UNC Asheville Preview
Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:34 pm
Greetings from below the Mason-Dixon Line! Hope everybody is having a great fall. It's a sweltering 71 degrees down here today. UNC Asheville fans, like yall, are very excited about this upcoming basketball season and can't wait for next Friday night. While we will be the clear underdog, we hope to put up a good fight and represent the Big South well. Here's a quick look @ our rotation:
1) PG MaCio Teague - 6'3" soph. Returning Big South Rookie of the Year and 1st team all-conference player. Doesn't have the same athleticism as his half brother Jeff, but is a really solid player and can flat out stroke it. We rely on him a lot to create half court offense.
2) SG Raekwon Miller - 6'3" senior. Former walk-on who has gradually earned a spot in the rotation. Good athlete and good defender. Streaky shooter. One of the freshmen might start here, but Raekwon will get PT.
3) SG Kevin Vannatta - 6'2" senior. Four year starter. Insert cliché white player intangibles.
4) SF Ahmad Thomas - 6'3" senior. Returning 1st team all-conference player. Best defender in conference. Very athletic, insane wingspan. Improved on offense each year, should compete for league MVP this year.
5) PF Donovan Gilmore - 6'7" rs-junior. Transfer from College of Charleston. Defense and rebounding.
6) SG Jalen Seegars - 6'4" freshman. High hopes for him down the road.
7) PF Alec Wnuk - 6'7" senior. Solid role player off bench. Might start. will likely split time with Gilmore.
8) SF LJ Thorpe - 6'4" freshman
TBD if it will show up in the game or not, but we are honestly kind of a Big South version of you all. Play the 5 best players, focus on defense, and don't really value positions all that much. Typically have 4-5 guys out there between 6'2" and 6'5" that can do it all. We do not have any exhibition games so I am not 100% sure on who will start and what not, but pretty comfortable with above. We will go as far as Thomas / Teague take us and if you all can lock them up or if they are having an off night then we'll be in trouble.
In the past four years, we've had underclassmen transfer to LSU (Keith Hornsby), Marquette (Andrew Rowsey), Louisville (Dwayne Sutton), and Arizona (Dylan Smith). We've done a great job recruiting and replacing those guys, but man it pretty much sucks serving as D-League for the big boys. We were a near unanimous pick to win the Big South this year and anything less than an NCAA tournament appearance will be considered a disappointment.
I do not know much about Rhode Island, outside of Family Guy, so I'm assuming you all do not know much about Asheville, NC. Here are some fun facts:
Breweries: Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Highland, Wicked Weed, Oskar Blues, plus approximately 217 more.
Famous Alums: Kenny George (7'8" behemoth that captivated the nation in 2008), Wiley Cash (author), Nick McDevitt (current head coach)
Farm to Table Restaurants: Every. Single. One.
Movies Filmed Nearby: Last of the Mohicans, Hunger Games, Richie Rich (Macaulay Culkin, Biltmore House, early 90s, you know you watched it), Dirty Dancing.
Good luck next Friday and for the rest of the season!
1) PG MaCio Teague - 6'3" soph. Returning Big South Rookie of the Year and 1st team all-conference player. Doesn't have the same athleticism as his half brother Jeff, but is a really solid player and can flat out stroke it. We rely on him a lot to create half court offense.
2) SG Raekwon Miller - 6'3" senior. Former walk-on who has gradually earned a spot in the rotation. Good athlete and good defender. Streaky shooter. One of the freshmen might start here, but Raekwon will get PT.
3) SG Kevin Vannatta - 6'2" senior. Four year starter. Insert cliché white player intangibles.
4) SF Ahmad Thomas - 6'3" senior. Returning 1st team all-conference player. Best defender in conference. Very athletic, insane wingspan. Improved on offense each year, should compete for league MVP this year.
5) PF Donovan Gilmore - 6'7" rs-junior. Transfer from College of Charleston. Defense and rebounding.
6) SG Jalen Seegars - 6'4" freshman. High hopes for him down the road.
7) PF Alec Wnuk - 6'7" senior. Solid role player off bench. Might start. will likely split time with Gilmore.
8) SF LJ Thorpe - 6'4" freshman
TBD if it will show up in the game or not, but we are honestly kind of a Big South version of you all. Play the 5 best players, focus on defense, and don't really value positions all that much. Typically have 4-5 guys out there between 6'2" and 6'5" that can do it all. We do not have any exhibition games so I am not 100% sure on who will start and what not, but pretty comfortable with above. We will go as far as Thomas / Teague take us and if you all can lock them up or if they are having an off night then we'll be in trouble.
In the past four years, we've had underclassmen transfer to LSU (Keith Hornsby), Marquette (Andrew Rowsey), Louisville (Dwayne Sutton), and Arizona (Dylan Smith). We've done a great job recruiting and replacing those guys, but man it pretty much sucks serving as D-League for the big boys. We were a near unanimous pick to win the Big South this year and anything less than an NCAA tournament appearance will be considered a disappointment.
I do not know much about Rhode Island, outside of Family Guy, so I'm assuming you all do not know much about Asheville, NC. Here are some fun facts:
Breweries: Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Highland, Wicked Weed, Oskar Blues, plus approximately 217 more.
Famous Alums: Kenny George (7'8" behemoth that captivated the nation in 2008), Wiley Cash (author), Nick McDevitt (current head coach)
Farm to Table Restaurants: Every. Single. One.
Movies Filmed Nearby: Last of the Mohicans, Hunger Games, Richie Rich (Macaulay Culkin, Biltmore House, early 90s, you know you watched it), Dirty Dancing.
Good luck next Friday and for the rest of the season!