While first-year head coach Kevin Keatts may have stolen the headlines during the offseason for UNC Wilmington’s men’s basketball team, there are plenty of new faces on the court to take notice of, as well.

Although seven new players checker the team’s roster, only three will have the opportunity to play this year, as Marcus Bryan, Chris Flemmings, Jarvis Haywood, and Denzel Ingram all must sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.

That leaves freshmen guards Malik Pugh, Jordon Talley, and Nick Powell to shoulder the load of providing a young spark to a veteran squad.

Pugh, from Dyersburg, Tennessee, initially committed to UNCW during former coach Buzz Peterson’s tenure but ended up being a perfect fit for the system Coach Keatts is trying to implement.

The 6-foot, 165-pound point guard specializes in creating offense for himself and his teammates in an up-tempo system, while also filling the stat sheet across the board, as he averaged 20 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals per game last year.

“I think I’ll transition well here because the high school I played for ran the same system,” Pugh said. “We pressed, we got up and down. We did everything.”

Jordon Talley from Richmond, Va., will also bring a set of skills that should fit right into Keatts’ system.  The speedy 6-foot, 180-pound point guard can score from anywhere on the floor and is a tough on-ball defender.

Talley also proved himself to be a natural leader at Fishburne Military School, where he led Coach Ed Huckaby’s squad in minutes played while also serving as a team captain.

“Coach Keatts loves to run, and I love to run, too,” Talley said. “I love to play defense too, so I think it’ll be a perfect fit.”

Pugh and Talley both enrolled in the summer and were able to attend summer school while beginning their individual workouts. 

“I’m glad I came for summer school because it helped me prepare for the school year,” Talley said. “We took a couple classes and had individual workouts so we could work with the team.  It prepared me for the classroom and the court.” 

Although they’ve only known each other since the beginning of the summer, Pugh and Talley have already developed a special bond. 

“Jordan’s like my brother,” Pugh said. “I’ve just known him from the start of summer session but I feel like I’ve known him forever.” 

While Keatts was at Louisville there were many situations where they played two point guards at once.  If a similar situation is take place this year, both players are confident in their abilities to feed off each other. 

“That would make us even faster,” Talley said on being in the same lineup as Pugh. “Whoever coach has on the court, we’re just going to go out there and produce.  Whether it’s two point guards or a guard and a shooting guard, we’re still going to play fast.”

While Talley and Pugh both enter the season on scholarship, Powell had a different path to earning a spot on the Seahawks – making the team as a walk-on.

“I had already applied to UNCW just based off the school itself,” Powell said. “I love the campus, I love the area, and getting the opportunity to play here was just a bonus on top of that.” 

Powell, a Greensboro native, is a 3 point specialist with an athletic frame at 6-foot 4, 200 pounds.  A two-time All-Conference performer at Northwest Guilford, Powell finished last season averaging 16.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

“I think, coming in, my role has been as a shooter, and that’s something I’m going to continue,” Powell said. “There are definitely guys here ahead of me that I know I want to model my game after and kind of follow in their footsteps.” 

While the freshmen have only been on campus for couple of months, the veteran members of the team have welcomed them in quickly. With the hopes of building a successful record in Keatts’ first season at the helm, that chemistry will go a long ways in proving the team’s potential. 

“You can’t beat the area and the people here,” Powell said. “Everything is a new opportunity to me and I’m just trying to take it all at once. It’s very exciting.”

“I’m excited about the development of my game,” Pugh added. “Just focusing on getting the team where we’re supposed to be, and me getting better as a player and as a person.”