll option. I'd love to see that change being made.

Dodd has strengths similar to Cacok. He is very athletic, very strong and has great hands. He would thrive off a high pick and roll with a lob over the top just like Cacok did. He also doesn't have the post up size and moves to finish down low.

Interesting side not. Cacok is starting to dribble drive down the lane with a finish. From what i've seen of HS tapes of Dodd, he already has a decent handle and could receive the ball off a pick and finish at the basket.

Maybe next year with Dodd but I doubt seriously he has the handle to complete a dribble drive . I saw him in HS and he didn't show it then. I do think he could roll and catch the lob right now and that would be a lot better option than a straight post up attempt.
I hope they contacted every big in the portal that could play right now and if not its all most criminal.

Gametime in 3 hours. We desperately need to end this losing streak and stay out of the cellar.

(01-11-2020 12:50 PM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  Gametime in 3 hours. We desperately need to end this losing streak and stay out of the cellar.

If we drop this one... I don’t know what we could win.


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Shykeim, Okauru, Sims, Tolefree, Boggs.


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We’re getting destroyed from deep by a freshman. He’s 4 of 6 already.


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Horrendous job of the Hawks' knowing who will stay with the shooter on a high pick and roll. Keep leaving wide up 3 pointers

Bowen should be banned from shooting 3's. He's now hit the top of the backboard on a wide open attempt and just about accidentally banked in a 3 the shot was so bad. Awful.

Defending the three point line well in this game should get the win. Only 4 Elon players have even scored, and one of those came off the bench.

Share the ball well on offense, move and don’t just settle for 3’s. Attack their defense with movement.


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Elon now pressing to run the clock and has gone to the zone.

Hawks on pace to break 60 pts. for the first time in CAA play against the worst defense in the conference.

38-33 UNCW at the half. Could they break the streak?!


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