It’s been six months since the end of UNC Wilmington’s last basketball campaign, but one would never be able to tell it by listening to the school’s boosters.

The sense of euphoria that came with winning UNCW’s first Colonial Athletic Association title in 10 seasons carried over into Thursday’s inaugural tip-off banquet for the men’s basketball program. 320 alumni, boosters, and personnel packed Burney Center to celebrate the ushering in of a new year.

Emceed by Seahawk Digital Network play-by-play man Mike Vaccaro, the banquet kicked off with a montage of the previous season’s biggest highlights. 

The video chronicled the Seahawks’ journey from their first game vs. Barton, to their comeback win over Hofstra in the CAA Tournament, to their near-upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m overwhelmed with the turnout tonight,” said UNCW coach Kevin Keatts during his opening remarks. “It’s tremendous and it shows a lot of support of the program.”

Plans to hold the event were initially revealed in early August. Ticket prices were unveiled soon after — they ranged from “individual” seating ($150) to being placed at a “National Championship” table ($5,000), which included several amenities including the chance to dine with a player and coach.

Both live and silent auctions were held. The latter included signed memorabilia from prominent Atlantic Coast Conference coaches and athletes as well as signed footballs by Carolina Panthers stars Luke Kuechly and Cam Newton.

The highlighted portion of Thursday’s dinner, however, was not the auctions, but the special guest speaker.

Seth Greenberg, a longtime friend of Keatts going back to the former’s days at Hargrave Military Academy, is currently a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He served 22 years as a Division I head coach, the final nine of which came at Virginia Tech.

For trivia, he’s the only coach in NCAA history to win road games at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, the Dean Smith Center, Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the Comcast Center.

“I’m excited to be here,” Greenberg told media earlier that afternoon. “I’m so proud of what Kevin Keatts has been able to do here at Wilmington. It’s unbelievable.”

Greenberg said it wasn’t a shock, though, because he knew the type of person Keatts was coming into his tenure at UNCW.

“He’s won everywhere he’s been,” he said. “I think the thing that makes Kevin special at any level is his ability to communicate. He can get guys to find the best in themselves, and trust each other and get them to compete at a very high level.”

His remarks were a testament to the amount of success Keatts has brought Wilmington in a relatively short amount of time — the Seahawks went from being a bottom feeder in the CAA to finishing tied for first in each of the last two seasons.

Keatts has accomplished this with a group of players who’ve sprinkled in from other programs and a few he’s been able to recruit himself — the rest were left over from Buzz Peterson’s time as head coach. This year will be his first with a team that is largely his own.

Greenberg posed a similar question in his speech to the athletic boosters and alumni to one he brought up during his press conference.

“Why can’t Wilmington be the next Butler … the next Wichita State … the next VCU?” he asked. “Well, they can. They’ve got everything in place and what it really comes down to is being willing to make a commitment.”

Only time will tell if the Seahawks can accomplish the same feats as those programs Greenberg mentioned.

UNCW will tipoff its season on Nov. 11 against Claflin. An exhibition game against Mount Olive will be held the preceding week.