A little about our next opponent, the Coker College Cobras.

Coker College (est 1908) is a private, co-ed Liberal Arts College located in Hartsville, South Carolina (about 35 miles northwest of Florence, SC) with 1,231 students (just 12 students per class on average) and 68 full-time Academic Staff.



Coker College Cobras

Affiliation: NCAA Division II
Conference: South Atlantic Conference
2014-15 Record: 12-15 (11-11)
2014-15 Finish: L in South Atlantic Conference Quarterfinal
2015-16 Record: 4-1 (0-1)


Coker College has spent the last 29 years being coached by Dan Schmotzer (365-395), who in addition to his coaching duties is an assistant professor of physical education at the school. He was also a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1983-85. The Cobras have mostly struggled to play .500 ball at the D-II level, with a 15-13 record in 2013-14 representing their only winning season in the last 3 years.

This season, however, they're off to a hot start. Junior forward Donte Samuels leads the way with 19.4 points per game on .444 % shooting. In Coker's most recent game, a 71-69 victory at Limestone on Saturday, Samuels dropped 20 points on 8-17 shooting. Senior point guard Trey Marshall has added 9.6 ppg and 2.6 assists.

In 2014-15, the Cobras faced off against two D-I teams, both in exhibitions. They gave Campbell a nice fight in Buies Creek back on November 8th, falling 73-65. However, the guard who poured in 28 points in that game, Larry Felder, has graduated. Later, Coker College also faced South Carolina in a December contest, similar to the timing of their game against us this year, and fell 78-52.

Wednesday night's game will be considered an exhibition for Coker College's purposes and will not count towards their official 2015-16 record.

It's gameday! I know we're all looking ahead to Georgetown in 10 days, but we DO have a home game first before our 5-game roadtrip. Let's go Hawks!


Gameday write-up: http://uncwsports.com/news/2015/12/1/MBB...55728.aspx


WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW men's basketball team tries to remain perfect in 2015-16 when NCAA Division II Coker visits Trask Coliseum on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

The Seahawks, 4-0, have used a relentless defense and versatile offense to race past their first four opponents by 20.5 points per game. The mid-week matchup will be an exhibition game for the visiting Cobras and 29-year head coach Dan Schmotzer.

The game will also benefit the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Fans bringing a new, unwrapped toy can gain admission for just $5.

"Coker is off to a great start," said Keatts. "I've known Dan for a long time and he's a great coach. They have a good team and have a couple players that should be playing on the Division I level. It will be a tough matchup and we will have to be ready to play."

The Cobras of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) are the second non-Division I foe for the Seahawks this season. UNCW blasted Milligan, 100-62, in the season opener back on Nov. 13 at Trask Coliseum.

The clash will be only the second regular season meeting between the two clubs. UNCW clipped the Cobras, 62-47, on Dec. 5, 2013, in Wilmington. The Seahawks also bested the Cobras, 54-43, in an exhibition game on Oct. 30, 2010.

Coker hiked its record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC by knocking off Limestone for the second time this season, 71-69, last Saturday in Gaffney, S.C. But the Cobras bring a wounded crew into Wednesday's game after losing top scorer Donte Samuels and senior forward Trey James to injuries this week.

Keatts, whose team begins final exams on Friday, said, "They have a lot of offensive freedom and have good guard play. They are a very good team."

The Seahawks are 38-7 lifetime against non-Division I opponents, including 30-3 at Trask Coliseum. UNCW has won seven consecutive games against non-Division I foes, with the last loss coming to Alaska-Fairbanks on Nov. 24, 1996, in the second game of the Top of the World Classic.

Fast forward to this season, where the Seahawks already own three double digit victories behind a trio of double figure scorers: Craig Ponder (16.0), Chris Flemmings (12.5) and Denzel Ingram (11.3). Overall, the Seahawks are cranking out 88.0 ppg on the offense end.

In last Saturday's dominating win at East Tennessee State, the Seahawks applied the pressure early and never let off the gas pedal, forcing 21 turnovers and steamrolling the Buccaneers on their home floor at Freedom Hall in Johnson City.

"The season is young, but it was the best energy we've had so far," reflected Keatts. "Even dating back to our games last year, I thought we played extremely hard. It's the first time that I felt like all 11 guys in the game played with tremendous effort and desire and all played hard on the defense end.

One of the catalysts in the ETSU road win was newcomer C.J. Bryce, a freshman guard who was named the Colonial Athletic Association's Rookie-of-the-Week after registering career highs of 14 points and six rebounds, along with three assists and three steals.

Following Wednesday's contest with the Cobras, the Seahawks are idle until Saturday, Dec. 12, when Keatts carries his club to the nation's capital to face perennial hoops power Georgetown. It will be the first meeting between the Seahawks and Hoyas.

