Takayo Siddle was part of a Rupp Arena upset as a player. Now, he’ll try again as a coach.
As a player, Takayo Siddle was part of a significant college basketball upset in Lexington.
In November 2007, Siddle and his Gardner-Webb teammates came into Rupp Arena and defeated the No. 20-ranked Wildcats 84-68 in Billy Gillispie’s second game as UK head coach.
The 16-point loss was Kentucky’s first defeat in a regular season game against a mid-major opponent in six years, was the first loss of UK’s brief Gillispie era and gave Gardner-Webb its first-ever win over a ranked team.
That result was also noteworthy for how straightforward it was: Gardner-Webb opened up an early 14-0 lead and led by 11 at halftime before seeing out the victory.
“I think the one thing I remember is how loud it was when we first started (the game), and throughout the game and at a certain point — when I think everybody realized that we had a big lead and we weren’t going to let it go — it got really, really quiet in there for probably the last 10, 12 minutes,” Siddle told the Herald-Leader during a phone interview in September.
“After we won, that was a great feeling and obviously a milestone for the Gardner-Webb men’s basketball program. It was absolutely a great memory for us, and something that I’ll always cherish.”
It’s a feeling Siddle is hoping to replicate Saturday, when he — now in his fourth season as the head coach at UNC Wilmington — will lead the Seahawks into Rupp Arena for a matchup against John Calipari’s high-flying Kentucky team, fresh off a 22-point demolition of No. 8 Miami on Tuesday.
“As a young coach, going into these venues and matching up with Hall of Famers and some of the best who have ever done it, obviously I feel very blessed and I’m thankful that this opportunity is in front of us,” said Siddle, who played 28 minutes off the bench as a junior guard for Gardner-Webb and had eight points, three assists and two rebounds in his Rupp Arena win.
The challenge Saturday for UNCW will be just as daunting, if not more so, than the one faced by Siddle and Gardner-Webb more than 16 years ago.
The Seahawks (5-2) lost by eight points Thursday night at East Carolina and will have to turn around and play an up-tempo and ball secure Kentucky team less than 48 hours later (on a brand-new Rupp Arena court).
“Rupp is kind of spread out, and it’s loud in there. It kind of speaks for itself,” Siddle said. “Kentucky is a blue blood. Cal has done a hell of a job. His team is going to be really good. And they’ll have a chance to win the national championship. So for us to be able to compete against them and see where we kind of match up is obviously a great opportunity for our group.”
John Calipari has strong connection to UNC Wilmington
Part of the reason why Saturday’s game between the Wildcats and Seahawks is happening is because of Calipari’s connection to UNCW.
The Kentucky head coach started his college basketball playing career at UNCW, before transferring to Division II Clarion State (now known as PennWest Clarion).
“We know some of the same people around here, some big-name people. (Cal) still comes down here and plays golf with a few guys that I really know and that are heavily interested and invested in our program,” Siddle said when asked how Saturday’s game got scheduled. “Obviously at this level you have to get guarantee money to bring it to the school. We were just kind of thinking through it and some of those guys threw the idea out of us going to Rupp and playing.”
There was more crossover between the two programs last summer.
Former UK star big man Oscar Tshiebwe worked out at UNCW as he prepared for his first professional season.
Siddle and some of his UNCW players were able to watch Tshiebwe, who earned an NBA call-up this week with the Indiana Pacers following several standout performances in the NBA G-League.
“They were trying to improve his skill level — shooting, dribbling and passing — so you could tell that it was, I wouldn’t say new to him, but he wasn’t overly comfortable doing it, but you could tell he had been working on it to get better at it,” Siddle said of the Tshiebwe workout that he witnessed.
“He was impressive. He spent about an hour, hour and a half on the court working on his game and going at a really high pace. I thought it was fun to watch and I thought it was fun for some of my guys that play his position to sit in and watch.”
Tshiebwe was on the Pacers’ bench, but didn’t play, in Indiana’s 142-132 loss at Miami on Thursday night.
UNC Wilmington has beaten a Kentucky team this season
On the court this season, UNC Wilimington has used continuity to get off to a strong start.
Ranked as the No. 145 team in the country by KenPom (as of Friday morning), the Seahawks won 24 games last season and returned all top four scorers from that team.
Junior forward Trazarien White led UNCW with 14 points and 6 rebounds per game last season, and through seven games this season he boasts improved per-game averages of 18.1 points and 6 rebounds, both team highs.
“It’s so valuable bringing so many guys back, not only bringing them back, but they won, they won big,” Siddle said when previewing his roster for this season. “I’m grateful that we didn’t have to get five, six, seven dudes out of the portal.”
Saturday will also be a second chance for UNCW to score a win over a team from the commonwealth this season: Last month, UNCW scored an overtime win over Murray State at the Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida.
“When you’re playing against a high-major opponent ... they’re going to be bigger, probably going to be more athletic,” Siddle said of the prospect of facing Kentucky. “I think (UK’s) guard play is elite. They have a high level of skill, athleticism, size.”
Saturday
UNC Wilmington at No. 12 Kentucky
When: 4 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: UNC Wilmington 5-2, Kentucky 6-1
Series: First meeting
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 7:42 AM.
