The Seahawks certainly have the talent to finish in the middle of the pack. Benny Moss has brought in a couple freshmen, a couple jucos, and gets an impact East Carolina transfer and gets back an injured player missing from last year’s bunch.

It can happen, but you cannot predict that. Everyone else in the league has the same September stories of improvement. So UNCW is my #12 preseason team.

Blue Ribbon Open

LAST SEASON:   7-25 (.219)

CONFERENCE RECORD:   3-15 (12th)

STARTERS RETURNING:   3

HOMECOURT:   Trask Coliseum (6,100)

COACH:   Benny Moss (Charlotte ‘92)

RECORD AT SCHOOL:   34-60 (3 years)

CAREER RECORD:   34-60 (3 years)

ASSISTANTS:   Henry Dickerson, Justin Furr, Brooks Lee

TEAM WINS (last 5 yrs.):   19-25-7-20-7

RPI (last 5 yrs.):   96-31-262-126-273

2008-09 FINISH:   Lost in CAA First Round

Key for UNCW: John Fields needs to be everything expected, and then some. Benny Moss has not had a post defensive presence, a true shot blocker, since he moved to the beach. Fields led C-USA in that category for East Carolina, and he needs to bring that skill to the beach. Fields also is a key in turning around one of the ugliest stats I’ve ever seen: last season UNCW allowed opponents to shoot 51% from the field overall and an astounding 59% of two point shots.

A dose of confidence and togetherness will help—Moss didn’t schedule lightly in the nonconference portion of slate. A second straight slow start will be more difficult to overcome.

Guy(s) You Think Is Important, and He (They Are) Is: Chad Tomko, Dom Lacy. Two truths force me to make this a combo category: True, Tomko needs to be a better decision-maker and let others make plays—the 484 shots he hoisted is a big number. And true, Lacy needs to settle down and play to his talents. Fouling is not the issue. Lacy’s ability to avoid being his own worst enemy when something goes wrong is a key to the Seahawks season. Both of these guys will be on the court more than 30 minutes and their impact is obvious.

Guy Who Is Actually More Important: Ahmad Grant. The 6-3 juco transfer is a prolific scorer, features a 6-10 wingspan and shot 40% from three point land. He can create shots and make shots. He is exactly the player that can take some of the scoring burden from Tomko and make some plays so that Lacy doesn’t feel like every time he touches the ball something amazing has to happen. Grant frees up Johnny Wolf, too.

Guy Who Could Play On My Team: Darryl Felder. Look, you can find a scrappy guy on every roster. But Felder is far more, battling a bum back to the nth degree. He sat out, left school, and has not played without pain in two years. And he keeps coming back for more. It isn’t as if Felder is useless, either. He is a solid backup. It’s this: when some prima donna says he cannot possibly run another suicide, that the workouts are too difficult, nobody has to say a word. You just point to Felder.

Guy I’m Not Sold On: Will O’huaregbe. He’s coming off a knee injury and a 6-8, 255-pound guy will wear out a knee. He’s played to rave reviews so far, but I’m from Missouri when it comes to rehabbing left-handed freshmen who are originally from London. How many of those guys like that can you name that became stars?

Coach Seems To Like: Trevor DeLoach. The 6-4 DeLoach originally signed with Dave Odom at South Carolina but was injured and then transferred when Odom retired. Moss describes him as streaky shooter with good size.

Games I Will Not Miss: Hosting Wake Forest on 12/16—methinks we’ll get a glimpse of the way Trask used to be that night and it may include an upset. Hosting Hofstra on 2/13. Valentine’s Day in Wilmington speaks for itself. And this could be a key game on the slate.

UNCW Site

BB State Raw Stats

Beat Writer Brian Mull