Last Year: 24-10; Third (12-6) in the Coastal Athletic Association, No Postseason
Head Coach: Takayo Siddle (Fourth Year; 58-29 at UNC-Wilmington with no NCAA Tournament appearances)
Projected Starting Lineup
| G Donovan Newby – 6’1″, 185 – Senior |
| G Shykeim Phillips – 6’0″, 185 – Senior (5th) |
| W Maleeck Harden-Hayes – 6’7″, 200 – Senior (5th) |
| W Trazarien White – 6’6″, 195 – Junior |
| F/C Ahmard Harvey – 6’7″, 240 – Senior |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Donovan Newby: 8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.8 spg – 35.7% 3FG
Shykeim Phillips: 8.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.5 spg – 37.9% FG
Maleeck Harden-Hayes: 9.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.4 spg – 38.5% 3FG
Trazarien White: 14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 spg – 46.8% FG
Ahmard Harvey: 4.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 bpg – 54.3% FG @ High Point
Experienced Reserves
| G KJ Jenkins – 6’2″, 180 – Senior (5th) |
| W Nick Farrar – 6’7″, 240 – Senior |
| G Shemar Rathan-Mayes – 5’11”, 190 – Senior |
| F Eric Van Der Heijden – 6’9″, 215 – Junior |
| W Noah Ross – 6’7″, 205 – Sophomore |
| W Nolan Hodge – 6’7″, 185 – Sophomore |
| F Khamari McGriff – 6’8″, 205 – Sophomore |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
KJ Jenkins: 7.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.7 spg – 43.6% 3FG @ New Mexico
Nick Farrar: 5.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.4 spg – 38.1% 3FG
Shemar Rathan-Mayes: 2.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.4 spg, 42.3% FG
Eric Van Der Heijden: 2.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.5 spg – 32.8% 3FG
Noah Ross: 3.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.7 spg – 41.5% FG
Nolan Hodge: 2.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.3 bpg – 50.0% FG
Khamari McGriff: 1.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.4 bpg – 85.7% FG
Freshmen
| F Matthew Moore – 6’8″, 200 – Freshman |
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks are ready to go back to the NCAA Tournament now, please & thanks. In back-to-back seasons, each of head coach Takayo Siddle’s last two crews have put in the work to be playing well at the most important time of the year, advancing to the past two Colonial Athletic Association tournament title games. They are, unfortunately, 0-for-2.
The Seahawks had claimed the league’s regular season crown two years past, as well. The last two campaigns, UNC-W has claimed 51 combined wins; and yet, after a CBI Championship in 2021-22, they didn’t get to participate in a postseason tournament of any kind last March. The Seahawks haven’t Danced since Siddle’s mentor, NC State coach Kevin Keatts took them at the end of the 2016-17 season and then moved on up to Raleigh.
‘Third time pays for all’, a wise burglar once said, and this season, Wilmington is out to cash in all of the potential of the program’s last two attempts, and once again reach the promised land. Siddle has retained an impressive core despite the lure of the Transfer Portal to form this team’s backbone. Furthermore, he’s added a dash of veteran experience from other programs, and hopes to have finally perfected the mix to do more than make an appearance at the title game and watch somebody else celebrate.
Trazarien White had averaged 6.9 points and 4.7 boards in his first season playing for Siddle two years ago, occupying a valuable role as a supporting actor for UNC-W’s veteran group. Last year, the former junior college star stepped out as the Seahawks’ leading scorer. Despite hitting double figures in scoring just four times in CAA play two years ago, White went for at least ten points in 24 different games overall last season. The rangy 6’6″ scorer is all about getting his buckets in and around the lane. He gets a great many points through sheer effort; White has worked on his footwork in the painted area, though often catches in the lane and outmuscles his man, or simply drives from further out straight towards the cup. After making less than 23% of his shot attempts away from the rim as a sophomore, White took real steps as a more varied shot-maker last year. He made 41.2% of his in-between tries a year ago, and at legitimate volume: White took 131 shots from mid-range, just eight fewer tries than he had closer in, per Bart Torvik. White can face up or get acrobatic to knock down short jumpers in and around the lane, and he’s also a highly effective and occasionally quite slick passer out of the post.
