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NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 18 state of North Carolina teams for 2021-22 season

By Cooper Watson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: A general view of the tip off between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: A general view of the tip off between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Head coach Tubby Smith High Point Panthers (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

16. High Point

The highlight of High Point’s season will come when Tubby Smith’s jersey is retired in Rupp Arena when HPU visits Kentucky on New Year’s Eve.

As for the on-court product, High Point returns a heavy portion of its minutes from last season. The only issue is that they went 9-15 last season, so even a 100% return would hardly guarantee a winning product.

John-Michael Wright (20.7 PPG) will be back for his junior season alongside his backcourt mate in sophomore Ahmil Flowers (8.3 PPG). St. John’s David Caraher is the team’s only incoming transfer. Caraher struggled to find playing time for the Johnnies but previously averaged 16.2 points per game for Houston Baptist.

15. UNC Wilmington

UNC Wilmington had six straight losing seasons leading into Kevin Keatt’s tenure (2015-17), which saw three straight winning seasons only to have four more losing seasons after his departure for N.C. State. UNCW’s athletic department eventually decided on a return to the Keatts-era, hiring his assistant coach in Takayo Siddle. Siddle’s first year at the helm saw a 7-10 overall record in a COVID-ridden season.

UNCW lost Ty Gadsden (14.7 PPG) to the G-League and Joe Pridgen (12.1 PPG) on a transfer to Northeastern, among four other slightly less notable transfers. The Seahawks return the majority of last year’s production though, highlighted by senior guards Jaylen Sims (17.8 PPG) and Mike Okauru (14.2 PPG).

Incoming transfers include Morehead State’s James Baker Jr. (7.7 PPG), Cleveland State freshman Alec Oglesby (4.3 PPG) and the return of redshirt super-senior Jaylen Fornes (9.3 PPG), who spent his first three college seasons at UNCW before transferring to Nicholls State for the previous two.

Siddle has brought positive energy back to Wilmington, but it will take time to rebuild the program into something capable of truly competing at the mid-major level. The Seahawks will struggle to win games in 2021-22, likely finishing towards the bottom of the CAA.

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