UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball
Introduction The '''UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team''' represents the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in NCAA Division I. The school's team currently competes in the Southern Conference.
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. UNC Greensboro formalized their program and entered into a twenty-year period participating  as an NCAA Division III member, before moving up to NCAA Division II in 1988, and swiftly ascending to NCAA Division I by 1991.===1991-1999: Division I Firsts for the Spartans===Mike Dement served as the architect of the program in its move to Division I. He was the Spartans' head coach from 1991 to 1995, 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 then school-record 23 wins in 1994–95, along with the Big South Conference's regular season title. That team received votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls, a first for the program.Following the 1994-95 season, Dement left to take over the men's basketball program at SMU and was replaced in Greensboro by Randy Peele. In only the second season in which UNC Greensboro was eligible for Division I postseason competition, the Spartans won the Big South Conference regular season and tournament championship, advancing to the NCAA tournament where they received the 15th seed in the Southeast region. In their first NCAA appearance, they fell in the first round to the Cincinnati Bearcats.After following up their conference championship season with a 10–20 regular season, however, UNC Greensboro left the Big South in 1997 to join the Southern Conference. 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.===1999-2005: Fran McCaffery Brings the Spartans Back===Fran McCaffery hit the ground running in Greensboro, compiling a 15–13 record overall and a 9–7 Southern Conference mark in his first season that was the 18th-most improved record nationally among NCAA Division I teams.In his second season, he guided the Spartans to a 19–12 record and the 2001 SoCon tournament championship. It was the school's second NCAA tournament berth. They received a 16 seed, losing in the first round to overall tournament top seed Stanford.The following year (2001–2002) McCaffery led the Spartans to their first 20-win season since joining the Southern 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.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 UNC Greensboro and SoCon records for blocked shots, and also broke several other UNC Greensboro single-game and freshman single-season marks. After the season, McCaffery left UNC Greensboro to take the head men's basketball position at Siena===2005-2011: Return of Mike Dement===In his first season back at UNC Greensboro, Mike Dement led a young Spartan squad to a 12–19 mark. He had two players earn all-conference status in Ricky Hickman and Kyle Hines, and another earn SoCon All-Freshman honors.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 – both accomplishments were firsts for the UNC Greensboro program. The Spartans were considered by many to be the most dangerous team in that year's SoCon Tournament, but were upended in the final seconds by Furman in the quarterfinal round.Despite milestones like the program's first-ever win over an ACC team (Georgia Tech in 2007), and the largest ever home crowd at a UNC Greensboro basketball game (21,124 vs Duke in 2005), Dement's teams saw little success in his return. After several seasons with fewer than 10 victories, Dement eventually resigned in the middle of the 2011-12 season.===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.===2011-2021: Sustained Success Under Wes Miller===Following the mid-season resignation of Mike Dement in December 2011, Wes Miller was given the reins of the program on an interim basis. At the time, the Spartans had a record of 2-8 and were in the midst of an eleven-game losing streak. Under Miller, the team finished Southern Conference play with a 10-8 record, 13-19 overall, winning first place in the Southern Conference North Division. Miller was named the 2012 Southern Conference Coach of the Year and was hired officially as head coach.The Spartans struggled in Miller's first few years, but he soon brought UNC Greensboro an unprecedented run of success. The Spartans reached 25 wins for three successive seasons between 2016 and 2019, won three Southern Conference championships, reached the NCAA tournament in 2018 and 2021, and recorded the program's first postseason victory in the 2019 NIT. Miller is currently the winningest coach in the program's history.Players recruited by Wes Miller regularly set new Spartan records. Guard Francis Alonso became UNC Greensboro's all-time leader in made 3-pointers  and was a two-time first-team All-SoCon selection (2018, 2019). The Spartans also boasted four consecutive Southern Conference Defensive Players of the Year in forward  James L. Dickey III (2018) and guard Isaiah Miller (2019, 2020, 2021). Isaiah Miller would go on to become the most decorated player in program history, being named Southern Conference Player of the Year in both 2020 and 2021, the first player to earn back to back SoCon Player of the Year awards since Stephen Curry at Davidson.The 2018–2019 Spartans enjoyed what was arguably their most successful season under Wes Miller. The team 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.On April 14, 2021, Miller left UNC Greensboro to become the head men's basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati.===2021-Present: After Wes Miller===On April 19, 2021, UNC Greensboro hired Mike Jones as head men's basketball coach.
Retired numbers The Spartans have retired three jersey numbers. '''UNC Greensboro Spartans retired numbers''' No.PlayerPositionTenure'''5''' Scott Hartzell PG  1992–96'''23''' Courtney Eldridge G 1998–2002'''42''' Kyle Hines PF 2004–08===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 played. He graduated in 1996 as the school's all-time leader in points at 1,539 and assists at 552.Though those marks have since been eclipsed, he still holds the UNCG record for career three-point field goal percentage (43.9%).In 1995–96, Hartzell led the Spartans to their first NCAA men's basketball tournament appearance after winning the 1996 Big South Championship. During that memorable run, Hartzell ran his streak of consecutive games with a three-point field goal to 42 straight.===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., leading that team to the 2002 Southern Conference regular season title and earning a bid to the NIT.Eldridge is the Spartan's all-time career leader in assists (584). ===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. He became only the sixth player to score 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds and block 300 shots in his college career, joining the ranks of David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Duncan, Pervis Ellison and Derrick Coleman.Hines is the Spartan's all-time leader in a number of statistical categories, including points (2187), blocks (349), points per game (18.2), and rebounds per game (8.7).
Season-by-season results
Postseason ===NCAA Division I Tournament results===The Spartans have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament four times. Their combined record is 0–4.1996  #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 2021  #13  First Round   #4 Florida State  L 54–64===NIT results===The Spartans have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times. Their combined record is 1–3.2002  First Round  Memphis  L 62–82 2017  First Round  Syracuse  L 77–90 2019  First RoundSecond Round  CampbellLipscomb  '''W''' 84–69L 69–86===CBI results===The Spartans have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) twice. Their record is 1–2.2016  First RoundQuarterfinals  Houston BaptistOhio  '''W''' 69–65L 67–72 2022  First Round Boston UniversityL 68–71
Current coaching staff Mike JonesHead coachDonny LindAssistant coachBrent Gilbert Assistant coachBryant Stith Assistant coach
Notable former players Francis Alonso   Playing for Bilbao Basket of Liga ACB (Spain)Diante Baldwin  Playing for Borac Mozzart of Adriatic League (Bosnia)Ronnie BurrellCurrently the player development coordinator for the Chicago Bulls.James L. Dickey IIICurrently playing for BC Prometey of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague, which is playing the 2022–23 season in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League due to the ongoing war in Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion.Courtney EldridgeCurrently Director of Recruiting/Player Development at the University of IowaEric 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 Men's Basketball Team)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 processKyle Hines Won four EuroLeague titles, two with Olympiacos B.C. of Greek Basketball League and two with CSKA Moscow of VTB United League (Russia). Named EuroLeague Best Defender twice, in 2016 and 2018.Currently with Olimpia Milano of LBA (Italy) Jordy Kuiper  Playing for Real Valladolid of Liga LEB Oro (Spain)James MayeCurrently an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.Isaiah MillerSigned by the Utah Jazz and assigned to the G League Salt Lake City Stars.Marvin Smith   Playing for Maine Celtics of the NBA G League
References
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