Though he made 20 treys as well, White remains pretty exclusively a spot-up threat from deep. Reports say White has looked better and more confident than ever swishing perimeter jumpers in summer workouts, and could become fairly unstoppable if he adds a genuine three-ball to his repertoire. He grabbed double-digit rebounds eight times a year ago, with seven of those games being double-double performances. With 115 offensive boards in his two campaigns in Wilmington, White has proven himself one of the most prolific glass artists in the league, and despite being rather undersized in the post, he’s too much for most other forwards to keep contained. Down the stretch, White was at his best, averaging 16.8 points and 6.7 rebounds on 50% shooting over UNC-W’s final ten games. The Seahawks’ ever-grinning, affable leader was awarded UNC-W’s ‘Toughness Chain’ to wear postgame more often than anyone else last winter, and White seems likely to keep it up for the foreseeable future.
White got to the free throw line almost six times per game last season, ranking second in the CAA in free throw attempts (193) and makes (127), and the Seahawks as a team took 697 trips to the charity stripe, which was better than all but 57 programs in the country. If White can raise his percentage up over 70 from the 65.8% he made last year, it will really solidify his place as one of the conference’s top scorers – and more. The Seahawks ranked 9th nationally in Bart Torvik’s FUN statistic (which measures a team’s good – or bad – fortune unexplained by numbers); and overall, the Seahawks made the 49th-most freebies in the nation per game last year. That became vital production, helping out an offense which finished 190th in the country with a 44.4% team FG%, ranked just 250th with 68.9 points per game, and hit 6.1 triples per contest. Wilmington made those foul shots at a 72.9% rate as a team (128th), and Siddle’s second, third and fourth-leading returning scorers all shot at least an excellent 83.2% on their freebies. If White makes real strides as well, Wilmington will keep winning their close games, and it will aid their ability to prevent too many extended scoring droughts.
Siddle likes his guys to get after it defensively, and thus he plays a deep rotation. It’s a strategy which has helped the Seahawks limit their opponents to 66.8 points per game over the last two seasons. “They hang their hat on the defensive end,” Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton says of the Seahawks. As a result, Harden-Hayes didn’t quite average double digits last year; he settled for 9.9 points per game, but the former North Dakota State transfer has been so efficient that a breakout may be coming. Harden-Hayes owned a solid 46.5/34/76% shooting line when he arrived in Siddle’s rotation, but was even better last year. The lanky wing shot 48.7% overall and 38.5% from distance, and Harden-Hayes made 90.3% of his free throws in his first season in Wilmington. If the ‘Covid Senior’ can keep up that type of productivity over 10+ shot attempts per game instead of the 6.9 he tried last winter, Wilmington’s offense could take off.
Harden-Hayes saw just a 17.5% usage rate last season, but provided quality production even when he wasn’t being featured offensively. He tied for the team lead with 22 putbacks, per Hoop-Math, ranked second on the Seahawks in blocks and third in boards, and took strides as a defender. Active and energetic more than he is physical, Harden-Hayes has the skill and experience to put it all together as an impact defender this year as well as emerging as an offensive stalwart, and Siddle thinks it’s just a matter of time. “He doesn’t care about anything but winning. He’s one of those rare guys that you get,” Siddle told UNCW play-by-play broadcaster Mike Vaccaro of Harden-Hayes in February of last season. “Those guys really care about it, and that’s why you’re seeing him be so consistent.”
The Seahawks didn’t do a tremendous amount of damage from the land of trey last year, but KJ Jenkins has been brought in to help change that. He will join a pair of key returnees in Donovan Newby and Shykeim Phillips to form a dangerous and multi-talented backcourt. Jenkins is from northern Georgia, and started out his collegiate career at Division II North Georgia, before playing JuCo ball in Texas and then trekking West to play for New Mexico the past two seasons. Now, Jenkins is coming back closer to home, and looking to play a bigger role for the Seahawks than he would have on a very talented but inconsistent Lobos team.
