University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Opens Big South Play by Hosting Winthrop on Saturday
01.04.2019 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (2-12, 0-0 Big South)
Winthrop (8-5, 0-0 Big South)
Location: Asheville, N.C./Kimmel Arena
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 5/2 p.m.
Video: ESPN+
Talent - Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Pat Bryant (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlMBB #IWWD #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Big South Conference slate for UNC Asheville opens strongly with the Bulldogs playing host to rival Winthrop at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.
The last time the two programs faced off the Bulldogs secured the 2017-18 Big South Conference regular season title with an 89-75 victory over the Eagles at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018.
BULLDOG BITES
IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: UNC Asheville after its 85-79 win over Campbell in its conference opener last year has now won 20 of its last 22 Big South Conference openers.
FRESHMEN SHINING: UNC Asheville is one of only four programs (Duke, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt) in the nation to have three separate freshman score 20 points or more in a game. Going into conference play, DeVon Baker, Coty Jude and Tajion Jones have all scored 20 or more in a single game.
STRONG AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: UNC Asheville finished its game at Vanderbilt going 10-of-11 (90.9 percent). That is the best percentage on the season for five or more attempts in a game for the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville was a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line against Furman.
WELCOME BACK: In just his second game back in a Bulldog uniform this season, LJ Thorpe finished in double figures for the first time in his career with 17 points at Vanderbilt. Thorpe ended up redshirting last season and was injured prior to the start of the 2018-19 season. In his first action of the year against Fayetteville State, Thorpe finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
LEARNING ON THE FLY: UNC Asheville men's basketball gave Vanderbilt fits with 151 of its 200 total minutes (76 percent) in the game being played by freshmen. During UNC Asheville's non-conference portion of its schedule, 72 percent (2,018 of 2,800) of UNC Asheville's total minutes as a team have been played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy).
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/27): UNC Asheville men's basketball freshman guard DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. Baker is the second Bulldog to be named Big South Freshman of the Week this season. Coty Jude was named the league's Freshman of the Week as well on Dec. 10. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. Baker shot an impressive 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the field overall on the week. He hit 50 percent (5-of-10) of his three-point attempts and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's narrow road loss at Stetson on Dec. 18, Baker finished with a career-best 31 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. In UNC Asheville's win over Milligan on Dec. 21, Baker finished with 22 points, a career-best five assists, two rebounds and one block.
NCAA FEATURES UNC ASHEVILLE: The NCAA featured UNC Asheville men's basketball on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The NCAA featured the Bulldogs on Instagram for their efforts as part of their partnership with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. Please visit HERE to see the Bulldogs featured by the NCAA on Instagram. If you also have not yet had the chance to catch the special feature by WLOS on the special event, please visit HERE.
SHOPPING WITH THE BULLDOGS: The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. The event allowed the UNC Asheville men's basketball team and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County to shop for the holidays together at Target. In addition, UNC Asheville women's basketball head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrickand some members of her team joined Mike Morrell and UNC Asheville men's basketball for the special evening. Numerous other coaches and staff and friends of the Bulldogs also took part in helping to make the holidays great for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The partnership between the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County is built around supporting the Boys & Girls Club mission of establishing a safe place to learn, play and grow. As part of the event, 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County received $100 each to shop with the Bulldogs at Target. The special evening also featured a chance to meet Santa and much more for the 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. Each of the 40 also received special signed posters from the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. They also received tickets to a future UNC Asheville basketball game. Learn more HERE. To see a special look back at the event, please visit HERE.
SECOND TIME WITH TWO OVER 20: UNC Asheville had two players finish with over 20 points in a single game for the second time this season in the win over Milligan with Tajion Jones posting 30 and DeVon Baker scoring 22. Coty Jude (21) and DeVon Baker (20) both had over 20 in UNC Asheville's game at UT Martin.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/10): UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Dec. 10. Jude averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the week for the Bulldogs. He finished the week shooting 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field. He was perfect from the charity stripe on the week (6-for-6). Jude had eight points at No. 8 Auburn and in UNC Asheville's game with Western Carolina, Jude finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game.
