GETTING INSIDE

UNC Greensboro must struggle with a scenario no coach wants to deal with. After finishing the 2008-2009 season with only five victories, the Spartans returned all but one of their regular starters.

So is losing experience better than starting from scratch?

Coach Mike Dement is hoping that his upperclassmen think back to how well the team played two seasons ago in answering that question. That year, the Spartans—who included current seniors Mikko Koivisto and Ben Stywall—won 19 games and were contenders for a top-tier spot in league play.

Last year, that wasn’t the case. UNC Greensboro was 10th in the league with (62.9 points per game, last in shooting percentage at 39.8, 11th in three-point percentage at 31.5, last in assists at 10.3, 11th in turnover margin at -2.5) and last in assist-turnover ratio at 0.7.

Defensively, it was worse. The Spartans were ninth in points allowed at 73.9 per game, last in scoring margin at -10.9) and last in steals at 5.3.

UNC Greensboro equaled the most losses in one season since the team moved to NCAA Division I. The Spartans lost 10 straight games during one stretch and had two more losing streaks of six games or more.

That’s the bad news. The good news is this: It can only go up from here.

With Koivisto and Stywall, the Spartans have two very capable offensive weapons. Koivisto led the team at 12.4 points per game and Stywall added 11.7. Greensboro also has Kendall Toney, who averaged 8.0, back in the mix.

If the Spartans can find a dedicated ball-handler to distribute opportunities to all those players, the scoring should increase.

At the same time, the Spartans badly need to find some help off the bench. No other returning player averaged more than 4.2 points per game.

NOTES, QUOTES

• The 2009-2010 season will be the Spartans’ first playing all of their games at the Greensboro Coliseum. UNC Greensboro will host 15 games at the arena.

• While the majority of the Spartans returned for this season, Greensboro did suffer one major loss. Would-be sophomore Damian Eargle transferred to Youngstown State this summer. Eargle averaged 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. He also led the Southern Conference with 57 blocked shots.

• Coach Mike Dement used 19 starting lineups last year, the most of any team in the Southern Conference.

Last Year:   5-25, 4-16, sixth in Southern Conference North Division.

Head Coach:   Mike Dement (career 312-313); ninth year at UNCG (107-126).

Quote To Note:   “We said we were going to have an upgraded schedule with the move to the Greensboro Coliseum, and there is no doubt that this schedule will be one of the best in the nation. We will be tested in our non-conference schedule by some very good teams, including several from the top-rated conference in the nation—the ACC.”—Coach Mike Dement, on the gauntlet of teams (six from the ACC) the Spartans will play this season.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   The Spartans signed four players, including three in the late signing period. C Brian Cole, was rated as one of the top-40 players at his position in the country. Coach Mike Dement also signed Gs Korey VanDussen and Brandon Davis, F Taylor Hoffer.

Key Early-season Games:   The Spartans’ non-conference schedule might be as grueling as any in the league. UNC Greensboro will play Duke on Nov. 13, Virginia Tech on Nov. 17), Clemson on Nov. 20, Wake Forest on Dec. 28, North Carolina State on Dec. 31 and Maryland on Jan. 3. That’s six ACC opponents, and it probably won’t matter much that four of those games—Clemson, Wake, N.C. State and Maryland—are a product of getting big-name games to play at the Greensboro Coliseum. Given Greensboro’s attendance averages, home-court advantage will likely sway to the visiting teams.

Program Direction:   Dragging themselves out of the bottom of the Southern Conference North Division is obviously priority No. 1. But coach Mike Dement’s overall record proves that he can have success at the school. In two stints in Greensboro, it took that 25-loss season from a year ago to drop him to below .500. It’s going to be a long road for the Spartans, but there’s little reason to believe they will repeat their 5-25 record from last year.

Roster Report:  

• Senior forward Ben Stywall, who averaged 11.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a junior, had eight double-doubles last season.

• Ben Stywall, who has 801 career points, is 28 away from joining the top 25 scorers in school history. He is one of only six players at UNC Greensboro to grab 600 rebounds, starting the season with 638.

• After former assistant coach Kevin Easley departed for High Point, coach Mike Dement added Corey Gipson to the coaching staff and promoted Brian Judski. Kevin Oleksiak, who scored more than 1,000 points in his Spartan career, was added as director of basketball operations.

• Former Spartan Landon Clement, who left UNC Greensboro midway through last season, landed at North Carolina Central during the summer. Daniel Oliver, a 5-foot-10 guard, also left the team after the season.