“They hang their hat on the defensive end”
-Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton
Jenkins is a marksman. He made 85 triples at a 43.1% rate in his one season at Kilgore (TX) Junior College, and then splashed 108 more over the past two seasons in Albuquerque, at a 38.0% clip. “We are thrilled to have KJ join our team,” Siddle said when Jenkins signed on in Wilmington. “He is an elite shooter and an even better teammate and leader. He will have an immediate impact on our backcourt.” Jenkins passes the ball well, and posted a 33:20 assist to turnover ratio last year, but he’s best suited to playing off the ball with the freedom to hunt open opportunities. Like all of the Lobos, Jenkins struggled at times defensively the past couple of seasons, though Jenkins personally improved a bit last year. The biggest reason that his minutes (22.8 to 18.5 per game) and usage (22.0 to 18.6%)were scaled back between his seasons in New Mexico was largely twofold. Youngster Donovan Dent was terrific, and then – as part of a larger team backslide – Jenkins hit a streaky patch late in the season, and then failed to make any three’s over New Mexico’s final four games. If he’s ready to return to confident form from deep, Jenkins will add a needed deep threat to Siddle’s offense.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale |
| 65.2 – Opponent Points Per Game (36th) |
| 48.9% – Team Effective FG Percentage (262nd) |
| 30.5% – Opponent 3FG Percentage (20th) |
| 22.8 – Field Goals Made Per Game (328th) |
| .398 – Free Throw Attempts Per Field Goal Attempt (18th) |
Shemar Rathan-Mayes is also new to the Seahawks, but not college basketball. The brother of former Florida State star Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Shemar is a Canadian point guard who played the past three seasons for Youngstown State. A Horizon League All-Freshman pick as a rookie, Rathan-Mayes has started 67 career games, but saw his role diminish over the last couple of years. Looking for a fresh start, he arrives in Wilmington with a winning pedigree and 168 career assists from his time as a Penguin. Though he will be the smallest of UNCW’s guards, Rathan-Mayes is quick and knows how to run an offense. He had been a 35.8% career shooter through two seasons, but fell off to a 25.0% rate last year in what was a frustrating overall campaign. “His leadership and veteran experience will be a great asset to our program,” Siddle has said of Rathan-Mayes. “Shemar has won at a high level in his prep and collegiate career and we look forward to seeing him impact winning as a Seahawk.” If Rathan-Mayes can hit a few jumpers, keep his teammates organized, and provide a defensive spark, he should play a prominent support role for the Seahawks.
Newby wasn’t always in Siddle’s starting lineup last year after transferring from Milwaukee, but he settled in nicely by the end of the season. The senior-to-be is a heady co-facilitator and secondary scorer. By the end of the year, Newby was looking like a player who Siddle hopes will reach a new level this year. Over UNC-W’s final ten games last season, Newby was averaging 33 minutes and 10.8 points, while getting to the line 3.4 times and shooting 40.0% from distance. He’s got some shiftiness with the ball, and Newby generally makes good decisions in the halfcourt or starting the break. A solid outside threat offensively, Newby has made 91 triples over the last two years, and is a 37.7% career marksman from distance. Newby is also a natural at moving the ball into positions for his buddies to score; and though his assist numbers dipped last season, Newby figures to have the ball in his hands fairly often as Siddle incorporates a couple of new guards into this year’s rotation. Newby believes that the Seahawks have the correct mindset, and feels as though the team is on the verge of accomplishing their goals. “Coach talks to us about maturing, and how you gotta finish games,” Newby says of Siddle’s messaging. “On the court and in life you’re gonna go through adversity and you just got to keep that level head and keep going and not let it affect you…we got good leaders in this locker room.”
The leader of UNC-W’s intense perimeter defense the past couple of seasons has been Shykeim Phillips. Back for his fourth full season and fifth in the program, Phillips embodies what Siddle wants from his players. The veteran guard makes good decisions and takes high-percentage shots, protects the ball, and drives the opposition nuts with his on-ball pressure. Phillips will pick up full court or aggressively extend his pressure in the halfcourt, will block a shot with his springy, constant-effort persistence, and is highly adept at turning people over while trapped against the halfcourt line and then translating the live ball into a quick bucket for his guys. A member of the CAA’s All-Defense team, Phillips has ranked in the top eight among conference players in steals per game in each of his three healthy seasons, and sits at fifth in CAA history with a 3.7% career steal percentage. He’s not much of a long-range bomber, but Phillips gets to the rim effectively and has always kept an eye out for a good chance to set up one of his teammates. He’s averaged 9.8 points across 99 career games, and given the way Phillips has adapted his game to fit two highly successful rotations already, Siddle trusts his most experienced player to continue leading by example.
