Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2022-23 Hoops Schedule
• ECU 2023 Baseball Schedule

— Recruiting Thumbnails —
Football: 2023 • Hoops: 2023-24

Insights from Brett
Not all of the week’s news was bad

April 30, 2018 By Brett Friedlander Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Last week was almost a forgettable one for the East Carolina athletic program.

It started with an unpopular cancellation of Tuesday’s much-anticipated baseball showdown at N.C. State and went downhill from there. From ace pitcher Chris Holba’s untimely illness to the three close losses to Houston that followed; from the softball team’s Senior Day setback at the hands of Wichita State to reports of lagging football season ticket sales and the realization that no Pirate would be selected in the NFL draft, things just seemed to go from bad to worse no matter where you turned.

That’s a shame, too, since the week that wasn’t came at a time in which it seemed as though ECU’s fortunes were finally starting to gain a little positive momentum.

Rather than dwell on all that went wrong, it’s better to chalk up the disappointing past few days as a momentary hiccup and try to make the best of the situation by looking for as many silver linings as possible amongst the dark clouds that have suddenly rolled into Greenville.

In the midst of the cascade of disappointing outcomes, there were a couple of bright rays of sunshine on the basketball front, but we’ll touch on that later in this column.

Positive news on the baseball diamond starts with the fact that the Pirates won’t have to see Houston again for awhile.

For some inexplicable reason, the Cougars have been ECU’s Kryptonite over the past two seasons, winning the last eight meetings between the American Athletic Conference rivals. It didn’t help things this time around that the unbeaten Holba wasn’t available to get the series off to a solid start. Or salvage a winning finale.

That weekend pitching disruption notwithstanding, Godwin was critical of his team’s effort in the Houston series, calling Sunday’s 6-5 loss “as uninspired a baseball game as I’ve ever been associated with here at East Carolina.” He promised that ECU would “play inspired baseball in New Orleans” in its next weekend series at Tulane.

The good news is that Holba figures to be back on the mound and with sophomore slugger Spencer Brickhouse’s bat starting to heat back up — with homers in each of the past two games — the opportunity for a quick bounceback is there for the taking.

With no midweek games on the schedule to serve as a distraction, Godwin and his players will also have ample time to take a step back and regroup.

That’s a similar approach to the one Davon Grayson and several of his senior football teammates were forced to take after a weekend in which their NFL hopes suffered a major setback.

Grayson was the only one in the group that figured to have a realistic shot at getting drafted after being invited to the NFL’s pre-draft scouting combine — where he posted a respectable 4.51 40-yard dash time, bench pressed 19 reps and showed off a 34.5-inch vertical leap.

But whether it was his history of injuries or ECU’s lack of success in posting a second consecutive 3-9 season, he was passed over by all 32 teams.

That doesn’t mean his chances of getting into the league are over. He’s just going to have to work a little harder after signing an undrafted free agent deal to go to training camp with the New York Giants.

He isn’t the only Pirate hoping to take the indirect route to a professional career.

Tight end Stephen Baggett will join Grayson in New York with the Giants and wide receiver Jimmy Williams signed with the Denver Broncos, while offensive tackle Brandon Smith will try out with the Baltimore Ravens, defensive end Kiante Anderson with the Houston Texans and graduate transfer defensive end Gaelin Elmore with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Joe Dooley (ECU Media Relations photo)

Although the odds are long against each of them ever playing a regular season game in the NFL, they at least have the same chance at proving themselves on the field as those that were drafted in the later rounds.

While it will be another seven months before ECU’s basketball team will begin proving itself on its own field of competition, new coach Joe Dooley still provided the best news of the week with reports that he’s hired former UConn associate head coach Raphael Chillious as his lead assistant with the Pirates.

Chillious is one of the most respected recruiters in the country, who has also served tenures at Washington and Villanova as a member of Jay Wright’s staff. Although he hasn’t officially been named yet, the Pirates’ recruiting fortunes have already taken a turn for the better with the announcement that three-star guard DeShaun Wade has recommitted to ECU.

Wade’s decision to stick with the Pirates was a badly needed bright spot in an otherwise dark week, providing hope that — like North Carolina’s unpredictable weather this time of year — a dramatic turnaround might be just around the corner.

— 30 —

VIEW ECU’S 2018 BASEBALL SCHEDULE & SCORES

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

VIEW FROM THE EAST: NORTH TEXAS
The new American

Basketball News
ECU rally falls short

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

Basketball News
Porter leads Shockers past Pirates

VIEW FROM THE EAST: FAU
The new American

Basketball News
Pirates rally past Tulsa to snap losing streak

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

VIEW FROM THE EAST: CHARLOTTE
The new American

Basketball News
Owls pull away from ECU in second half

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

AAC Early Signing Review
New members dive into AAC recruiting wars

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review
First wave of recruits just the beginning

ECU Recruiting News
Brown finds way to ECU through portal

ECU Recruiting News
Transfer safety McDaniel destined for ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates land coveted Spartanburg quarterback

ECU Recruiting News
Swift ECU recruit ‘in a class of his own’

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates win out for Georgia prep linebacker

ECU Recruiting News
Linebacker with pedigree charts path to ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates find a gem in Palmetto State receiver

ECU Recruiting News
Official visit swayed North Mecklenburg star

ECU Recruiting News
Physical Georgia receiver poses tough matchup

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates project lineman Durant as center

ECU Recruiting News
ECU spotted potential in Conley lineman

ECU Recruiting News
ECU lands fleet-footed Georgia defensive back

ECU Recruiting News
‘Football town’ helps draw Short to Pirates

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets edge rushers

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets quarterbacks of the future

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, February 4, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, February 4, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 30, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, January 29, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 28, 2023

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2023 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy