Monday, March 13, 2000
UNC-Wilmington coach feels for UC
Wainwright friend of Huggins
BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
North Carolina-Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright is a No. 15 seed. But there he was Sunday night, feeling sorry for his No. 2-seeded opponent Cincinnati.
Wainwright, speaking to Cincinnati reporters in a teleconference, addressed the Kenyon Martin question before anyone could ask.
“We certainly offer our condolences for what's happened to Kenyon,” Wainwright said.
Wainwright sounded sincerely sorry, partially because UC coach Bob Huggins is a longtime friend. They go back to when Wainwright, now 53, ran the prestigious Five-Star summer basketball camp and Huggins — seven years his junior — was just starting as a coach.
“We're extremely excited about playing one of the premier programs in the country, led by one of the premier coaches,” Wainwright said.
Wainwright, a Chicago native, has fond memories of Cincinnati. He spent one season here (1984-85) as an assistant to Bob Staak at Xavier, where he met his future wife, Deborah. He followed Staak to Wake Forest, and became coach at Wilmington six years ago.
And now, his coastal Carolina city is going crazy with its first NCAA bid in 24 years as a Division I-A program. Sunday, several thousand fans showed up at Wilmington's Trask Coliseum to watch the selection show.
Wilmington (18-12), the Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion, ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense (57.2 per game). That means UC could find itself in a slowdown, Temple-like slugfest.
“We're a halfcourt team that likes to grind it out and not beat itself,” Wainwright said.
Wilmington starts no one taller than 6-9, but has 6-11 Oleg Kojenets — a native of Minsk, Belarus — averaging 6.4 points off the bench.
The star is Brett Blizzard, a 6-3 freshman shooting guard who averages 15.9 points. He set a league record this year with 93 3-pointers made, and shoots 47.2 percent from 3-point range.
The second-leading scorer is 6-1 junior guard Barron Thelman (9.4 ppg), who was a teammate of UC's Pete Mickeal on junior college power Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College.
UC is 4-0 lifetime vs. Wilmington, including an 81-52 victory at Shoemaker Center last season.
Wilmington was picked seventh in the CAA this year, but stunned Richmond 57-47 in the tournament finals.
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