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Lebo on AAC: 'Quite a jump'

By Al Myatt
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Jeff Lebo had no delusions about what membership in the American Athletic Conference would mean.

'We've moved up two notches in basketball," said Lebo of the competitive upgrade. "When we came here, we were at the bottom and we were trying to move through the process of trying to get a mid-level Conference USA team. All of a sudden, the rules change and we go to another league that's two notches up."

Lebo is is in the midst of his fifth season as coach at East Carolina.

"It's like trying to get into a mid-level college and all of a sudden they tell you, 'No, we really need to get you in med school,' " said Lebo. "That's what we're trying to do. It's going to take time. It's going to take a lot of work. There's a lot of history and a lot of tradition in the basketball programs that we're competing against night in and night out.

"They've got great fan bases. They've got great interest and they've got great tradition."

A league matchup at Cincinnati, which produced a 69-48 setback Tuesday night, is a case in point.

"You just look at Cincinnati," he said. "Two national championships. Final Fours. Sweet Sixteens and 28 NCAA appearances. Fifty-eight guys been drafted. You can go down the list. It's like unbelievable. A lot of people in our league kind of have that tradition in basketball."

In contrast, ECU has been to the NCAA Tournament twice and is 0-2.

One of the AAC's haves in terms of tradition is Houston, ECU's next opponent at home at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. The Cougars have played for the NCAA Tournament title twice. Its alumni include Elvin Hayes, Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

"We're going to fight and we're going to claw," Lebo said. "But it's quite a jump for us in basketball. Quite a jump."

Current conference ratings by Jeff Sagarin for USA Today have the AAC ninth among NCAA Division I basketball leagues with a point value of 75.68. C-USA is 17th among the leagues at 71.16. The Big 12 leads the conference ratings at 85.43. The Southwestern is 35th and last at 61.39.

"I knew it was going to be tough as we transitioned to it," Lebo said. "We're not going to quit. We're not going to get discouraged and we're not going to procrastinate on getting better. That's our job as coaches to try to instill that in our players every single day. ... You talk about it but when it's here, it's really a test as a player and coach when you're trying to make this transition to stay focused on those things. ... We know how good the league is. We know we've got to elevate our program tremendously to be able to compete in the league.

"We're in the league but we're not really a team that belongs in it yet but we'll get there."

The upside to AAC membership is that it will allow ECU to recruit higher-caliber players. Lebo and staff also have the relatively-new $17 million practice facility as a resource.

The Pirates attracted point guard Lance Tejada in last year's class. Tajeda had offers from Alabama, Florida State and Virginia, among others. He had nine points at Cincinnati.

Kentrell Barkley of Northern Durham will join the program next year. Barkley is averaging 25.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks for an 11-2 team.

"He's a winner," Lebo said. "He's a competitive kid. He's got toughness. The other thing I like about KB, he's got a motor. He's got a very long wing span for a guy his size."

Barkley, who is 6 feet, 5 inches, has a wing span of 6-11.

"He had a great summer," Lebo said. "He played on a high level AAU team. He was MVP in some of the high level tournaments. He does a little bit of everything. He can get in the passing lanes and make steals. He can pass a little bit. ... He's one of those guys, you're watching him play and you look at the stat sheet and he has 18 points and 12 rebounds. ... He's used to winning and he's a great competitor. He'll add some toughness to our team."

Freshman guard B.J. Tyson is delivering a team-high 13.3 points per game for the present Pirates (7-9, 0-3 AAC). He led the scoring (13) and rebounding (7) at Cincinnati.

"He's a tough kid," Lebo said. "He's not afraid of the moment. He's a confident kid, too. He's a competitive guy. He's also been vocal. It's been surprising for a freshman. He's really taken on at times a leadership role on this team. As a guy coming off the bench as a freshman, that's exciting for the future but it's also a red flag when your freshmen have to do that.

"But he's a guy who's vocal. He's a guy that I think the guys respect and respond to. I think he's going to be a guy that as we grow this program is going to be one of our leaders for the next three years."

Injuries have limited the contributions of sophomore post player Marshall Guilmette and senior guard Paris Roberts-Campbell.

Lebo said Guilmette's development has been restricted because of reduced practice participation. Roberts-Campbell's quickness and maneuverability have been hindered by a pair of knee injuries.

Florida State transfer Terry Whisnant is averaging 12.8 points.

The Pirates continue to encourage sophomore forward Caleb White to become a more multi-dimensional player. White is scoring 12.5 points per game.

"He's a catch and shoot guy and he's a good shooter," Lebo said of White. "But he's got to be able to do more for us."

Michel-Ofik Nzege is ECU's top rebounder at 5.3 per game and Michael Zangari is grabbing 4.9. Senior guard Antonio Robinson has stepped up to lead the Pirates in assists (48) and steals (24).

Lebo conducted an abbreviated practice Thursday morning and the players lifted following practice. Lebo planned to give the team today and Saturday off. Lebo's staff will be looking at potential players during the break between AAC games.

"We'll meet back Sunday and practice on Sunday," said the Pirates coach. "School starts on Monday. We'll have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday as far as practice preparation. ... We're a little beat up right now. Two days off will let their bodies and minds heal a little bit."

ECU made just 27 percent of its field goal attempts at Cincinnati.

"Our big thing is being able to be confident and we've got to shoot the ball," Lebo said. "We have not shot the ball on the road very well. We spend a lot of time doing it but we haven't reaped the benefits of the time we've put in. We're not going to be able to beat anybody inside consistently so we're going to have to make some shots."

One factor against the Bearcats was their size and athleticism, factors that the Pirates struggle to simulate in practice. The Bearcats blocked seven shots.

"We wanted to shoot close to 30 threes at Cincinnati," Lebo said. "That was our way to kind of beat them and we actually wanted to shoot them quick, in transition. We didn't have anything going there offensively. That's not going to win you any games when you shoot that poorly on the road."

As the Pirates work to build the program in the AAC for the long term, their outside shooting is an immediate concern. ECU made five of 22 tries from beyond the arc on Tuesday night, 22.7 percent.

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PAGE UPDATED 01/09/15 04:19 AM.