Oh, what a night!
Experience the big UNCG/Davidson
game in the Greensboro Coliseum.
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Men's basketball will have a new home starting next year: the Greensboro Coliseum.
Chancellor Linda P. Brady has cited several benefits in the move, including enhancing the student experience, creating a larger community fan base, increased alumni participation and financial support, greater regional and national recognition, heightened partnerships and loyalty within the Greensboro community and helping to stimulate Greensboro's economy.
“One of my priorities is to enhance the visibility of Spartan athletics and make new investments in support of our athletics programs consistent with our NCAA Div. I status,” she said.
Specially modified for UNCG games, the Coliseum will typically seat 7,613 and more when needed.
In addition, the team will upgrade its scheduling. It will play about five games annually against Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Two or three each year will be home games.
HAVING A BLAST Junior Corey Maret (No. 6) leads the celebration after blasting in the winning goal in overtime at Loyola.
It doesn't matter where you start — just where you finish.
Men's soccer limped to a 6-11-1 regular season. As the lowly seventh seed in the SoCon tournament, they turned on the jets to beat No. 2-seeded Furman. Then No. 3 seeded Georgia Southern. No team seeded that low had ever reached the championship round. Then they did one better — they clinched the title, overtaking College of Charleston 2-1.
As SoCon champions, they represented the conference in the NCAA tournament. They had to take on Duke at Duke. The Spartans won, 2-0.
Next, they took on Loyola (Md.) at Loyala. The Spartans won, 2-1 in overtime. No team entering the NCAA soccer tournament without a winning record had ever reached the Final 16. But the Spartans were writing their own script.
In the Final 16, they traveled to Big East champion South Florida, who'd been to the Final 16 the year before. UNCG had reached that round the three years before that. At the end of regulation time, the match was a draw. At the end of overtime, still tied. Penalty kicks decided it — UNCG fell 3-1. Their dreams were dashed, but the squad had made their mark.
“This group has gone from mediocre at best to a bunch of battling warriors,” said Coach Michael Parker, praising their “amazing, amazing determination.”
You square up, toes behind the arc, eyes focused on the rim. No thoughts, just instinct — even as long-armed defenders slide off a screen toward you.
“You have to have a short memory,” says Mikko Koivisto, who emerged this year as the men's basketball team's premier shooter. Why a short memory? “So you can make your next four shots.” Yep, he has that three-point shooter's mentality.
So does Kendall Toney. “It takes consistency — and a lack of conscience. I'm better when I don't think whether it's going in or not.”
As the team finished exams and made a swing through Ohio, Koivisto had the third-longest three-pointer streak in the nation. He'd hit at least one in 31 consecutive games. Still, the team's accuracy from that distance was far behind last year's. They were in a slump.
The three-point line was moved back twelve inches this season. Three-point percentages are down slightly across the nation. These guys dismiss the change as a cause of their early season slump, though Koivisto concedes the new distance was “a little weird” at first.
With Kyle Hines' dominating inside presence last year, defenders could not defend against three pointers as well. This year's different. Open looks have been rarer.
Next year, these three-point shooters are back. The inside game should be much stronger, as Darius Sellers returns from an injury. And they're playing in the Coliseum.
Toney says that move is exciting, for the team as well as for the school and community. “It should spice up the atmosphere a lot.”
Each acknowledges that firing up long shots in a large arena, with the change in depth perception behind the blackboard, will take some getting used to. But there'll be plenty of time to get well-acquainted with their new home. And they're armed with that three-point shooter's mentality.
The distances and the goals are all the same, Koivisto says. “When you get used to it, it's no problem.”
When UNCG erects a brand new video scoreboard beyond the right field fence — with instant replays and live action graphics — that's a tempting home run target, right?
Baseball coach Mike Gaski says few ever reached the former one. “A couple of guys have hit it [in a game], that's why we have the netting.”
So the new board is safe. What about the parking deck behind? Anyone hit that in a game? “No, it's a long ways. It's a long ways.”
A home run last season against Elon came close — striking the deck on one hop. “Ricky Orton's home run last year was majestic.”
Gaski talks admiringly of homers by two alumni that did hit the deck on the fly, during a home run contest years ago. “Linwood Davis and Cory McDonald, both lefties. Both bounced it off the deck.”
Gaski also speaks eagerly of this year's club. Experienced pitching will help. Senior Greg Martin and junior Rob Gilliam, rated one of the top pitchers in the state, will lead the rotation. “It'll be a real fun team.”
Adding to the fun is a new promotion: “Freebie Fridays.” All fans will get into games played at UNCG Baseball Stadium on a Friday for free.