UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball

The UNCG Spartans men's basketball team represents the University of North Carolina at Greensboro[2] in NCAA Division I. The school's team currently competes in the Southern Conference.

UNC Greensboro Spartans
2019–20 UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team
University	University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Head coach	Wes Miller (9th season)
Conference	SoCon
Location	Greensboro, North Carolina
Arena	Greensboro Coliseum Complex (Capacity: 7,617/23,000)
Nickname	Spartans
Colors	Navy, White, and Gold[1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1996, 2001, 2018
Conference Tournament Champions
1980 (Dixie) 1996 (Big South) 2001, 2018 (SoCon)
Conference Regular Season Champions
1981, 1987, 1988 (Dixie) 1995, 1996 (Big South) 2002, 2017, 2018 (SoCon)

History

The school, formerly The Women's College of The University of North Carolina, allowed male students beginning 1965-66 and started a men's basketball program the following year. The first coach was an instructor in the Physical Education program, the assistant was an administrator in the Chancellor's office, with some limited experience from the University of Kansas basketball program. Games were scheduled with Belmont Abbey, Elon, Guilford, and a few other small colleges. Players came from already-enrolled students, responding to on-campus ads. No records of results are available.

On March 2, 1996, men's basketball knocked off Liberty, 79–53, to claim the Big South Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Division I. The Spartans lost to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament, 66–61.[3] The five seniors from the team had their numbers honored. Scott Hartzell finished his career as the men's basketball's all-time leading scorer with 1,539.

On March 4, 2001, the men's basketball team won its first Southern Conference championship on David Schuck's buzzer-beating layup. The team went on to play top-ranked Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, its second trip to the "Big Dance" in five years. Guard Nathan Jameson was named first-team Verizon Academic All-America.

On December 31, 2005, UNCG hosted top-ranked Duke at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of a record crowd of 21,124. The near capacity crowd was the largest to ever see a UNCG athletic event.

Mike Dement era

Mike Dement served as the architect of the program in its move to Division I. He was the Spartans' head coach from 1991–95, leading them from a team with no conference affiliation to the top of the Big South Conference regular season standings in just four seasons. In his last two seasons at UNCG, Dement's teams went 38–18, including a school-record 23 wins in 1994–95. That year, his team won the Big South Conference's regular season title and was the runner up in the conference tournament. The team received votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls for the first time in school history during that record-setting season.[4]

Randy Peele era

In 1991, Peele accepted an assistant's job at the UNC-Greensboro. After four years with the Spartans, Peele was promoted to replace former head coach Mike Dement, who had left to take over the men's basketball program at SMU.

In Peele's first season, only the second year in which UNC-Greensboro was eligible for Division I postseason competition, the Spartans won the Big South Conference regular season and tournament championships. In the NCAA tournament, UNC-Greensboro were the 15th seed in the Southeast region, and fell in the first round to the Cincinnati Bearcats.

After 1996, however, Peele had little success with the Spartans. UNC-Greensboro followed up their Big South championship with a 10–20 regular season, and then left the Big South in 1997 to join the Southern Conference.[5] The Spartans finished at or near the bottom of their division in both of their first two seasons in the SoCon, and after four years in Greensboro, Peele left the Spartans and took an assistant's job with the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Fran McCaffery era

McCaffery guided UNC-Greensboro from 1999 to 2005, where he posted a 90–87 record in six seasons. In his first year at the helm, Greensboro compiled a 15–13 record overall and a 9–7 Southern Conference mark, good for third place in the North Division. It was the 18th-most improved record nationally among NCAA Division I teams.[6]

In McCaffery's second season, he guided the Spartans to success with a 19–12 record and the 2001 SoCon Tournament Championship. The Spartans defeated Chattanooga, 67–66, in the finals and received the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The following year (2001–2002) McCaffery led the Spartans to their first 20-win season since joining the conference. It marked the first time the program claimed a share of the SoCon North Division title as well. After falling to eventual tournament champion Davidson in the conference tournament semifinals, the Spartans were awarded a berth into the 2002 NIT, where they lost to eventual champion Memphis.[6]

In his final year in Greensboro, McCaffery brought the Spartans to the brink of the NCAA Tournament before a SoCon Championship game loss to Chattanooga. He led UNCG to a victory over Davidson in the semifinals, defeating a team that had been 16–0 in conference play. A big part of that success was SoCon Freshman of the Year Kyle Hines. Hines set UNCG and SoCon records for blocked shots, and also broke several other UNCG single-game and freshman single-season marks.[6]