All of UNCW's games are carried live on the Seahawk Digital Network. Fans can visit UNCWsports.com, click the Live Events button, and select the game for a free audio and video feed of the contest. Seahawk basketball may also be heard over the radio airwaves on The Beach 94.1 FM/WLSG 1340 AM in Wilmington and New Hanover County and Freedom 97.1 FM/WSME 1120 AM in Jacksonville and Onslow County in 2015-16.

Season tickets are still available by visiting the UNCW Athletics Ticket Office in Trask Coliseum, calling 1-800-808-UNCW or clicking on the Tickets button via UNCWSports.com. Tickets start as low as $99, with 5 and 8-game mini-plans available.

Lineup tonight:

PG - Ponder
SG - Ingram
G - Bryce
PF - Sherwood
C - Ogbodo

Hawks up 19-13, under 11 mins left in the 1st. Lots of blocks and turnovers forced by us but we've missed a few easy looks to keep it close. That should change quickly.

45-33 at the half. We've forced 14 turnovers and blocked 5 shots, but rebounds are even at 23 apiece. Coker isn't bad, definitely better than Milligan College. They have some size in the post (not just height).

After watching our guys at ETSU, this is a bit sloppy on our part.

Letting them hang around here. 9 point game, 8:20 left.

A couple of VERY deep 3's late made it look better for Coker. Regardless, it could have been better. And, it's never good when Talley isn't out there as he was hurting a bit. Hope him and Sherwood are good for Georgetown. Flemmings continues to look great and Ponder has been very solid. Bryce and Cacok are going to be huge factors in the future. Matthews is solid and always around the ball and Grundy is no sloutch. Great additions going forward. Ingram has been looking a little better/pretty quick too-he makes some nice passes at times. Good luck with exams guys!

I noticed Talley get banged up; he ran into a screener and probably bruised his quad. He'll be fine.

Finally got to catch the guys in Trask. Albeit against Coker, but here were my impressions.

1. Flemmings is silky smooth. Love, love, love his game. He does so many things well, and our whole team seems more fluid when he's on the court.

2. We have so many scoring weapons on the court at all times. Flemmings, Bryce, Talley, Ponder, Ingram, Sherwood, Bryan, Cacock, Matthews can all put up 10+ points any given game. This is by far the most offensively dangerous Seahawk squad I can recall since the '06 years. Plus, we have a much deeper bench than we did then. We can drive, hit jumpers, score on the offensive rebound, hit 3's, turn you over and score on the break. Scary.

3. With such a deep bench offensively, we can substitute without fear of an offensive lull when we do so. There is never a time I looked at the five on the court and felt like our offense would suffer. We always have a dangerous scoring team playing together. Because of this, we can keep fresh legs on the court at all times and press, press, press.

4. Cacock is going to be a monster by the time he's a Senior. He's already a physical freak on the floor. Looks like he's made of granite and uses his power to box out, score and defend very effectively. Although Flemmings is my favorite because his game is so smooth, I love Cacock as a post player myself. He does the dirty work of boxing out and controlling the boards.

When our pressure gets broken, opponents are best served immediately attacking once they break the press. BUT, many times our opponents are so happy to get over half court, they forget to attack. Plus, they're just worn out.

Just a pleasure to watch.

C.J. Bryce's man tried to mentally and physically intimidate him. C J stood his ground and went right back at him. His opponent was stronger built, but C J didn't care. Loved it.

Bryce has a chance to be very good,saw him play in Greensboro All Star game and he stood out from his peers there. Played hard and very good defender.

Bryce always looks in control. He's very athletic, has good size, and has great skills. We have some very mature looking Freshmen

I expect Matthews to settle down and hit more shots and finish drives. It looks like he's pressing too hard right now. The adrenaline is kicking in.

(12-03-2015 08:47 AM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  I expect Matthews to settle down and hit more shots and finish drives. It looks like he's pressing too hard right now. The adrenaline is kicking in.

Agree completely. He seems to be pressing. As poorly as he shot last night he scored 10. He was 4-4 from the line - maybe he can build on that. He seems to have very good instincts. Keep putting up the shots - they'll start dropping!

Matthews' shot at the D-I level will develop over time. What impresses me most about him is his ability to drive and dish as well. That's a talented kid right there. Bryce and Cacok are the guys who have proven to be the most ready right now, but Matthews and Grundy certainly can't be forgotten. I think each of these 4 freshmen will all end up on multiple all-CAA teams by the time their careers are over.

It's kind of crazy to think that Keatt's first 5 significant freshmen recruits (Talley-Matthews-Bryce-Grundy-Cacok) would make a heck of a starting 5 all on their own, right now.