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ECU hoops coach has plenty to say
©2006 Bonesville.net
Information from
ecupirates.com was used in
compiling this
report.
East Carolina basketball coach Ricky Stokes
hosted a luncheon for the media this week in which he discussed a number of
issues relating to the Pirate basketball program. An account of the session,
including a transcript of Stokes' comments and of comments from others cited
by Stokes, was posted on
ecupirates.com.
Stokes' opening comments sought to clear
the air of implications presented in
a June 8 story in The Raleigh News & Observer
regarding the large number of personnel departures from the program after
the 2005-06 season, his first at ECU, and his role in assisting the
transfers of Quinton Goods and Josh King, which, Stokes said, differed from
the article's portrayal.
Stokes did not identify the newspaper by
name but a comparison of his statements Thursday and those presented in the
article indicated that he was addressing an N&O story by Jaymes Powell, Jr.,
which credited Eric Gilmore as a correspondent.
Stokes also took questions regarding other
aspects of the program. His comments, questions and his responses, as
presented Friday on ECU's athletic website:
OPENING COMMENTS
Before we get started I'd like to share
with you the truth about what took place at the end of year and before we
look ahead I'd like to clear up those things that happened in the past. We
had three players: Tom Hammonds, Jonathan Hart and Japhet McNeil, that that
were obviously unhappy with their roles on the team. Each of those players
elected to transfer and since that time only Tom has enrolled elsewhere. He
is attending the University of North Florida. Japhet and Jonathan both have
a couple of decisions to make, but are still undecided.
Tyronne Beale is another player that was
unsatisfied with his playing time, but one we encouraged to remain on the
team. He elected to transfer closer to home and is now at Bowie State
University.
Quinton Goods was encouraged to transfer to
junior college next season in order that he would improve his game and then
return to ECU for the 2007-08 season as a scholarship player. He chose to
transfer to Charleston Southern University instead.
And because of the APR penalty we were
issued, which was a loss of two scholarships, we were also forced to make
another tough decision. We asked Josh King to remain a part of the team as a
walk-on. However, he was offered a scholarship to Eckerd College and elected
to take it.
Walk-ons Nick Mattone and Jeff Robinson
also elected to take scholarship offers rather than continue to pay their
way. Mattone will be enrolled at Manatee Junior College, while Robinson has
accepted a scholarship to Lafayette College.
Our three seniors all completed their
eligibility, ending their collegiate careers. Mike Castro is scheduled to
finish his degree this fall, Will O'Neil is pursuing a postgraduate degree
and Corey Rouse will finish his academic requirements this summer.
I would also like to clarify the fact that
we've done everything we could to help those kids who chose to transfer. One
writer chose to pursue a specific agenda in his coverage of these
departures. Enclosed are the actual comments of those coaches that the
writer interviewed and quoted in his article.
Quotes used by sportswriter: "And the
Charleston Southern coach, Barclay Radebaugh, said the Pirates did not help
Goods land at his new school."
Written response from coach Barclay
Radebaugh: "I expressed how excited we are to have Quinton and how we feel
he can make a positive impact in the Big South. I then quoted that Carlos
Peralta, the head coach at Charis Prep, made the initial call to me to alert
me of Quinton's transfer. This is the standard way of finding out about
transfers. We received numerous calls from high school and prep school
coaches alerting us of transfers this spring. I told Carlos that we would
need a release from ECU before we could talk with Quinton. We received that
release. I was able to talk to Coach Stokes at the Final Four in
Indianapolis about Quinton. Coach Stokes took ten minutes of his time to
visit with me concerning Quinton after the Division I head coaches meeting.
Coach Stokes spoke very highly of Quintons' character and felt he would be
an impact player in the Big South. I also spoke with Coach Larry Dixon about
Quinton at the North Carolina vs. South Carolina All-Star game in Rock Hill.
Lastly I followed up with a phone call to Mack McCarthy to ask his opinion
on Quinton. Coach McCarthy knows our situation well and felt Quinton would
be a great fit for our program. Please know that I am very appreciative of
the help ECU gave us during Quinton's transfer."
Quotes used by sportswriter: "Eckerd
College coach Tom Ryan, who said he landed King without assistance from ECU,
said he first heard from other coaches during late winter that ECU planned
to get rid of much of its roster."
Written response from coach Tom Ryan: "Your
athletic department was as helpful as they could be in getting all the
necessary paper work to our school. I am very sorry about the article and
how my conversation with the reporter was used."
I believe we have been up front and honest
with the young men involved and have tried to do what we feel is in their
long term best interest. Being honest does not mean telling people what they
want to hear. A number of these young men wanted to hear me say that they
would play more minutes or be able to shoot more often or not be held to
such a high standard regarding class and/or study hall attendance.
Our expectations on and off the court are
high but not unreasonable for those who wish to be successful in the highly
competitive worlds of college basketball and the global economy after
graduation.
