Parker Kroon of Wasilla with a weakside block last season. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The upcoming season’s road schedule is no layup for the Seawolves.
The UAA men’s basketball team will travel to Honolulu, Fairbanks and the California coast as part of a challenging slate of games away against quality Division II teams before getting into the GNAC grind in coach Cameron Turner’s debut season.
In the Aloha State, UAA will face Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific of the Pac West. In the Golden Heart City, UAA will play high-scoring Trevecca Nazarene and battle-tested Davenport. In Santa Barbara, UAA will go up against two more Pac West teams in Biola and Westmont.
A trio of tough road trips should help the players gel and get to know each other on a personal level. Being away from the comforts of home can be a bother, but that versatility might end up helping the Seawolves in the long run.
“I want guys with an adventurous spirit,” Turner said.
He also wants guys who want to be in Anchorage over the winter. That might be a negative for some; however, Turner believes it’s a blessing during recruiting.
“It eliminates guys that are soft mentally,” said Turner, who brought in nine new players.
Turner, a former UAA assistant under recently retired bench boss Rusty Osborne, came to Anchorage from Eastern Arizona College, where he posted a 95-32 record with three ACCAC titles and two Region I championships in four seasons.
Throw it down, big fella. UAA’s Lyman Simmons. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
In Hawaii, the Seawolves will face a Chaminade team that beat them 57-53 last year at the Alaska Airlines Center. They will also square off against Hawaii Pacific, which beat Boise State and two weeks later lost to UAA 70-65.
In Fairbanks, UAA will square off against a strong Davenport program that comes from a great league in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which featured a pair of nationally ranked teams last year in Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.
Meanwhile, Trevecca Nazarene has most of its personnel back from last season’s squad that averaged 84 points a game and put up triple digits three times.
In California, the Seawolves will face a Biola team that last year beat nationally ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills – the same team that ended UAA’s season in the NCAA Tournament. The other team, Westmont, beat UAA 64-58 in Anchorage a year ago.
In addition to a slew of new signees, Turner also retained UAA’s best player, All-GNAC forward Sylas Williams, of Bothell, Wash., who led the Seawolves in both scoring (13.3) and rebounding (7.7) as a junior.
Williams is the only All-GNAC player returning to the same school he laced ’em up for last season. Keeping him in the fold was a big get for the new UAA coach.
“He’s a good ballplayer,” Turner said. “He’s got a great motor. He sets the tone that we mean business from Day 1.”
Sylas Williams and UAA’s home schedule.
