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LOCATION: Wilmington, NC
CONFERENCE: Colonial Athletic Association
LAST SEASON: 11-17 (.392)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-7 (4th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: Seahawks
NICKNAME: Green, Gold & Navy Blue
COLORS: Trask Coliseum (6,100)
HOMECOURT: Jerry Wainwright (Colorado College '66)
COACH: 76-69 (5 years)
record at school 76-69 (5 years)
career record Brad Brownell (DePauw '91)
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ASSISTANTS: Mike Winiecki (Richmond '89)
Rodney Terry (St. Edward's '90)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 16-13-16-20-11
RPI (last 5 years) 151-136-113-79-191
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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The announcement came in the mail over the summer. Billy Donlon, UNC Wilmington's point guard the last four years, had joined the coaching staff of Art Perry at fellow Colonial Athletic Association member American. The temptation was to wait by the mailbox for the announcement one just knew had to follow. Stan Simmons, Wilmington's wing guard during Donlon's days at the point, was going to join American's staff, too. That didn't happen. Simmons is playing abroad. That means this will be the first time in a while we will see Donlon without Simmons and Wilmington without either. The guard tandem that worked so well for the Seahawks is gone. Donlon was the consummate point guard. Simmons, at 5-9, was Wilmington's best scorer (16.3 ppg), the only one in double figures last year, and its co-No. 1 rebounder (4.9 rpg). "We've had kind of a given for four years," Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright said. "I was very blessed to have those kids. They were part of 47 CAA victories. "Billy was a tremendous leader, a better person than he will ever be recognized as a player. At the other spot, Stan was arguably the most explosive player in the CAA. He wasn't traditional. We had a 5-9 kid who could bench press 375 pounds and high jump 7 feet." To replace those players, Wainwright has recruited two players who may turn out to be as good.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES B
Too many questions. That sums up Wilmington's chances in the simplest terms possible. Everything is a question. A team can overcome a couple of them, but probably not all of them. Wilmington may indeed be a very good team this season, but a lot has to go right. New guards have to play well and someone has to emerge up front. Two guards take over with excellent credentials. Incoming point guard Barron Thelmon and incoming shooter Brett Blizzard will get a lot of attention. But they have never done it at the Division I level. Up front, coach Jerry Wainwright has plenty of players who have had chances to do it at this level and some have done it OK for short periods. None has been a consistent force. Marcus Green, Victor Ebong and Oleg Kojenets will get more chances. Freshman Craig Callahan will get a long look. "If all of those kids can just add four points and a rebound, that doesn't sound like much," Wainwright said. "Those kids are all capable. They haven't done it yet." They need to, at least one of them. Otherwise Blizzard and fellow wing Stewart Hare won't get time to get off a shot. Wilmington will always get a high grade in the intangibles department for two reasons. First, Wainwright is an excellent coach despite his lack of a pedigree. "I can't hold a candle to some of these guys," he said. Nonsense. He overdoes the schedule, but his theory (toughen up for league tournament time because that's the only ticket to the NCAA Tournament) is sound. The other reason is that Trask Coliseum has become almost legendary in the CAA as a tough place to play. It is usually close to full and always loud. The constant talk about it being a hellish place for opponents only works in Wilmington's favor. |
Junior Barron Thelmon (Chicago/Indian Hills JC, Ottumwa, Iowa) takes over at the point and freshman Brett Blizzard of Tallahassee, (Fla.) High School at the wing. The 6-1 Thelmon averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 assists last season. Blizzard, 6-3, is the son of a coach and was Florida's class AAA player of the year last season. He averaged 22.1 points and 5.0 rebounds. He made 106 three-pointers, including seven in a game three times. Overall, he shot 49 percent from the floor and 85 percent from the line. "They'll have to bring more to the table initially than Billy and Stan did," Wainwright said. "The thing I'm most excited about is, I think Barron and Brett really compliment each other. Barron is an attack, speed guy. Brett can really, really shoot. I think he'll be the best long-range shooter I've coached." On the other wing, Wainwright will have one of the CAA's most pleasant surprises. Stewart Hare is a 6-7 sophomore who is in his third year at the school. He sat out two years ago. His numbers (4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg) don't say a lot, but he showed himself to be quite capable late in the year. "He far exceeded expectations last year," Wainwright said. "He was 6-6, 170 when we signed him and he's just over 200 pounds now. If we can ever get him to 215, I think he'll be as good a player as there is in the league." Also available outside are 6-3 senior Raymond Perine and 6-6 freshman Justin Leith (Princeton, N.J./Princeton Day). Perine averaged 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in limited time last season. Leith averaged 19.1 points and 10.1 rebounds as a prep senior. "We have some kids who can shoot," Wainwright said. "What we hope is that Barron is a guy who can get them the ball. I think you'll see us play much differently than we have in the past. As good as Billy and Stan were, they forced you to play a certain way because of their size and speed." There's no certainty up front for the Seahawks, but for a different reason. Whereas the backcourt is new, most of the frontcourt has been around, but has been inconsistent. In 6-11 senior Oleg Kojenets (5.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg), 6-8 senior Victor Ebong (4.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and 6-9 junior Marcus Green (4.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Wainwright has three sizeable and inconsistent players. Freshman Craig Callahan (Cascade, Iowa/Cascade) will join the mix. Callahan, 6-8, 235, averaged 24 points and 9.9 rebounds last season. Kojenets, a 265-pound Belarusian, has one more chance to develop into a force. "He's big, he's strong, he can run three miles in 18 minutes," Wainwright said. "He has a chance to have such a good year. He needs to do more offensively. Part of that is we need to throw him the ball more. He's as big a kid as there is in college basketball. I'm glad I have him. We need to do a better job using him. "I think Craig can help us. I'll put him out there against anybody in a horse game. We really haven't had in recent years a big guy who can stretch the defense. People in the Midwest are probably wondering why he went here. He visited us and fell in love." In reserve, Wainwright will again be able to call on 6-5 senior Danny Dahl and 6-4 junior Dominick Scott. Each made a handful of starts last year. Dahl averaged 16.5 minutes, 3.4 points and 4.0 rebounds. His 22 steals were tied for second on the team. Scott averaged 8.2 minutes, 0.9 points and 1.4 rebounds. He made only eight of 36 shots. Junior Marty Jarmond, a 5-9 guard, remains on the roster. He played two minutes last season and had one rebound and one missed shot. "I don't think we'll be picked very high," Wainwright said. "I think some people may be surprised by the end of the season by how we're playing."
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