America East Basketball: University of New Hampshire Wildcats

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There will be a new look to the University of New Hampshire Wildcats when the college basketball season begins. To start with, a new head coach is on board and his name is Nathan Davis. He comes to Durham, NC from Bucknell University where he was a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year. He led the Bison to a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament in his eight years on the job. In his 14 years as a head coach, Davis has won 270 games, five conference titles, and eight NCAA Tournament selections. He becomes the 21st head coach in the 118 years of Wildcats basketball.

Davis hit the ground running, adding five players to the Wildcats roster for the 2023-24 year. The three guards and two forwards all have some form of experience under their belts, either in international games or as junior college or grad transfers. There are no true freshmen in the group. Up front, the Wildcats added some size in 6-8 Paul Gakmar from Perth, Australia who spent last season playing for Hillsborough Community College. Last season, the transfer averaged seven points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He ranked third on the team in field goal percentage shooting 50.8% and 36.1% from long range. Gakmar also spent time at Mercy College.

Davide Poser is a 6-4 forward from Venato, Italy who has been playing professional basketball in Italy for the past two seasons. Last year, he was a part of the Serie B league with Bernareggio. He averaged six points and 2.7 boards while playing 18.6 minutes a game. Touted as a skilled perimeter player, Poser hopes to add outside shooting to the Wildcats offense. In the backcourt, UNH has added three players.

Naim Miller is a 6-4 guard from Pittsburgh, Pa. who will be joining the program as a graduate student. He spent two seasons playing for Mt. St. Mary, and last year was with Edinboro Community College. He led the team in scoring averaging 16.5 a night and playing 37.5 minutes a night. He was good from beyond the arc as he led the Fighting Scots with 62 made threes. He also led the team with 96 made free throws. The coach is hoping that Miller’s experience, skill, and athletic ability will be a big asset to the team this season.

Dior Davis is a 6-2 guard from New York City who arrives in Durham after spending two years with Ellsworth CC in Iowa Falls. He finished second on the team in scoring averaging 14.3 points per game. He shot 45.9% from the field, and 70.5% from the free throw line while playing 26.7 minutes a night. Davis was pretty good with the basketball in his hands averaging 3.4 assists a night. He was also pretty good at taking the ball away averaging 2.8 steals per night. Davis’ ability to play more than one position should be a big help to UNH.

Ahmad Robinson is a 5-10 guard from West Orange, NJ who was at Western Texas College last year. The junior led his team in scoring at 17 points a game, assists at 5.4 a night, and steals with 2.3 a game. He was good on the glass as well ranking third on the team in rebounding averaging 4.9 a game. Robinson’s skill set and ability are what Coach Davis really likes about this player.

The UNH schedule will get started with a bang as they will head to Syracuse to play the Orangemen for the first time on Nov.6 . Their non-conference schedule will end with a game at Iowa State on December 31. All said the Wildcats will play four non-conference home games before the America East season begins. There is no in-season tournament for UNH this year.