In early October, Jordan Talley told media members UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team was ready to begin play and make another run at the Colonial Athletic Association crown.

Now, with the commencement of the regular season less than three days away, the Seahawks will be without one of their most experienced players on the court. It was announced by coach Kevin Keatts last Wednesday that Talley had been suspended indefinitely for conduct “detrimental” to the team.

Talley, who averages 8.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, has logged more minutes in a UNCW uniform than anyone else on the current roster. He became the team’s de facto point guard a year ago despite coming off the bench as a sixth man for much of the season.

It is unclear for how long the Seahawks will be without Talley.

Coming off a 25-7 record and being picked to finish first in the preseason CAA polls, Keatts will likely look to his freshmen for help when creating ways to make up for Talley’s production.

Jaylen Fornes, a Raleigh native, joins a UNCW squad with an affinity for adding points to the scoreboard. Production within the arch could fall to Matthew Elmore, a graduate of nearby Dixon High School in Holly Ridge.

UNCW’s established leaders will also be expected to pick up the pace. Returning all-CAA players Chris Flemmings (Preseason CAA Player of the Year), Denzel Ingram (Preseason all-CAA second team), and C.J. Bryce will lead a team coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history.

Bryce returns with perhaps the most important role on this UNCW team. Avoiding a sophomore slump will be crucial, but the absence of Talley places more importance on Bryce’s increase in productivity. 

How he does that may lie in the improved effectiveness of his jumpshot and his ability to combine it with a slashing game that brought him success last season.

“[My jumpshot] is looking pretty good — that’s something I wanted to work on during the summer,” Bryce said. “I drove a lot last year and other teams know that I can drive, so I just want to open up my game a little bit more.”

Bryce averaged 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 30 starts as a freshman. He was the only first-year player to log significant minutes from beginning to end, and his role will only continue to grow in 2017. He earned a nod on the conference’s honorable mention list to precede this season.

Keatts and his team will not only be looking for back-to-back CAA Tournament championships, but a three-peat in the regular season standings as well. A potential difference, however, could be the Seahawks winning their first regular season title outright during Keatts’s tenure.

Accomplishing this will be made more difficult by the oversized target on UNCW’s back. It will act as a change from the chip it carried on its shoulder during Keatts’s debut and follow-up seasons in which the Seahawks were picked to finish ninth and sixth, respectively.

“I never used (those picks) for motivation,” Keatts said. “There’s a team that’s going to be picked ninth or tenth, and that was us a couple of years ago. You certainly can’t discredit any of those guys because in the CAA anybody can beat you any night.”

Behind the Seahawks in the preseason CAA standings is Towson (two first-place votes), William & Mary (one vote) and College of Charleston rounding out the top four. Hofstra, which finished 2016 tied with UNCW atop the standings, was picked to finish sixth.

UNCW tips off the season Friday vs. Claflin at 7 p.m.