Return of Mike Dement

In his first season back at UNCG, Dement led a young Spartan squad to a 12–19 mark. He had two players earning all-conference status in Ricky Hickman and Kyle Hines, and another earning SoCon All-Freshman honors. Early in the season, UNCG won on the road at East Carolina and at home against a Gardner-Webb team that had gone right down to the buzzer with North Carolina two weeks earlier. But like many young squads do, the Spartans had their struggles down the stretch and a 7–3 start—one of the best in school history—was forgotten with February's fumbles. Yet still, 10th-seeded UNCG knocked off seventh-seeded Western Carolina in the opening round of the conference tournament and then had three shots at the end of regulation to beat second-seeded Elon, only to fall in overtime in the SoCon quarterfinals.[4]

In 2006–07, Dement guided the Spartans to a 16–14 mark, including a second-place finish in the Southern Conference's Northern Division. Hines, only a junior, earned Southern Conference Player of the Year and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention status – a pair of firsts in the history of the UNCG program. The Spartans were considered by many to be the most dangerous team in the SoCon Tournament, but were upended in the final seconds by Furman in the quarterfinal round.[4]

In 2007–08, the Spartans began the season and ended the season with a bit of history. A season-opening win at Georgia Tech gave the Spartans their first-ever win over an ACC team. UNCG also picked up big road wins out of conference at Fordham and UNC Wilmington.[4]

In 2008–2009, with a roster that had no seniors on it, the Spartans finished with a 5–25 mark. Still, the Spartans swept the season-series with backyard rival Elon and split with Appalachian State.[4]

Move to Greensboro Coliseum

Beginning with the 2009–10 season, the men's basketball team plays all of their home games in the Greensboro Coliseum. The arena, which holds over 23,000 seats, is configured to hold around 7,500 spectators for most games.

As part of the move, the Coliseum remodeled a floor to become a Spartan home floor and also completely renovated a massive locker room space for the team, complete with training room, meeting facilities, coaches offices and a players' lounge.[7]

The UNCG men's basketball program is taking advantage of the opportunity by playing against ACC teams, Southern Conference opponents, UNC system schools and other nationally ranked programs in the Coliseum.[8]

Wes Miller era

Wes Miller enters his ninth season as the UNCG men's basketball coach in 2019-2020, after taking over the reins of the program in December 2011 on an interim basis.[9] As of the 2019-2020 season, he is longest tenured coast in the Southern Conference. During Miller's tenure UNCG has seen an unprecedented run of success, reaching 25 wins for three successive seasons between 2016 and 2019, winning two Southern Conference championships, reaching the NCAA tournament in 2018, and recording the program's first postseason victory in 2019.

Under Wes Miller, guard Francis Alonso became UNCG's all-time leader in made 3-pointers [10] and was a two-time first-team All-SoCon selection (2018, 2019). The Spartans have boasted two consecutive Southern Conference Defensive Players of the Year in forward James Dickey (2018) and guard Isaiah Miller (2019). Dickey was also named to the All-SoCon second-team in 2018, while Miller received first-team honors in 2019.

The 2018-2019 season was arguably the most successful of Wes Miller's career. The Spartans went 29-7, finishing 2nd in the Southern Conference and receiving the #1 overall seed in the NIT Tournament where they beat Campbell in the First Round before losing to eventual tournament runners-up Lipscomb.

Retired numbers

The Spartans have retired three jersey numbers.

No.	Player	Position	Career
5	Scott Hartzell	PG	1992–96
23	Courtney Eldridge	G	1998–2002
42	Kyle Hines	PF	2004–08

Kyle Hines #42

In the 2006–07 season, Kyle Hines became the first player in UNCG history to receive the Southern Conference Player of the Year honor and to be named to the Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention.[11] He became only the sixth player to score 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds and block 300 shots in his college career. He joined the ranks of David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Duncan, Pervis Ellison and Derrick Coleman.[12]

Courtney Eldridge #23

Eldridge led the Spartans to the 2001 Southern Conference Tournament championship against University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and their second NCAA Tournament appearance. During the 2001–2002 season, he was ranked 9th in the Nation and 1st in the SoCon in steals, 23rd in the nation and 3rd in the conference in assists, UNCG All-Time leader in steals, 2nd All-Time leader in assists, and 5th All-Time Leading Scorer.[13] The Spartans won the 2002 Southern Conference regular season title and earned a bid to the NIT.

