Keatts named coach of the year in CAA; Spruill named All-CAA

WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — 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 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 (Pender HS/Currie, N.C.) was named First-Team All-CAA, senior guard Freddie Jackson (New Hanover HS/Wilmington, N.C.) was selected Second-Team All-CAA and also to the CAA’s All-Defensive Team and newcomer Jordon Talley (Henrico HS/Richmond, Va.) nabbed All-Rookie Team accolades. Junior forward Kevin Hickson (Providence Day/Charlotte, N.C.) also earned All-Academic recognition.

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.

The Seahawks, 17-12 overall and 12-6 in the CAA, carry the No. 2 seed into Saturday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal matchup at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore against either Drexel or the College of Charleston.

Keatts, who took over the helm of the program last April, wasted no time in overhauling the Seahawk fortunes. He 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 commendable 7-10 road mark during a treacherous road-heavy schedule that included just three non-conference home contests.

“Getting Coach-of-the-Year is great, but 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.”

The energetic Keatts piloted the Seahawks to their most conference wins since 2007-08 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.

Keatts’ selection marks the fifth Coach-of-the-Year honor for the Seahawks. Jerry Wainwright won the coveted award in 1997 and 2001 and Brad Brownell garnered it in 2003 and 2006. Keatts also becomes only the fourth skipper in CAA history to be named CofY in his first season, joining Jeff Capel, Jr./VCU (1995), Brownell/UNCW (2003) and Anthony Grant/VCU (2007) on the unique list.

A muscle-bound backcourt performer, Spruill became the 14th player in UNCW history to land First-Team All-CAA honors following an outstanding senior season. The transfer from Brevard (Fla.) 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 to18 feet.”

The slippery Jackson capped a stellar career by landing Second-Team All-CAA and All-Defensive Team laurels. The local product 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.

Talley, meanwhile, took over as the team’s floor general with the advent of the CAA schedule and was rock steady for Keatts & Co. The Richmond, Va., playmaker ended up fourth on the club in scoring (8.6 ppg) and led the team with 85 assists – third most by a freshman in UNCW history. He was named CAA Rookie-of-the-Week twice during the regular season. Talley is UNCW’s first All-Rookie selection since Adam Smith in 2010-11.

Hickson, a 6-8, 215-pounder, joined the club as a walk-on and appeared in 14 games, making his only start of the campaign on Nov. 22, 2014, at VMI. He is completing his degree requirements in his major of Business.

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RICHMOND, VA (CAA) -– William and Mary senior guard Marcus Thornton was selected as the Colonial
Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches, media relations
directors and members of the media.  
Also receiving top honors were UNCW’s Kevin Keatts as the CAA Coach of the Year, Elon freshman guard Elijah
Bryant as the CAA Rookie of the Year and William and Mary junior guard Terry Tarpey as the CAA Defensive Player of
the Year. Northeastern junior guard Caleb Donnelly and William and Mary senior forward Tom Schalk were the co‐
recipients of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.  
Thornton is the first W&M player to ever receive CAA Player of the Year honors. The senior guard ranks second in the
conference and 21st in the nation in scoring with 19.4 points per game and has tallied double figures in 35
consecutive contests dating back to last year. He became the Tribe’s all‐time leading scorer on Feb 25, breaking a
mark that had stood since 1950, and is currently 11th in CAA history with 2,081 points. Thornton is also the most
prolific three‐point shooter in W&M history and ranks fifth on the CAA’s all‐time treys list with 308. A three‐time all‐
conference selection, Thornton is one of 16 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, presented
by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He’s currently one of only four players in Division I to be shooting
better than 45 percent from the floor (46.4%), 40 percent from 3‐point range (40.9%) and 80 percent from the free
throw line (81.6%) this season.
In his first season at UNCW, Keatts guided the Seahawks to a share of the CAA regular‐season title for the first time
since 2006. After being picked to finish ninth in the league’s preseason poll, UNCW surpassed expectations with a 12‐
6 mark in CAA play, which was its most conference wins since 2007‐08. The Seahawks started the year 5‐7 before
winning 12 of their final 17 games. Keatts is the third UNCW coach to be honored as CAA Coach of the Year, joining
Jerry Wainwright (1997, 2001) and Brad Brownell (2003, 2006).
Bryant received Rookie of the Year accolades in Elon’s first season as a member of the CAA. The freshman guard
ranked eighth in the league in scoring with 13.9 points per game, which led the Phoenix and was best among all CAA
rookies. He tallied double figures in 25 of 31 games and was the team’s top scorer 13 times. Bryant was also second
on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg), and was eighth in the conference with a team‐high 40
steals.
Tarpey is W&M’s first CAA Defensive Player of the Year honoree after contributing in nearly every phase of the game.
The junior guard leads the conference and ranks 51st nationally with 8.4 rebounds per game, and is also first in the
CAA in steals (50) and blocked shots (40). He grabbed 10 or more caroms in 11 games, recorded nine double‐doubles
and posted the first triple‐double in Tribe history on Jan. 10. Tarpey also leads W&M with 89 assists and is third on
the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game.