The Seahawk men’s basketball team finished the 2008-2009 campaign crippled with injuries and at the bottom of the CAA. It was the worst season in school history and coach Benny Moss and company were looking to head into next season with a clean slate. Unfortunately, they will have to do so without their two talented freshmen, Kevon Moore and Jerel Stephenson.

Literally adding insult to injury, Moore and Stevenson announced last Tuesday, in individual meetings with Moss, that they plan on transferring from UNCW and completing their careers elsewhere. Both players averaged over 23 minutes a game for the Seahawks and had important roles in the offense.

“I want to wish Jerel and Kevon the best of luck in their future endeavors,” Moss said. “While they are moving on with the next stage of their lives, I’m looking forward to working with our team to get ready for next season.”

Their reasons for leaving UNCW are unclear and caught Moss completely by surprise. “[Transferring] had never been brought to my attention,” Moss said. “They never said that was something they were looking at.” People close to the program feel that homesickness could have been the cause for departure. Talk around campus speculates that Moss’ favoritism of sophomore point guard Chad Tomko could have made Moore and Stephenson unhappy. Moss denies the allegations. “Rumors are rumors,” Moss said. “I treat Chad no differently than I do any other player. When he messes up he gets sit down and talked to just like the next person.”

Tomko led the team in scoring and minutes played, while finishing on the third-team All-CAA. Moss did not have an explanation for why Moore and Stephenson decided to transfer, and when asked if he confronted them on their reasons for leaving Moss responded, “Not really.”

Neither Moore nor Stephenson were available for comment.

Stephenson, a native of Augusta, Ga., started 23 of 28 games for the Seahawks before he missed the last four games with a knee injury. He averaged 7.7 points per game and was the team’s second leading rebounder. The 6-foot-5, 205 pound guard was forced to play forward for UNCW due to the team’s numerous injury problems.

Moore started five games for the Seahawks but served primarily as the team’s sixth-man. He was fourth on the team in scoring with 9.1 points per contest. Moore’s most outstanding performances came against VCU, scoring 17 points in both games against the league champs. Despite losing two of UNCW’s best young players, Moss seems relatively unfazed by their decision. “It’s not discouraging at all,” he said. “We have a group that’s committed to the program and that’s who we are moving forward with.” This raises the question of where does UNCW go from here? The departure of Moore and Stephenson leaves two scholarship spots open and Moss has taken little time in addressing the matter. Last weekend, junior college transfer Jeremy Basnight officially visited UNCW and verbally committed to the program. Basnight is a 6-foot-5, 200 pound wing player who averaged 10.2 points and 3.3 rebounds at Brunswick Community College. Moss looks to fill the last spot by the spring signing period. “You always have lists,” he said. “You recruit throughout the year, even without scholarships, in case you have a season-ending injury or in case someone leaves. We’ve got a list that’s been developed and we’re moving forward on that list.” Moss indicated that he will be looking at all options when filling the final scholarship, whether it be junior college players, transfers or high school seniors. After UNCW’s tournament loss to Hofstra, the Seahawks looked to be heading into an off-season filled with promise. The team would be healthy, more experienced, and ready to surprise a lot of people in the CAA. But after the latest turn of events, UNCW’s season will again be an uncertain one. “This is the world in which we live in,” Moss said. “We all want everything to be perfect, but it is an imperfect world. Things happen. People move on and programs move on.”