BABY BULLDOGS: KenPom lists UNC Asheville as the least experienced team in the country and through current NCAA research the Bulldogs are the youngest team in the country. During UNC Asheville's non-conference portion of its schedule, 72 percent (2,018 of 2,800) of UNC Asheville's total minutes as a team have been played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy).
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST STAFFS IN NATION: Head Coach Mike Morrell is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Perry, R.J. Evans and Mike Moynihan along with Director of Basketball Operations Corey Guderyahn. The UNC Asheville men's basketball coaching staff is one of the youngest in the country. In fact, the staff is the fifth-youngest in the country at an average age of 33 years and 274 days.
MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: In addition to 72 percent of UNC Asheville's minutes being played by freshmen, the Bulldogs were in the top-5 youngest in NCAA Division I in every major statistical category entering the 2018-19 season according to NCAA research. The Bulldogs returned just 5.5 percent of their points from last season and 2.9 percent of their starts. In total, the Bulldogs returned only 141 points from the 2017-18 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is now 84-21 overall and 57-12 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs have won 25 of their last 30 at Kimmel Arena overall.
BULLDOG BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville ended the game with Western Carolina with a team single-game best nine blocks as a team. UNC Asheville now has two games this year with six or more blocks as a team in a single game. UNC Asheville had six blocks, including five in the first half, in its game at NC State.
SEEGARS BLOCK PARTY: Jalen Seegars tied his career-best of three blocks originally set in Asheville's game at UT Martin with three blocks in the home game against Western Carolina.
STINGY BULLDOG DEFENSE: Auburn had entered the game with UNC Asheville owning the largest scoring margin of victory in the entire country, but the Bulldogs held the Tigers to their lowest point total of the season. Auburn had scored 101 against South Alabama, 88 against Washington, 103 against Mississippi College, 88 against Xavier, 73 against Arizona and 99 against Saint Peter's. Even in their lone loss to Duke, Auburn had scored 72.
BALANCED BULLDOGS: Nine different Bulldogs scored in the game with the No. 8 team in the country in Auburn.
THAT IS A HIGH PERCENTAGE: Coty Jude ended the UT Martin game shooting 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field. That is a team single-game season-best (minimum five attempts).
BAKER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was named to the 2018 KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the tournament. Baker averaged 16.3 points and 2.0 steals per game in UNC Asheville's three games in the tournament.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: UNC Asheville held a 33-26 rebounding lead over Manhattan with the Bulldogs collecting an impressive 17 of their 33 rebounds on the offensive glass. In collecting a career-best nine boards, Jeremy Peck secured five of his nine boards on the offensive glass. Coty Jude collected four of his seven rebounds in the game on the offensive glass.
BULLDOGS OPEN FIRST SEASON UNDER MIKE MORRELL WITH WIN: The Mike Morrell era of UNC Asheville men's basketball started off in emphatic fashion with the Bulldogs picking up a dominating 87-47 victory over St. Andrews at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. UNC Asheville basically led from start-to-finish in the win over St. Andrews with the Bulldogs leading by as many as 41 before securing the 40-point win.
FIRST HEAD COACHING VICTORY: After the Bulldog victory over St. Andrews, UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone presented Mike Morrell a commemorative ball to congratulate him on his inaugural win. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team then congratulated Morrell in the locker room for starting his career off the right way.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of AJ McBride on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A 6-foot-1 guard out of Houston, Texas, McBride joins the Bulldogs out of Manvel High School. He plays his AAU basketball for the Houston Clippers. McBride was a first-team All-District selection last year for Manvel High School. He is just the third from his school to earn a NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarship.
DISHING IT OUT: UNC Asheville finished the win over St. Andrews with 18 assists on 27 made field goals. The Bulldogs also protected the basketball with only nine turnovers as a team.
FIRST SEASON-OPENING WIN SINCE 2012: UNC Asheville secured its first season-opening win since 2012 with the win over St. Andrews. UNC Asheville had last opened its regular season with a win in the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs knocked off Mountain Rival Western Carolina, 71-61. In 2013 the Bulldogs fell to Kentucky in the season opener before falling to Wake Forest in the season opener in 2014. In 2015 the Bulldogs dropped their opener at Tennessee and then in 2016 the Bulldogs fell at VCU. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at Rhode Island last season.
