The Bradsher Beat
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
By Bethany Bradsher |
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The returns
are in – let the games begin
By
Bethany Bradsher
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Finally, it’s over. After
seemingly endless months of lead-up and anticipation, the new leaders are
ready to move forward and make a difference armed with confidence and
energy.
I’m talking, of course,
about the 2012-13 East Carolina basketball season. With the Lady Pirates
tipping off Friday in Williamsburg and the men’s team opening at home on
Saturday, it’s time to stop the speculation about the chances of
hardwood glory this year and pass, shoot and rebound.
There’s something
tantalizing about that clean slate, a little bit like the primary season
when anyone seems to have a chance to make the ballot. In early
November, anyone’s team can run the table and dominate the postseason.
Half of the Pirate Nation might be dissatisfied with last night’s
results, but the promise of basketball to come under Jeff Lebo and
Heather Macy is something on which every buccaneer can agree.
In honor of post-Election
Day and this warm fuzzy unanimity we can enjoy with the first fast
breaks just days in our future, let’s honor a few of the top office
holders of the two Pirates hoops squads. These are the leaders of today
and tomorrow, the men and women who might hold future rafter banners in
their agile hands:
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Court Executive:
Miguel Paul, who could be considered the incumbent after a year of
prolific play for the Pirates. Paul, who transferred to East
Carolina last year after two seasons at Missouri, led Conference USA
in assists and comes in as the second-leading returning C-USA
scorer. Expectations are high for Paul, a preseason first-team
All-C-USA selection, and Saturday is day when he grabs the
opportunity to step it up his senior year.
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Governor of the
Lane: Britny Edwards, the 6-1 center whose presence in the post
will be a major factor for the Lady Pirates this season. Like her
father Blue Edwards before her, Britny will make her presence known
in her final season for ECU. Last season, in her first campaign
after transferring from Virginia, she led the Pirates in rebounding
(7.0 per game) and blocks (45 for the season) and played in all 31
contests.
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Outstanding
Incumbent: Senior guard Corvonn Gaines has been a model of
consistency in his years as a Pirate, and Lebo will look to him and
his four fellow seniors to push the Pirates to new heights. Gaines
is a model of hustle for his younger teammates, already claiming a
spot as one of nine Pirates in history to record more than 100
steals in his career. He has scored in double digits 11 times at
ECU, and this season should open up more possibilities for him to
create turnovers and score points as one of the team’s steadiest
leaders.
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Commissioner of the
Basket: Shala Hodges is expected to be a spark for Macy’s squad
as the top returning scorer for the Lady Pirates. A 5-8 guard, she
contributed 10.4 points per game last season and led the team in
three-point percentage, making 34 percent behind the arc. Hodges
once scored 50 points in a game as a star for Raleigh’s Enloe High
School, and her maturity and athleticism should go a long way toward
fulfilling her proposed slogan for this season: “Expect the
Unexpected.”
Whether you’re rejoicing
or mourning the direction of our nation’s government today, there is
plenty of cause for universal celebration in Minges Coliseum as the
weekend matchups approach.
I can’t think of any
better news than this — with two solid seasons under each of their
belts, Jeff Lebo and Heather Macy are each returning for their third
campaign with strong seniors, promising newcomers and a healthy comfort
level between players and staff as to their system and their
expectations.
Lebo and Macy are coaches
with the vision and strength to find that mythical next level that ECU
basketball has been reaching toward for years. And unlike our nation’s
leaders, they serve an open-ended term and have their sights set firmly
on the next big milestone of this important season: March.
E-mail Bethany Bradsher
PAGE UPDATED
11/06/12 08:03 PM.
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