Scott Hartzell #5

Hartzell was inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. He led UNCG in three-point field goals, three-point shooting percentage, and free throw shooting percentage all four seasons. He graduated in 1996 as the school's all-time leader in points 1,539 and assists with 552. His scoring mark now sits fifth on the all-time list, while his assist total sits second. He still holds the UNCG records for career three-pointers made (309), attempted (704) and shooting percentage (43%).[14]

In 1995–96, Hartzell led the Spartans to its first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament appearance. He led UNCG to the 1996 Big South Championship, crushing Liberty by 26 points in the title game on its home floor. During that memorable run, Hartzell ran his streak of consecutive games with a three-point field goal to 42 straight. The Spartans gained a first round match-up with Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament, nearly knocking off the No. 7-ranked Bearcats before falling, 66–61.[14]

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Larry Hargett (Dixie Conference) (–1982)
1979–1980	Larry Harget	16–12	11–3	2nd
1980–1981	Larry Harget	17–8	11–3	T-1st
1981–1982	Larry Harget	14–10	9–5	3rd
Larry Harget:		47–30	31–11
Ed Douma (Dixie Conference) (1982–1984)
1982–1983	Ed Douma	16–9	10–4	T-3rd
1983–1984	Ed Douma	12–14	8–6	T-3rd
Ed Douma:		28–23	18–10
Bob McEvoy (Dixie Conference) (1984–1988)
1984–1985	Bob McEvoy	9–16	7–7	T-3rd
1985–1986	Bob McEvoy	13–14	8–6	4th
1986–1987	Bob McEvoy	22–6	12–2	1st
1987–1988	Bob McEvoy	19–8	13–1	1st
Bob McEvoy (Independent) (1988–1991)
1988–1989	Bob McEvoy	14–13
1989–1990	Bob McEvoy	6–22
1990–1991	Bob McEvoy	9–17
Bob McEvoy:		92–96	40–16
Mike Dement (Independent) (1991–1993)
1991–1992	Mike Dement	7–21
1992–1993	Mike Dement	10–17
Mike Dement (Big South) (1993–1995)
1993–1994	Mike Dement	15–12	11–7	5th
1994–1995	Mike Dement	23–6	14–2	1st
Mike Dement:		55–56	25–9
Randy Peele (Big South) (1995–1997)
1995–1996	Randy Peele	20–10	11–3	1st	NCAA First Round
1996–1997	Randy Peele	10–20	6–8	T-5th North
Randy Peele (Southern Conference) (1997–1999)
1997–1998	Randy Peele	9–19	6–9	T-4th North
1998–1999	Randy Peele	7–20	5–11	5th North
Randy Peele:		46–69	28–31
Fran McCaffery (Southern Conference) (1999–2005)
1999–2000	Fran McCaffery	15–13	9–7	3rd North
2000–2001	Fran McCaffery	19–12	10–6	2nd North	NCAA First Round
2001–2002	Fran McCaffery	20–11	11–5	T-1st North	NIT First Round
2002–2003	Fran McCaffery	7–22	3–13	T-5th North
2003–2004	Fran McCaffery	11–17	7–9	T-3rd North
2004–2005	Fran McCaffery	18–12	9–7	T-2nd North
Fran McCaffery:		90–87	49–47
Mike Dement (Southern Conference) (2005–2011*)
2005–2006	Mike Dement	12–19	4–10	5th North
2006–2007	Mike Dement	16–14	12–6	2nd North
2007–2008	Mike Dement	19–12	12–8	3rd North
2008–2009	Mike Dement	5–25	4–16	6th North
2009–2010	Mike Dement	8–23	6–12	T-3rd North
2010–2011	Mike Dement	7–24	6–12	5th North
2011–2012*	Mike Dement	2–8	0–3
Mike Dement:		69–125	44–67
Wes Miller (Southern Conference) (2011–present)
2011–2012	Wes Miller	11–11	10–5	1st North
2012–2013	Wes Miller	9–22	6–12	6th (North)
2013–2014	Wes Miller	14–18	7–9	6th
2014–2015	Wes Miller	11–22	6–12	T–7th
2015–2016	Wes Miller	15–19	10–8	T–5th	CBI Quarterfinals
2016–2017	Wes Miller	25-10	14-4	T–1st	NIT First Round
2017–2018	Wes Miller	27–7	15–3	1st	NCAA First Round
2018–2019	Wes Miller	29–7	15–3	2nd	NIT Second Round
2019–2020	Wes Miller	23–8	13–5	3rd
Wes Miller:		164-125	96-61
Total:		591–611
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Spartans have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1996	#15	First Round	#2 Cincinnati	L 61–66
2001	#16	First Round	#1 Stanford	L 60–88
2018	#13	First Round	#4 Gonzaga	L 64–68

