BOSTON – Put Saturday’s 78-68 loss at Northeastern aside for a minute. UNC Wilmington has to go down as one of the pleasant surprises in the Colonial Athletic Association this season as the conference tournament beckons.
Little was expected of the Seahawks this season. From a personnel standpoint, they were already in rough shape before John Fields, one of their best players last season, transferred, and a coaching search that dragged on didn’t help as it didn’t give new head coach Buzz Peterson much time to recruit some newcomers for this season. They start two seniors, two sophomores and a freshman, and only five upperclassmen are on the roster. So it’s understandable that Peterson was preaching patience to the fan base before the season.
The questions didn’t end there, as this team was very perimeter-heavy. They weren’t lacking size entirely, as they have 6’11” sophomore Matt Wilson, but he played limited minutes last season, and classmate Keith Rendleman is more of a wing than a post player. One three players on the roster are 6’7″ or taller.
There was a bright spot, which is that the two seniors who start are in the backcourt. If there’s a place you want to have experience, that’s it, and Chad Tomko and Ahmad Grant have been key players for this team as expected.
Through all of this, UNC Wilmington surprised many by going 7-11 in CAA play and 13-17 overall. That was certainly more than most expected, as many picked them last in the conference in the preseason. Naturally, as competitive athletes they wanted more, but there was one truism to this season that should bode well for the future.
“We didn’t do what we wanted to, but we beat their expectations,” said senior guard Darryl Felder.
“I’ve been pleased overall that we won some games and we’ve done some things that people didn’t expect us to do,” said Peterson. “I can look back on that with some positive thoughts about the season.”
Peterson freely admits he’s leaned on Tomko. There’s good reason, as the senior guard is a competitor who is wrapping up quite a college career. He could always shoot, but there was a question mark about playing the point as he looked more like an undersized shooting guard. But he’ll finish his career with four straight seasons of more assists than turnovers, and although winning didn’t come easily, he never stopped competing.
This year, with the Seahawks not having a lot of experience around Tomko, it was a challenge for him at times to trust his teammates. Games like Saturday’s, where he scored 19 points and also handed out seven assists, didn’t come easily. Peterson said he would love to have more than just this year with him because he loves Tomko’s competitiveness and sees how good the senior guard can be.
“What I would try to teach him is to trust in your teammates,” said Peterson. “That’s why we got on a little run in the middle of the year, because he trusted everybody. He’ll take on everybody, and in a way you want someone like that instead of someone who’s tentative. The young man competes, he wants to win, and he’s not going to back down from anybody.”
There’s no question about his value to the club, and Peterson said as much. Felder said Tomko keeps the team going in tough times, which he has certainly seen in his college career, and they follow him, so leadership hasn’t been lacking.
Two things hurt UNC Wilmington on Saturday: rebounding and turnovers. Second-chance points helped Northeastern in the first half, when they led by as many as 11. Northeastern scored off several turnovers in the first half, but really made them hurt in the latter frame as that was the main way they broke the game open. The Huskies cashed in 17 Seahawk turnovers for 20 points.
The Seahawks have been in their fair share of games that they have lost. They are 6-6 in games decided by five points or less, including a 1-3 mark in overtime games. As much of a pleasant surprise as they have been, they aren’t far away from having a couple of more wins for an even better record.
Peterson is a very likable guy who has lived quite a basketball life. He thoroughly enjoys being around college athletes, a prime reason he left the NBA and good friend Michael Jordan to come back to the college game in 2009. His players have enjoyed playing for him. Felder, whose career has seen plenty of ups and downs that included having to redshirt due to back surgery in a season where the team won 20 games, said he looks up to him.
UNC-Wilmington will take on Georgia State in the CAA Tournament first round. They split with the Panthers in the regular season, with the home team winning each game. A win will put them up against the hottest team in the country, regular season champion George Mason. No one will expect them to win that game, but no one expected them to finish as high as they did or to get seven CAA wins, either.