Now with that behind us, let's look ahead
to what is an exciting future for East Carolina basketball.
We have a number of guys that will make up
the foundation for what I believe will be electrifying times. We have a lot
of new faces that will comprise our team this season and I'm thrilled about
the potential of each young man's game. The NCAA affords us the opportunity
to have them on campus during the summer and right now we have 10 guys here.
In addition to our four returning players, we've also got Gabe Blair,
Brandon Evans, John Fields, Darrell Jenkins, Justin Ramsey and James Dillard
here. We're going to look for our four returnees: Sam [Hinnant], Courtney
[Captain], Jeremy [Ingram] and Taylor [Gagnon], to provide us with some
leadership. I thought they each had a good year last season and I expect
each them to have better one this upcoming year. They have all been here
working with our strength coach, Michelle Boswell. The guys are conditioning
together and more importantly developing some chemistry among themselves.
When you have a season like we did, change is inevitable and one of the
things that we've done is that we have moved everyone on campus. We believe
that by constantly being around one another, they will create a camaraderie
with each other that will only help us as the season progresses. I think
we've increased our talent level this season and I'm very pleased with the
effort that they are putting forth.
Media question: You mentioned the name
James Dillard. He was not on the list of signees during the spring. Is he
being invited to walk-on the team in the fall?
James is a former high school basketball
player that was on a track scholarship at ECU last season, but is now on a
basketball scholarship. He's about 6-foot-5 and gives us a size that we
didn't have. We have guys that are 6-3 and below and have guys probably 6-7,
6-8 and bigger, but we don't have really that guy in the in between size. I
think he'll be able to provide that, along with some athleticism that should
help us within Conference USA.
Media question: As for the returning
guys do you see them poised to be leaders to take over that aspect for the
team?
Yes. We're demanding that they provide us
with some leadership. I think that will be a great role for them. I don't
think any of those guys are pleased with their shooting performance and I
think we have to look at getting them better shots, which I think helps
shooting percentages but I think they have also worked hard at shooting this
summer. But those four will provide us with some leadership. I thought Corey
Rouse provided us with some great leadership last year and great play. We
are definitely void of a true leader, so it maybe that these four guys lead
by committee.
Media remark: Talk about your presence
in the paint this year compared to last year.
We are definitely bigger and wider, which
I'm really excited about. It's going to be very difficult to replace a guy
like Corey, who had a tremendous year last season, with just one guy. All of
our guys on the front line are young. We don't have an experience guy in the
frontcourt, but I do like them as individuals and I also like them
collectively. Justin Ramsey is big and wide and he gives us a size that we
didn't have last year. John Fields is cut form the mold of Corey Rouse. He's
can run and jump and is one of our most athletic players. Gabe Blair is a
high post player who can step out and do some things. We still have two guys
waiting join this team. Hillary Haley and Chad Wynne still have this summer
to make this team and we certainly hope that they will.
Media question: What is the status of
Corey Farmer?
He is on target to join us later this
summer. He is in summer school right now and doing well. He only has about
another week before he'll finish up and join us.
Media question: What type of workouts
are the guys going through this summer?
They are lifting, running off track,
conditioning and shooting on their own time. We as coaches can't work with
them, so they are working on their shooting. After looking at our statistics
from last year we need to shoot the basketball better, shoot our free throws
better and we have to defend better. They are shooting on their own before
they play. They are also playing as a group to begin to learn one another
tendencies. Naturally they are in school, trying to get ahead academically
so they have a very busy day.
Media question: What kind of changes or
adjustments have you made in recruiting after the regulations the NCAA set
fourth in regards to the various prep schools?
When we recruit a prospective
student-athlete, we are going after guys that can excel. There are schools
like Oak Hill and Fork Union that are established and do it the right way;
I'm sure will get cleared. We want to bring in the best person that's going
to do well academically and we're going to stay away from the prospective
student-athletes that attend these schools that are not accredited.
Media question: How is Jeremy Ingram
doing?
Jeremy is back and running. He is coming
back off his fourth knee operation, so knock on wood; he's running and
lifting. He's wearing a knee brace and playing with the guys, but we're
monitoring him closely and not allowing him to do too much. We expect him to
be ready to go when the season begins.
Media question: There are a lot of kids
from North Carolina on the roster. Are you putting a heavy emphasis on
recruiting in-state players?
We have placed a heavy emphasis on
recruiting in the state. Coach Dixon and Coach Ferguson are both from North
Carolina. Two of the guys we signed, Gabe Blair and John Fields, are two of
the best big guys in the state of North Carolina. This state has tremendous
basketball talent and I'm pleased with our recruiting instate. Once you
leave the state it gets a little bit more difficult. The trend in recruiting
is staying closer to home. Kids want to stay closer to home and play in a
big conference and we offer kids the chance to do both.
©2006 All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. A release on
ecupirates.com contributed to this
report.
02/23/2007 11:45:22 AM |
