Chemistry class: UNCW tries to fix its mojo

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Saturday loss showed problems that team vows to change quickly






They?ve lost teammates and games, and their recent road trip was taxing.But members of the UNC-Wilmington basketball team say they remain close off the court, there are no individual agendas, each player only wants to do whatever is necessary to win.

Their coach has that part figured out.

Recent sessions watching video confirmed what Benny Moss suspected. When opponents made a run at his team, his team broke apart. The on-court leadership was lacking. The communication broke down.

Poor shots, turnovers, missed assignments followed.

Trust is the word for the week as UNCW attempts to rebound from a 33-point loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, a game in which the Seahawks trailed by one point at halftime.

?In that game in particular, we got six good shots to start the second half,? Moss said. ?Now we didn?t make any of the six, but all of a sudden that lead grows to 10 points and we didn?t trust enough. We didn?t trust our teammates, didn?t trust ourselves, didn?t trust the system.?

Now, that?s a good theory. But when an opponent starts stealing the ball, burying 3-pointers, scoring points by the half-dozen, there?s little a coach can do besides waste timeouts.

It?s the point guards? responsibility to unify the five on the court, and Moss has challenged guards Johnny Wolf and Chad Tomko to do so. Neither is the most vocal leader, but Moss said organization equals communication, which leads to precise execution.

?I take full responsibility for the losses we had,? said Tomko, who after a hot start has slipped to 40 percent shooting for the season, 33 percent from 3-point range. ?I?ve had some bad decisions in the last couple of games, some bad shots. I got yelled at for it, and me and coach have talked for the last two days about what he wants me to do. He told me I need to be the coach on the court. I made some terrible decisions some time. It?s a learning stage and I?ve just got to get better at it. I?m a little shy, but I need to get past that and just play.?

The Seahawks have lost four of five and the schedule doesn?t get easier, with hot East Carolina in town tonight and the CAA opener against Georgia State on Saturday.

And Moss hopes he sees an extension of himself on the Trask Coliseum court.

?It?s up to them to huddle their team, make sure everybody is focused, make sure everybody is looking them in the eye on the court in the huddle to make sure they understand this next possession we have to dig in and execute,? he said.

 

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Three Keys For UNCW




1. Limit dribble penetration by ECU?s guards ? and defend without fouling. Each member of the Pirates? starting backcourt trio shoots 85 percent or better from the free throw line and can also get inside to score or make a play for a teammate. Maybe it?s a zone, or sagging man-to-man, but the Seahawks must force ECU to win the game on contested jump shots. Watch UNCW?s defense. It works best when the perimeter player not guarding the ball shifts into a helping position, forms a wall that stops the ball, then recovers quickly. If the crease is too wide, the Seahawks are in trouble.

2. Find a fourth scorer. The scoring gap is growing between the Seahawks? big three of Lacy, Tomko and Wolf and the rest of the team. Each member of that trio averages at least 16 points per game, the next leading scorer active tonight is Jerel Stephenson (6.1 ppg). Darryl Felder has hit double figures twice this season, including a season-high 12 points Saturday in the loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Reserve Josh Sheets has made 11 of 27 3-pointers. The Seahawks need some additional firepower to offset the Pirates, who have six players averaging at least eight points, three in double figures.

3. Limit turnovers ? especially the live ball ones that lead to fastbreaks. Pushing the ball upcourt is great, but only if the possession ends with a good shot at the basket. Lately, too many UNCW trips are ending in turnovers that lead directly to points for opponents. The Seahawks? lack of beef in the middle is well-documented and they will give up enough points in the paint due to that weakness. UNCW is one of the 10 worst teams in the nation in 2-point defense (58.3 percent). Surrendering dunks and layups due to sloppiness is unacceptable and a certain recipe for defeat.