MORRELL TAKES PART IN FIRST BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY: First-year men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell took part in his first Big South Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams took part in the annual media gathering in Charlotte, N.C. Donovan Gilmore also took part in Big South Media Days with the Bulldog senior forward participating in a league photo/video shoot on Monday, Oct. 22. On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Morrell spent time talking with the numerous media in attendance in addition to making multiple appearances on a variety of ESPN platforms. One of the youngest teams in the country with only 2.9 percentage of their starts returning and 5.5 percent of their points returning, UNC Asheville was picked eighth in the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
WATCH THE BULLDOGS ON BSN ON ESPN+: All of UNC Asheville's home men's and women's basketball games that are not on ESPN3 or picked by an ESPN linear network will be streamed live on ESPN+, which is now the exclusive streaming home of Big South Network live-event productions. A minimum of 900 Big South Network events will air annually on ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International division in partnership with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. To learn more and to sign up for BSN on ESPN+, please visit uncabulldogs.com and visit the MEDIA tab.
BULLDOGS TO BE FEATURED ON ESPN3: UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball will both make appearances on ESPN3 during the 2018-19 season. UNC Asheville men's basketball will play host to Campbell at Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16, while women's basketball will play host to Radford on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
To see the full games notes, please visit HERE. To see the 2018-19 UNC Asheville media guide, please visit HERE.
SERIES/ABOUT WINTHROP
SERIES: The Eagles own a slight 41-36 all-time series advantage, including a 35-31 advantage in regular season meetings.
ABOUT WINTHROP: Picked second in the 2018-19 Big South preseason poll, Winthrop makes its way to Asheville owning an 8-5 overall record on the season. The Eagles currently have five averaging in double figures with Nych Smith leading the way with 16.0 points per game. Preseason all-league selection Josh Ferguson is averaging 11.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
CONTE EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NCAA POSTGRADUATE INTERNSHIP: A senior swimming and diving student-athlete, Elizabeth Conte will get to live out her passion with her new opportunity as one of just 30 to receive a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Internship. The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will be working in NCAA Division I governance as part of her postgraduate internship. To learn more, please visit HERE.
NEW STRATEGIC PLAN: UNC Asheville athletics officially unveiled its newest strategic plan on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. The strategic plan entitled "Believe. Achieve. Thrive." is the road map for UNC Asheville athletics over the course of the next five years. The strategic plan outlines key areas of focus and growth in developing lifetime leaders from the most valuable resource that UNC Asheville athletics has in its student-athletes. To learn more about the strategic plan, please visit HERE (PDF).
NATIONAL CHAMPS: The nationally second-ranked UNC Asheville men's tennis doubles duo of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
MORE THAN MAKING THE GRADE: For the 2017-18 athletic year, the UNC Asheville student-athletes showed their commitment to the classroom by finishing the academic year with a combined grade-point average of 3.142. Impressively, 72 percent (161 of 223) UNC Asheville student-athletes during the 2017-18 athletic year received Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
TWO-TIME SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
BIG SOUTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: UNC Asheville graduate Kayli Nichols was selected as the 2017-18 Big South Conference Woman of the Year. With degrees in German and Political Science and a minor in Spanish, Nichols graduated from UNC Asheville with a GPA of 3.974. During her senior campaign, she was named the Big South Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Big South Indoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BIG SOUTH MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: On the same day that he started his new full-time position in the Corporate Analyst Development Program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Columbus, Ohio on July 11, 2018, former UNC Asheville men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta was chosen as the 2017-18 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to winning the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the conference, Vannatta was also chosen as the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball and as the Big South Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native was also selected to the 2017-18 Academic All-America® NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). An Accounting major at UNC Asheville, Vannatta graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
You can catch the BSN on ESPN+ broadcast live HERE. You can listen to the radio broadcast live HERE. You can follow via live stats HERE.
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville will next hit the road for the first time in league play by traveling to Longwood on Thursday, Jan. 10, for the 12th all-time meeting between the programs. UNC Asheville owns a 10-1 all-time series lead over Longwood.
