UNCW men’s basketball looks to build on 27-win season

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — The UNCW men’s basketball team enters the new season as the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) preseason favorite after a 27-win campaign last year. But with a mix of new faces and returning talent, head coach Takayo Siddle is looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

“We wanted to get more skilled, we wanted to get more versatile. I felt like last year we had a really good team, but we had a lot of one-dimensional pieces,” Siddle said.

And that was the focus this offseason for Siddle – building a more well-rounded team. Coming off a 27-win season and an outright CAA regular-season title, the Seahawks return six letterwinners while adding nine newcomers. A familiar face will be at the center of it all. Seven-foot center Patrick Wessler returns as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year after averaging nearly 14 points and 9.5 rebounds last season.

“I think our strongest point is inside with Patrick. I don’t think there’s many guys in the country, definitely not in the conference, like him, so we have to feature him in everything that we do, and I think we have really good guard play,” Siddle said.

And there’s plenty of talent around him, including sharpshooting guard CJ Luster, a preseason all-conference selection who shot better than 40% from three during his season at Stony Brook.

“High-energy guy and somebody that’s still trying to find his way around here and figure out how he can help us. But when he’s at his best, he’s making shots from behind the three-point line,” Siddle said.

But while Siddle believes this team has the potential to score at a high level, he says defense remains a work in progress.

“We need to defend, and so it’s been a lot of tough love going on around here lately because we’re not defending at the level that we need to defend at, and we’re not taking it as serious as we need to. We’ve been one of the top teams in our league the last few years in defense, in every defensive category,” Siddle said.

With so many new pieces, Siddle says building chemistry is key, but he has a clear vision for what this group can become. A faster, more aggressive team capable of making another run at a conference championship. And while the Seahawks enter the season as the CAA favorites, Siddle knows turning that preseason promise into another title will take more than talent alone.

“I think once we get that finished product, fans can expect a show. That’s the best way to put it. A show out there on the court. A team that’s playing together. A team that’s playing the right way. A team that’s extremely aggressive. A team that’s tough and physical. A team that’s just playing championship-level basketball,” Siddle said.

UNCW will wrap up its exhibition schedule Saturday, hosting UNC Greensboro at noon. The Seahawks then open the regular season Nov. 2 at home against Mount Olive.