 

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The Buzz:

Wounded Seahawks look to beat rival Pirates for third year in a row. It won?t be easy, ECU enters brimming with confidence after beating CAA beast VCU in overtime last week. UNCW?s Montez Downey (foot) and Kevon Moore (groin) are out tonight, though Downey could return as soon as Saturday?s CAA opener vs. Georgia State, leaving Hawks with eight healthy scholarship players.

Probably UNCW starting lineup:
5 Chad Tomko G, 5-11, 165, Soph.
14 Johnny Wolf, G, 6-3, 190, Jr.
30 Darryl Felder, G 6-3, 185, Soph.
22 Jerel Stephenson, G, 6-5, 205, Fr.
21 Dominique Lacy, F, 6-7, 210, Soph.

Probable ECU starting lineup:
10 Brock Young, G, 5-11, 175, Soph.
4 Sam Hinnant, G, 6-4, 195, Sr.
2 James Legan, G, 6-3, 200, Sr.
1 Darius Morrow, F 6-8, 250, Fr.
33 Chad Wynn, C, 6-10, 240, Soph.

 

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Pirates, Seahawks renew longtime hoops rivalry



Mack McCarthy is hopeful his East Carolina Pirates can build on the success of last Saturday's win at Winthrop when ECU plays its second consecutive game away from home tonight. The Pirates' men's basketball team takes on rival UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m. in rowdy Trask Coliseum.

The Pirates (5-1), off to their best start since the 2003-04 team began the season 8-1, will take on a Seahawks team that has lost four of its last five. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi handed Wilmington (3-4) its most recent setback, 97-64, last Saturday in South Padre Island, Texas.

After averaging 101 points per game in their first three contests, the Seahawks' offense has slipped considerably, scoring an average of just 68 points per game while going 1-3 in the last four outings. East Carolina handed Winthrop its fifth consecutive defeat and the Pirates hope to add to UNCW's early-season woes as well.

Getting a win in a loud, hot Trask gym is never easy though, evidenced by ECU's current 11-game losing streak in Wilmington.

?The big thing is, we know we can win on the road,? McCarthy said. ?You don't want that stigma attached to you for very long where you're hunting your first road win.

?(UNCW) has done a great job of establishing a home court advantage. It feeds on their style of play, and vice versa. They play fast, they're running, they're trapping, they're shooting it quick and I think the two things are a nice marriage.?

The Seahawk offense is led by the trio of guards Chad Tomko and Johnny Wolf and forward Dominique Lacy. Tomko, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, averages a team-high 19.5 points per game while Wolf, a 6-3 junior, and Lacy, a 6-7 sophomore, contribute 17.7 and 16.3 ppg, respectively.

The Pirates have three players averaging double-figure scoring, led by 6-4 guard Sam Hinnant's 19.5 ppg. Hinnant's jump shot with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the game gave ECU the lead for good at Winthrop. The senior from Charlotte scored a game-high 19 points against the Eagles and he has scored at least 14 points in all six games this season.

Senior guard James Legan (6-3) had an off night against the Eagles, finishing with just five points on 1-of-9 field goal shooting, but he still averages 14.3 ppg and leads the Pirates in 3-pointers made (17). Freshman forward Darrius Morrow (6-8), who earned Conference USA co-Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, averages 10.5 points and a team-high eight rebounds per contest.

ECU has three other players averaging at least seven points per game, but one of them, 6-7 sophomore forward DaQuan Joyner, will miss several weeks of action with an injured left foot. Still, having offensive balance is a big reason for the Pirates' early success.

?We have a lot of weapons this year,? Hinnant said. ?The inside presence is the biggest thing with Darrius Morrow and (6-10 center) Chad Wynn. Darrius is coming along great and is only going to get better. Chad's coming along great as well. We have so many weapons now that we don't have to rely on me scoring every night.?

East Carolina point guard Brock Young (5-11) leads C-USA and is third among Division I players with a 7.8 assists per game average while also scoring at a 9.8 ppg clip. Young has 47 assists this season, tied with North Carolina's Ty Lawson for most in the country heading into Tuesday's games.