Teams: UNC Asheville (2-12, 0-0 Big South)
Winthrop (8-5, 0-0 Big South)
Location: Asheville, N.C./Kimmel Arena
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 5/2 p.m.
Video: ESPN+
Talent - Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Pat Bryant (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlMBB #IWWD #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Big South Conference slate for UNC Asheville opens strongly with the Bulldogs playing host to rival Winthrop at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.
The last time the two programs faced off the Bulldogs secured the 2017-18 Big South Conference regular season title with an 89-75 victory over the Eagles at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018.
BULLDOG BITES
IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: UNC Asheville after its 85-79 win over Campbell in its conference opener last year has now won 20 of its last 22 Big South Conference openers.
FRESHMEN SHINING: UNC Asheville is one of only four programs (Duke, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt) in the nation to have three separate freshman score 20 points or more in a game. Going into conference play, DeVon Baker, Coty Jude and Tajion Jones have all scored 20 or more in a single game.
STRONG AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: UNC Asheville finished its game at Vanderbilt going 10-of-11 (90.9 percent). That is the best percentage on the season for five or more attempts in a game for the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville was a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line against Furman.
WELCOME BACK: In just his second game back in a Bulldog uniform this season, LJ Thorpe finished in double figures for the first time in his career with 17 points at Vanderbilt. Thorpe ended up redshirting last season and was injured prior to the start of the 2018-19 season. In his first action of the year against Fayetteville State, Thorpe finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
LEARNING ON THE FLY: UNC Asheville men's basketball gave Vanderbilt fits with 151 of its 200 total minutes (76 percent) in the game being played by freshmen. During UNC Asheville's non-conference portion of its schedule, 72 percent (2,018 of 2,800) of UNC Asheville's total minutes as a team have been played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy).
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/27): UNC Asheville men's basketball freshman guard DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. Baker is the second Bulldog to be named Big South Freshman of the Week this season. Coty Jude was named the league's Freshman of the Week as well on Dec. 10. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. Baker shot an impressive 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the field overall on the week. He hit 50 percent (5-of-10) of his three-point attempts and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's narrow road loss at Stetson on Dec. 18, Baker finished with a career-best 31 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. In UNC Asheville's win over Milligan on Dec. 21, Baker finished with 22 points, a career-best five assists, two rebounds and one block.
NCAA FEATURES UNC ASHEVILLE: The NCAA featured UNC Asheville men's basketball on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The NCAA featured the Bulldogs on Instagram for their efforts as part of their partnership with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. Please visit HERE to see the Bulldogs featured by the NCAA on Instagram. If you also have not yet had the chance to catch the special feature by WLOS on the special event, please visit HERE.
SHOPPING WITH THE BULLDOGS: The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. The event allowed the UNC Asheville men's basketball team and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County to shop for the holidays together at Target. In addition, UNC Asheville women's basketball head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrickand some members of her team joined Mike Morrell and UNC Asheville men's basketball for the special evening. Numerous other coaches and staff and friends of the Bulldogs also took part in helping to make the holidays great for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The partnership between the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County is built around supporting the Boys & Girls Club mission of establishing a safe place to learn, play and grow. As part of the event, 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County received $100 each to shop with the Bulldogs at Target. The special evening also featured a chance to meet Santa and much more for the 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. Each of the 40 also received special signed posters from the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. They also received tickets to a future UNC Asheville basketball game. Learn more HERE. To see a special look back at the event, please visit HERE.
SECOND TIME WITH TWO OVER 20: UNC Asheville had two players finish with over 20 points in a single game for the second time this season in the win over Milligan with Tajion Jones posting 30 and DeVon Baker scoring 22. Coty Jude (21) and DeVon Baker (20) both had over 20 in UNC Asheville's game at UT Martin.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/10): UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Dec. 10. Jude averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the week for the Bulldogs. He finished the week shooting 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field. He was perfect from the charity stripe on the week (6-for-6). Jude had eight points at No. 8 Auburn and in UNC Asheville's game with Western Carolina, Jude finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game.
