https://amp.heraldsun.com/sports/college...72106.html

UNCW basketball set to hire Takayo Siddle as next coach



UNC-Wilmington’s men’s basketball program won its conference tournament two times in three years under Kevin Keatts.

The Seahawks will try to get back on top of the Colonial Athletic Association with Takayo Siddle, who has been Keatts’ top assistant at both UNCW and N.C. State.

UNCW is expected to hire Siddle, 33, on Friday, according to two sources with knowledge of the decision.

Siddle, who’s from Eden, played for Keatts at Hargrave Military School before his college career at Gardner-Webb (2005-09).

Siddle worked as an assistant at Gardner-Webb for four seasons before he joined Keatts at UNCW before the 2014-2015 season.

UNCW went 72-28 in Keatts’ three seasons and won a share of the CAA regular-season title in 2015 and then won both the regular-season and tournament titles in ‘16 and ‘17. Keatts was hired by N.C. State, before the 2017-18 season, and Siddle followed him to Raleigh.

UNCW replaced Keatts with former UNC assistant C.B. McGrath, who went 26-58 in two and half seasons before he was fired in January.

Siddle has helped Keatts and the Wolfpack reach the postseason in each of the past seasons (NCAA in ‘18 and NIT in ‘19) and it was in position for another NCAA tournament bid before the NCAA canceled the season due to coronavirus concerns on Thursday.