NIT results

The Spartans have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times. Their combined record is 1–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2002	First Round	Memphis	L 62–82
2017	First Round	Syracuse	L 77–90
2019	First Round Second Round	Campbell Lipscomb	W 84–69 L 69–86

CBI results

The Spartans have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2016	First Round Quarterfinals	Houston Baptist Ohio	W 69–65 L 67–72

Current coaching staff

Name	Position
Wes Miller	Head Coach
Kyle Bankhead	Assistant Coach
Andre Gray	Assistant Coach
Chris LePore	Assistant Coach

Notable former players

Name
Francis Alonso	Playing for Montakit Fuenlabrada (Spain)
Diante Baldwin	Playing for Tigers Tübingen (Germany)
Ronnie Burrell	Playing for Poland's Asseco Prokom Gdynia in the Euroleague. Named the 2006–07 Euroleague Week-4 MVP...won the 2008–09 Polish National Championship with Asseco Prokom...won the 2007 German National Cup with RheinEnergie Cologne...currently an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.
Courtney Eldridge	Played in Italy for A.B. Latina. (2009–10 season). Currently Director of Recruiting/Player Development at the University of Iowa
Eric Cuthrell	Played in Spanish LEB league. (1997-2002) Won LEB MVP in 1999. Played in HEBA A1 Greek League 2002-2004. Inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 (Player), UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 (1996 Mens Basketball Team)
Josh Gross	Drafted by Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the 2007 NBA development league draft.[15] Played on part of the 2008 NBA Development League Ambassadors.[16]
Scott Hartzell	Inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006
Ricky Hickman	Played in Finland, Germany, Italy, Turkey; helped lead Maccabi Tel Aviv to a EuroLeague title in 2014, earning an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in the process
Kyle Hines	Won four EuroLeague titles, two with Olympiacos B.C. and two with CSKA Moscow. Named EuroLeague Best Defender twice, in 2016 and 2018.
Jay Joseph	Played for Feytroun (Lebanon).[17]
Jordy Kuiper	Playing for Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto (Spain)
James Maye	In 2006–07, started 33 games and averaged 15.8 ppg[18] for the NBA's D-League Dakota Wizards. Went on to win 2006–07 Championship.[19] Currently an assistant coach for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.
Marvin Smith	Playing for Tigers Tübingen (Germany)
Ronnie Taylor	Played in France, Lebanon, Hungary, Slovakia.
Bart Tooms	Played in Netherlands.

References

1. "Brand Guide – University of North Carolina at Greensboro". Retrieved September 9, 2018.
2. "UNCG at a Glance". UNCG. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
3. "UNC Greensboro 61, Cincinnati 66". ESPN. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
4. "Mike Dement". UNCG. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
5. "UNC-Greensboro Spartans men's basketball 2006–2007 media guide" (PDF). (19.7 MiB)
6. "Fran McCaffery". Siena. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
7. "Greensboro Coliseum". UNCG. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
8. "Greensboro Coliseum, UNCG Unveil New Home Court for Spartans". UNCG, Steve Gilliam. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
9. http://www.uncgspartans.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/Wes_Miller
10. http://www.uncgspartans.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32200&ATCLID=210293996
11. "Kyle Hines Bio". UNCG. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
12. "Honoring the best (and worst) in college sports". SI.com On Campus. December 25, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
13. "By the Numbers: Courtney Eldridge". Carolinian Online. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
14. "Spartan 40: Scott Hartzell". UNCG. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
15. "NBA development league draft". tulsaworld.com. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
16. "D-League Ambassadors Set Roster For Rocky Mountain Revue". nba.com. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
17. "JAY JOSEPH basketball profile". sia-basket.com. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
18. "James Maye". andrewvye.com. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
19. "2006–07 Dakota Wizards Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2009.

External links

• Official website