HOOP DREAMS

Hoop Dreams UNCW taps Takayo Siddle as the new Head Coach for the Seahawks

Takayo Siddle, a key lieutenant for former head coach Kevin Keatts, returns to the Port City as the new head coach of the men’s basketball program. He was named to the position on March 13, 2020.

Siddle, 33, is making his fifth coaching stop and first as a head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach at Hargrave Military Academy, Gardner-Webb, UNCW and NC State. Siddle becomes the 13th head coach in UNCW history.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Takayo back to UNCW and the Wilmington community,” said Jimmy Bass, UNCW’s ninth-year athletic director. “He’s been successful everywhere he’s been and we’re confident he will get our program back to the level our student-athletes, alumni, fans and community are accustomed to. He already has two CAA championship rings, so there’s plenty of room for more.”

Siddle played for and coached with Keatts and served as interim head coach for the Seahawks in March 2017 before joining his longtime mentor on the NC State bench in Raleigh. Siddle is a tireless recruiter and was tabbed the No. 4 recruiter in the country earlier this year.

During his three-year stay at UNCW from 2014-17, Siddle helped the Seahawks return to prominence in the CAA, winning three regular season championships and two CAA Tournament crowns (2016, 2017). A native of Eden, NC, Siddle earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from Gardner-Webb in 2009.

“I’m honored to be named as the head coach of this proud program,” said Siddle, who will be formally welcomed during an introductory press conference at a later date. “This is – and has always been – a dream job for me. I can’t begin to tell everyone how excited I am.”

– Joe Browning

David Weber Kees van het Hof

Adapting – A World Away A faculty exchange program takes an unexpected turn.

It was a beautiful spring in the Netherlands, and long walks on sunny afternoons helped David Weber get through a challenging semester. The UNCW communication studies associate professor began the semester looking forward to teaching at a university in the city of Arnhem as part of a faculty exchange that sent his Dutch counterpart, Kees van het Hof, to Wilmington. Partway into the semester, everything changed as the COVID-19 outbreak worsened.

Like many of his colleagues around the world, Weber had to adapt quickly to fully online instruction. Face-to-face contact is an important component of his instruction, as well as his preferred method of communication. He taught five courses in the International School of Business at H.A.N. University of Applied Sciences, and all typically benefit from small group discussions and being in the same room.

“My specialty area is called organizational communication, the study of how people express themselves to one another when working together to pursue shared goals,” he explained. Weber had about four days to make the abrupt shift to online instruction in his five courses, and he wasn’t familiar with the tools, especially as a visiting professor at the university, but he made it work to support students.

The exchange is an outgrowth of years of formal and informal collaboration between the two professors and their respective departments. This semester, Weber went to live in van het Hof’s house in Oosterbeek, near Arnhem, and van het Hof took up residence in Weber’s home in Wilmington.

Van het Hof’s plans included a tour of the United States with his then-girlfriend, Arien Zuijdwijk, after UNCW’s semester ended, including a stop in Las Vegas to get married. He was also enjoying getting to know his UNCW colleagues and working with communication studies students.

“Coronavirus said no,” van het Hof said. “No to inspired face-to-face discussions. No to walks across the beautiful campus. No to an extended trip through the U.S.A. at the end of the semester. No to barbecues with colleagues who, despite the coronavirus, became friends. No to commencement ceremonies, which I looked forward to so much.”

Even so, he enjoyed his time in Wilmington while teaching virtually from Weber’s home. And some plans came together after all. Since they couldn’t complete their tour, he and Arien got married in Innis Park, next to City Hall across from the courthouse.

While neither man got the experience they were expecting, both found ways to find peace and normalcy during a most unusual time.

“It has been a great experience,” said van het Hof. “I have had the best time of my life here.”

– T.V.

Contending with the Coronavirus

The month of March came in like a lion but did not, as the old proverb says, go out like a lamb. In fact, the rumblings of disruption to life as usual began in February, and by early spring, the campus was reeling from the effects of a developing global pandemic. While teleworking, wearing face masks and abiding by social distancing protocols have become the norm, the UNCW community has been rising to meet the challenges that COVID-19 presents from the very beginning. Read on to see how Seahawks have been leading through these unprecedented times in the areas of teaching, research, community engagement and more.