BABY BULLDOGS: KenPom lists UNC Asheville as the least experienced team in the country and through current NCAA research the Bulldogs are the youngest team in the country. During UNC Asheville's non-conference portion of its schedule, 72 percent (2,018 of 2,800) of UNC Asheville's total minutes as a team have been played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy).
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST STAFFS IN NATION: Head Coach Mike Morrell is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Perry, R.J. Evans and Mike Moynihan along with Director of Basketball Operations Corey Guderyahn. The UNC Asheville men's basketball coaching staff is one of the youngest in the country. In fact, the staff is the fifth-youngest in the country at an average age of 33 years and 274 days.
MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: In addition to 72 percent of UNC Asheville's minutes being played by freshmen, the Bulldogs were in the top-5 youngest in NCAA Division I in every major statistical category entering the 2018-19 season according to NCAA research. The Bulldogs returned just 5.5 percent of their points from last season and 2.9 percent of their starts. In total, the Bulldogs returned only 141 points from the 2017-18 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is now 84-21 overall and 57-12 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs have won 25 of their last 30 at Kimmel Arena overall.
BULLDOG BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville ended the game with Western Carolina with a team single-game best nine blocks as a team. UNC Asheville now has two games this year with six or more blocks as a team in a single game. UNC Asheville had six blocks, including five in the first half, in its game at NC State.
SEEGARS BLOCK PARTY: Jalen Seegars tied his career-best of three blocks originally set in Asheville's game at UT Martin with three blocks in the home game against Western Carolina.
STINGY BULLDOG DEFENSE: Auburn had entered the game with UNC Asheville owning the largest scoring margin of victory in the entire country, but the Bulldogs held the Tigers to their lowest point total of the season. Auburn had scored 101 against South Alabama, 88 against Washington, 103 against Mississippi College, 88 against Xavier, 73 against Arizona and 99 against Saint Peter's. Even in their lone loss to Duke, Auburn had scored 72.
BALANCED BULLDOGS: Nine different Bulldogs scored in the game with the No. 8 team in the country in Auburn.
THAT IS A HIGH PERCENTAGE: Coty Jude ended the UT Martin game shooting 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field. That is a team single-game season-best (minimum five attempts).
BAKER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was named to the 2018 KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the tournament. Baker averaged 16.3 points and 2.0 steals per game in UNC Asheville's three games in the tournament.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: UNC Asheville held a 33-26 rebounding lead over Manhattan with the Bulldogs collecting an impressive 17 of their 33 rebounds on the offensive glass. In collecting a career-best nine boards, Jeremy Peck secured five of his nine boards on the offensive glass. Coty Jude collected four of his seven rebounds in the game on the offensive glass.
BULLDOGS OPEN FIRST SEASON UNDER MIKE MORRELL WITH WIN: The Mike Morrell era of UNC Asheville men's basketball started off in emphatic fashion with the Bulldogs picking up a dominating 87-47 victory over St. Andrews at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. UNC Asheville basically led from start-to-finish in the win over St. Andrews with the Bulldogs leading by as many as 41 before securing the 40-point win.
FIRST HEAD COACHING VICTORY: After the Bulldog victory over St. Andrews, UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone presented Mike Morrell a commemorative ball to congratulate him on his inaugural win. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team then congratulated Morrell in the locker room for starting his career off the right way.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of AJ McBride on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A 6-foot-1 guard out of Houston, Texas, McBride joins the Bulldogs out of Manvel High School. He plays his AAU basketball for the Houston Clippers. McBride was a first-team All-District selection last year for Manvel High School. He is just the third from his school to earn a NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarship.
DISHING IT OUT: UNC Asheville finished the win over St. Andrews with 18 assists on 27 made field goals. The Bulldogs also protected the basketball with only nine turnovers as a team.
FIRST SEASON-OPENING WIN SINCE 2012: UNC Asheville secured its first season-opening win since 2012 with the win over St. Andrews. UNC Asheville had last opened its regular season with a win in the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs knocked off Mountain Rival Western Carolina, 71-61. In 2013 the Bulldogs fell to Kentucky in the season opener before falling to Wake Forest in the season opener in 2014. In 2015 the Bulldogs dropped their opener at Tennessee and then in 2016 the Bulldogs fell at VCU. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at Rhode Island last season.
