After several weeks of individual and group workouts, the Seahawks held their first official practice early Saturday at Trask Coliseum. First-year coach Kevin Keatts will field a roster of 11 players in 2014-15 as the Seahawks tackle a 29-game regular season schedule that opens Nov. 15 at Old Dominion.
“We’re extremely excited. Our guys are fired up and we’re ready to practice,” said Keatts. “The biggest thing is for our seniors to leave the past behind, have an opportunity to start a new season and move on to a new era.”
Keatts took over April 1 and has revamped nearly every aspect of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) program–assembling a new coaching staff, retooling the roster and getting a fresh coat of paint on the offices in Trask Coliseum.
Now, it’s time to do some work between the lines.
“One of the biggest things we have to do is become a very solid defensive team and continue to work on our fundamentals,” Keatts said. “We’ll also be trying to implement some of our plays.
“It’s been great having some time already with the guys, certainly from a conditioning standpoint. It has helped the guys become more comfortable with me and learn about my expectations. For this time of year, I think we’re in decent shape. We have a long ways to go, but we’re working towards it.”
Keatts enters new territory as a head coach after serving as Rick Pitino’s top aide the last three seasons with Louisville’s highly-successful program. The Cardinals went 96-20 in Keatts’ three seasons and won the NCAA championship in 2013.
The Seahawks return seven lettermen and three starters from last year’s 9-23 club that endured a roller coaster season. UNCW will face Catawba in an exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 8, before the opener at ODU and the home debut vs. St. Andrews on Dec. 3.
Keatts has three seniors to build around this season, including four-year starters Cedrick Williams and Freddie Jackson, along with second-year transfer Addison Spruill.
Williams, a 6-9, 225-pound forward, led the squad in scoring (11.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) one year ago and enters his final season with career totals of 733 points, 568 rebounds and 132 blocks.
Jackson, a 6-4, 185-pound shooting guard, reached double figures in 10 contests last season and scored a season-high 16 points in UNCW’s loss to Hofstra in the CAA Tournament.
Spruill enters his second full season with the team after transferring from Brevard Community College in Florida. The Pender High School product contributed 9.3 points per game in his debut with the Seahawks and scored in double digits 14 times.
Season tickets for UNCW men’s basketball may be purchased by visiting UNCWsports.com or calling the UNCW Ticket Office at 910-962-3233 or 1-800-808-UNCW.