Nick Farrar and Noah Ross are a contrasting pair of wings who offer the Seahawks some interesting matchup possibilities. Farrar is a strapping veteran who checks in at 6’7″, 240, and brings plenty of skill to go along with all of that size. The former NC State and College of Charleston transfer made a move within the Colonial, hoping for a bigger role. This season, Farrar should have his best opportunity yet. Farrar has been tantalizingly productive in his limited minutes; the past two years, he has shot 51.0% from the floor and 40.0% from three, while averaging 23+ points per 40 minutes. Mostly an offensive threat, Farrar can be exploited defensively by quicker players, but he clearly presents some mismatch potential on the other end. If Farrar can provide more consistent board work, it will also help Farrar to see the floor.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| @ Arkansas – December 30 |
| @ Kentucky – December 2nd |
| vs Murray State – November 20 |
| @ Florida Gulf Coast – November 25 |
| @ Marshall – November 21 |
Ross missed more than a month last season with a leg injury, and was unable to scratch across the four games he returned to gut out at the end of the season. Overall, though, the lanky freshman showed some things last winter, and he even started 15 games. With a different body type as compared to Farrar, Ross plays a bit longer and has similar inside/out scoring ability. He hasn’t been quite as dangerous from the outside yet; Ross shot 32.1% on his nine made triples as a freshman, but Siddle likes the high energy level, rebounding desire and toughness which Ross brings. Nolan Hodge, also a freshman last year, played a deeper reserve role. He’s similarly long and lean to Ross, and Hodge has some perimeter scoring ability which he hopes to show off more this winter.
With last season’s most impactful post player, Amari Kelly, gone to George Mason, Siddle needs a new man in the middle. He’s hoping to have found a good one in former High Point big man Ahmard Harvey. One of the best rebounders in the Big South last year, Harvey seems a great fit for a Seahawks team which ranked 187th nationally in rebounding rate and 269th in blocks per game. Harvey ranked third in his previous league in rebounds per game and offensive boards last season. Despite playing in the middle at 6’7″, Harvey has the long arms and physicality combined with mobility which coaches look for. The Bahamas native finished seventh in the Big South by blocking 1.2 shots per game last year, and is highly energetic all over the painted area. “He has a very high motor and can impact the game in a variety of ways with his effort and toughness,” Siddle declared of Harvey when the graduate senior signed on to play for the Seahawks. Though not a particularly natural offensive player, Harvey can nonetheless finish a good feed inside. Harvey accrued nearly a quarter of his made baskets inside via his team-best 21 putbacks last season, per Hoop-Math, and Harvey did manage to toss in a trio of triples to give opponents something to think about. Siddle would be well-pleased if Harvey, a 36.2% career foul shooter, could nudge his percentage over the halfway point this year. Siddle and UNC-W generally know what they’re getting in Harvey, and that is a comfort.
Eric Van Der Heijden returns as more of an offensive-minded big, and hopes to grow his role in year two as a Seahawk. The tallest player on the roster, Van Der Heijden arrived from Ole Miss last year and backed up Kelly. With some face-up skill and halfcourt savvy, he should provide a useful contrast to Harvey, but now Siddle needs Van Der Heijden to play the best and most defense of his life. He can knock down three’s, but Van Der Heijden will need to bring more than just that skill in order to get the most run this season. Khamari McGriff returns, having been a deep reserve so far. He will try to relegate the team’s lone incoming freshman, Matthew Moore, to a redshirt season and seize a bigger chunk of the action.
The mission in Wilmington this winter is clear. The Seahawks know they can win consistently, and so do their opponents. Siddle has established a winning attitude and continued the culture of success which Keatts established. The only hurdle remaining is obvious, and will be the unavoidable elephant in their locker room this year. “It’s great when you have a player-coached team, a player-led team,” Siddle has marveled to Flo Hoops. “I didn’t really have to say a whole lot.” There is no need to remind his team of the task at hand.
The Seahawks have all the pieces needed to contend once more, and the veteran core is going to be highly motivated to finish the job this time. “Whether you win or lose, there’s a lesson to be learned after every game. And I told these guys – they probably get tired of hearing me – we learn lessons,” Siddle has said. “I’m very proud of our group, but there’s a lot of work to do…The job’s not finished.” Though they will get stuff competition from Charleston one more and even a game Drexel team, UNC-Wilmington has its eyes on the prize they’ve been denied, and nothing short of the Big Dance will make this season a true success.
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