That familiar place for UNC Wilmington men’s basketball can be summed up with just one word — uncertainty.  

For a roster that saw more turnaround than Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart (google it kids), getting up to speed with what head coach C.B. McGrath wants to do on the court will obviously take some time.    

With tip off in just a few weeks, the Seahawks have a short amount of time to get prepared for their season opener against Johnson & Wales University. Three days later, the team welcomes highly-touted North Carolina.

With a roster welcoming seven new faces and only three players with any significant time played under McGrath, every minute spent together on and off the court will undoubtedly be used wisely.   

An Experience the group will never forget 

Back in August, the team was able to bond as a group when they traveled across the pond to Italy. The Seahawks were able to play two games against professional squads from Italy and Serbia to get a gage of where they currently stand. Apparently, they were not there specifically for the art, food or architecture.  

In game one, UNCW squared off against the Venetian Tigers who hail from Vicenza. The ‘Hawks gave them a good taste of American basketball, knocking off the Tigers 85-47. The Seahawks saw 11 different Seahawks make at least one bucket. Jay Estime’ led all scorers with 16 points. 

Game two however, did not go according to plan for McGrath and his crew. After leading for most of the game, the Seahawks blew a 10-point lead at halftime and eventually fell to K.K. Kalubara 91-90. The Serbian team was able to rally late and show some obvious professional-grown-man shot making ability down the stretch. Florida transfer Mike Okauru led all scorers in this game with 14 points.  

Burke breaks down new faces 

Newly appointed assistant coach Rob Burke stopped by HawkTalk with EZ and the Beards to discuss every new face on the roster heading into this season.

Along with the recent news of junior transfer Okauru being approved by the NCAA to play this upcoming season, we take an in-depth look with coach Burke at every player on the roster that most fans and followers of the program are not familiar with.  

To hear that conversation and more on the Seahawks’ basketball team click here. Share, like — or not like — and let us know what you think. The season tips off in less than a month, so let this episode serve as your appetizer to what should be a pretty good main course starting on Nov. 5.