Carter to have surgery

Brant Wilkerson-New
Sports Editor

UNCW senior guard T.J. Carter will undergo pelvic repair surgery tomorrow morning and will need at least four weeks of rest before rehab can begin.

No decsion has been made on whether or not Carter will play this season.

Update to follow.

It's nearly here

After a six month break, we're back and ready for basketball. It's just over 24 hours until tip between UNCW and Francis Marion in Wednesday's exhibition opener. With the way college football has gone in North Carolina this year, basketball couldn't get here any sooner.

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, a few more weeks of practice would be a big help in nursing injuries and installing the Benny Moss system.

John David Gardner is still dealing with a foot injury and hasn't practiced much so far this preseason, and Todd Hendley is coming off a knee injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks of conditioning.

There's still no word on T.J. Carter's visit with Philadelphia based Dr. William C. Meyer. Carter will decide whether or not Carter will need his third groin surgery in the past three years--and second in the past four months.

The decision should come this evening, so expect another post as soon as we have word on the surgery.

Interviews

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

A source within the UNCW athletic department says that Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley is in Wilmington interviewing for the head coach position vacated by Brad Brownell.

North Dakota State head coach Tim Miles will be meeting with Athletic Director Mike Capaccio tomorrow, and Rodney Terry will be on campus Thursday.

Interviews

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

A source within the UNCW athletic department says that three candidates will be on campus for interviews this week. They are Texas assistant and former UNCW assistant Rodney Terry, Kansas assistant and former ECU skipper Joe Dooley, and the third interview is unknown at this point. This is pure speculation, but the third interview may be Benny Moss, an assistant on the Charlotte staff.

Expect a coach to be named within 7-10 days.

Capaccio quotes

From the press conference:

“We’ve had a lot of telephone calls and a lot of interest about the job right now from some very strong candidates.”

“That’s a good question, I really don’t know because I really wanted Brad to be here too.” (On what exactly went wrong)

“Personally I’m very disappointed, I’m very surprised at the how this situation hashed out.”

“Wright State has some things going for them, they have great facilites, and coach felt they were moving in the right direction. It’s closer to him, and I think coach felt he could get more exposure in the Midwest than he could on the east coast.”

“I know that one thing we have to do through this process, that we’ve learned is that we need to improve our facilities. He was very impressed with the facilities they had there.”

“When push came to shove, we wanted to keep Brad and we agreed to the compensation package the he wanted. Which want to 5 years, wth a top figure of $250 thousand starting at 215 thousand .”

“That 5 year contract an the money that was put on the table was agreed upon a long time ago.”

“If there were perceived a rift between me and Brad, I certainly never thought that way. I never felt that way. We had a great conversation less than a week ago. I thought this thing was going to get done, to be honest with you.”

”I personally felt Brad should have had some opportunites at some of those bigger universities that are paying the higher dollar.”

"I would say the team is good spirits. They obviously are dissapointed, some of them. I think they're ready to move ahead, and they understan how these things work."

-Capaccio also said that he hadn't contacted recruits Vaughn Duggins or Charles Baker and plans to on Monday.
-There has been no decision on if Brownell's staff will stay.
-Capaccio says he will consult former UNCW coach Jerry Wainwright.
-He was very adamant about updating the facilites.
-Rodney Terry has interest in the job, and has called Capaccio three times today.

Quotes from Cusack

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

The following are quotes from Wright State AD Michael Cusack. A big thanks to Marc Katz of the Dayton Daily News for these.

"When they (UNCW) played George Washington, we [Cusack and his staff]
all watched and it was impressive."

"It's amazing [to get him], just great. It says something about a where
we are. From our end, it's something to be said about the program. In
Wilmington, he's a high-profile guy. I heard it was like he had paparazzi in
his front yard every day."

"We were real impressed by him and his wife Paula. Obviously, his record
impressed us. We feel like we got the whole package."

"This is one of those times you go out with a goal and surpass it. This
is a guy who's really gotten it done."

Brownell's departure

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

After receiving the report of Brad Brownell leaving to accpept the job at Wright State earlier this evening, I decided to drive by Trask Coliseum around 7:40 p.m. for any signs of life. Upon arrival, I saw a light on in Coach Brownell's office, and decided to stick around. At about 8:15 p.m. Brownell emerged from his office, with assistant Jimmy Garrity. Brownell refused comment when asked for a statement, and drove away with Garrity.

The press conference went down at about 9:45 p.m., with Brownell reading his statement, and then exiting without taking any questions from the media.

Athletic Director Mike Capaccio is scheduled to take questions tomorrow afternoon, and there will be A LOT of them.

The early front-runner for his replacement is Rodney Terry, but that shouldn't come as news. Don't be surprised if an assistant from Bobby Lutz's staff at Charlotte is in the mix.

There will be plenty to update tomorrow evening.

Press Conference

A press conference is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. at Trask Coliseum for a major announcement this evening.

Update to come.

Brownell to Wright State

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

A source within the UNCW Athletic Department reports this afternoon that Brad Brownell will sign with Wright State tomorrow afternoon.

It's still very early, and Seahawk Sports will update as soon as we find out anything.

Long day

Brant Wilkerson-New
Seahawk Sports Editor

Well when this whole Brad Brownell to Ball State thing started, I figured it would blow over in a few days and that would be the end of things. Boy, was I wrong.

A lot is still unclear at this time, but Seahawk Sports knows a few things at this point.

-Athletics Director Mike Capaccio says the extension offered to Brownell is five years, for sure. The contract would be worth potentially nearly $350 thousand per year, based on incentives.

-Brownell was back in Wilmington this afternoon, and players were in the locker room around 3 p.m. It's unclear whether the meeting was related to the Ball State issue, or just a meeting for their scheduled workout.

-Former assistant Rodney Terry turned down the head coach postion at Texas State and said in a phone interview he would be willing to listen if UNC-Wilmington contacted him, though Terry has not been contacted by UNCW.

-Both Ball State and Wright State deny offering Brownell their head coaching position.