Future roster set for UNCW basketball

Noah Thomas | Sports Editor

After a roller coaster of an offseason that has not even been going for two months, it appears that UNC Wilmington has an idea of what its final roster will look like for the 2016-2017 men’s basketball season.

The complete chart of players on scholarship (right) became official a day after sophomore guard Mark Matthews announced that he would be leaving the program this summer. 

Matthews, who averaged 3.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in his 23 appearances this season, scored a season-high 18 points in a January game against Delaware, the final of three instances in which he recorded double-figure scoring in a single game.

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t a good fit,” Matthews said to StarNews. “I feel like sometimes I didn’t get to show my true self here as the player I am. It’s nothing against the coaches … I just feel like there’s a better fit for me somewhere else.

His vacant scholarship was then awarded to redshirt senior Chris Flemmings, who led the Seahawks this past season to a regular season and tournament championship in the Colonial Athletic Association. Flemmings was named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player following UNCW’s 80-73 overtime win over Hofstra in the tournament’s finale.

“Chris has been a huge part of our success,” UNCW head coach Kevin Keatts said to StarNews. “He’s been a great ambassador for UNCW and the basketball program, both on and off the court. He’s the type of kid that you like to coach. We’re very excited about what his future holds for him.”

Redshirt senior C.J. Gettys’s departure has all but been confirmed to occur in the coming months. The 7-foot-0 big man from Ohio will not be with the team for summer workouts as confirmed by Keatts.

After much speculation, it seems that Chuck Ogbodo will return for his final collegiate season with the Seahawks.

The Nigeria native has spent the last several weeks exploring the possibility of transferring to another program. When he spoke to The Seahawk back on April 8, he said he felt as if he had yet to accomplish anything with UNCW. 

It is not clear at this time what made him decide to stay, but the earlier interview made it clear that he was not keen on leaving a campus he loves. 

Rounding out the newcomers on the scholarship chart are transfers Ambrose Mosley, Tyrone Taylor II, JaQuel Richmond, and freshman Jaylen Fornes and Matt Elmore.

From Raleigh, Fornes is a 3-star recruit and the No. 14 overall recruit in the state of North Carolina according to 247Sports.com and stands as the highest-ranked player to commit to Wilmington during Keatts’s tenure.

As it stands, UNCW’s roster should have the Seahawks poised to make a run at back-to-back CAA crowns and a repeat appearance in the NCAA Tournament.