MORRELL TAKES PART IN FIRST BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY: First-year men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell took part in his first Big South Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams took part in the annual media gathering in Charlotte, N.C. Donovan Gilmore also took part in Big South Media Days with the Bulldog senior forward participating in a league photo/video shoot on Monday, Oct. 22. On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Morrell spent time talking with the numerous media in attendance in addition to making multiple appearances on a variety of ESPN platforms. One of the youngest teams in the country with only 2.9 percentage of their starts returning and 5.5 percent of their points returning, UNC Asheville was picked eighth in the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
WATCH THE BULLDOGS ON BSN ON ESPN+: All of UNC Asheville's home men's and women's basketball games that are not on ESPN3 or picked by an ESPN linear network will be streamed live on ESPN+, which is now the exclusive streaming home of Big South Network live-event productions. A minimum of 900 Big South Network events will air annually on ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International division in partnership with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. To learn more and to sign up for BSN on ESPN+, please visit uncabulldogs.com and visit the MEDIA tab.
BULLDOGS TO BE FEATURED ON ESPN3: UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball will both make appearances on ESPN3 during the 2018-19 season. UNC Asheville men's basketball will play host to Campbell at Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16, while women's basketball will play host to Radford on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
To see the full games notes, please visit HERE. To see the 2018-19 UNC Asheville media guide, please visit HERE.
SERIES/ABOUT WINTHROP
SERIES: The Eagles own a slight 41-36 all-time series advantage, including a 35-31 advantage in regular season meetings.
ABOUT WINTHROP: Picked second in the 2018-19 Big South preseason poll, Winthrop makes its way to Asheville owning an 8-5 overall record on the season. The Eagles currently have five averaging in double figures with Nych Smith leading the way with 16.0 points per game. Preseason all-league selection Josh Ferguson is averaging 11.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
CONTE EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NCAA POSTGRADUATE INTERNSHIP: A senior swimming and diving student-athlete, Elizabeth Conte will get to live out her passion with her new opportunity as one of just 30 to receive a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Internship. The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will be working in NCAA Division I governance as part of her postgraduate internship. To learn more, please visit HERE.
NEW STRATEGIC PLAN: UNC Asheville athletics officially unveiled its newest strategic plan on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. The strategic plan entitled "Believe. Achieve. Thrive." is the road map for UNC Asheville athletics over the course of the next five years. The strategic plan outlines key areas of focus and growth in developing lifetime leaders from the most valuable resource that UNC Asheville athletics has in its student-athletes. To learn more about the strategic plan, please visit HERE (PDF).
NATIONAL CHAMPS: The nationally second-ranked UNC Asheville men's tennis doubles duo of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
MORE THAN MAKING THE GRADE: For the 2017-18 athletic year, the UNC Asheville student-athletes showed their commitment to the classroom by finishing the academic year with a combined grade-point average of 3.142. Impressively, 72 percent (161 of 223) UNC Asheville student-athletes during the 2017-18 athletic year received Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
TWO-TIME SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
BIG SOUTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: UNC Asheville graduate Kayli Nichols was selected as the 2017-18 Big South Conference Woman of the Year. With degrees in German and Political Science and a minor in Spanish, Nichols graduated from UNC Asheville with a GPA of 3.974. During her senior campaign, she was named the Big South Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Big South Indoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BIG SOUTH MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: On the same day that he started his new full-time position in the Corporate Analyst Development Program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Columbus, Ohio on July 11, 2018, former UNC Asheville men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta was chosen as the 2017-18 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to winning the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the conference, Vannatta was also chosen as the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball and as the Big South Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native was also selected to the 2017-18 Academic All-America® NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). An Accounting major at UNC Asheville, Vannatta graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
You can catch the BSN on ESPN+ broadcast live HERE. You can listen to the radio broadcast live HERE. You can follow via live stats HERE.
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville will next hit the road for the first time in league play by traveling to Longwood on Thursday, Jan. 10, for the 12th all-time meeting between the programs. UNC Asheville owns a 10-1 all-time series lead over Longwood.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
Sprint Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Distance
/ Cross Country
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Sprints
/ Track and Field
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMonday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
Monday, March 04