On the eve of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship, the UNCW men’s basketball team has landed several postseason honors in the end-of-the-regular season balloting by the league’s coaches and media members.
First-year UNCW Head Coach Kevin Keatts headlines the list as the CAA Coach of the Year after piloting the resurgent Seahawks to a remarkable “worst to first” season in 2014-15.
Senior guard Addison Spruill, a Pender High School graduate, was named First-Team All-CAA, senior guard Freddie Jackson, a New Hanover alum, was selected Second-Team All-CAA and also to the CAA’s All-Defensive Team and newcomer Jordon Talley nabbed All-Rookie Team accolades.
The Seahawks were picked to finish ninth in the 10-team league in the CAA’s preseason poll, but startled observers by soaring into first place down the stretch and snagging the regular-season championship with James Madison, Northeastern and William & Mary.
Keatts, who took over the helm of the program last April, repurposed the roster, instilled a winning attitude and steered the Seahawks to an upset of CAA preseason favorite Northeastern in the first conference road game of the season.
When the regular season concluded last Saturday, the Seahawks had posted a 10-2 winning record at home and a 7-10 road mark during a road-heavy schedule that included just three non-conference home contests.
“Getting coach of the year is great, but when you have to attribute that to your players and coaching staff,” said Keatts. “Coaches don’t do to the playing, so it comes down to the players and the staff.”
Keatts piloted the Seahawks to their most conference wins since the 2007-08 season behind an aggressive defense and opportunistic offense. UNCW led the CAA in steals and forced 74 more turnovers by conference opponents during the course of the season.
Spruill became the 14th player in UNCW history to land First-Team All-CAA honors following his senior season. The transfer from Brevard (Florida) College led the team in scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) and ranked seventh in scoring and fourth in rebounding in the CAA. In addition, he reached double figures in 23 of 29 games and paced the Seahawks in scoring 10 times, including a 33-point outburst on Jan. 14 at William & Mary.
“Addison’s matured in so many ways,” said Keatts. “When I first took the job, I looked at a lot of video and he took a lot of challenged shots. Addison now understands who he is and he understand his game. He’s not taking as many three-pointers and he’s great from 15 to 18 feet.”
Jackson ranked second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.8 rpg). He reached double figures in scoring 19 times and finished 11th in the CAA in scoring. Jackson also wound up second in the conference in steals with 1.6 spg.
