The growing legend of Dwayne Harris is taking on mythic proportions, spanning that fluid area that flows smoothly between fantasy and fact. One tale has it that he was standing in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium by himself and drew a penalty for too many men on the field.

Last Thursday night, the senior receiver/returner and occasional runner/passer offered an assurance to East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill during a sideline huddle before the Pirates outscored UAB 27-7 in the fourth quarter for a 54-42 Conference USA win at Legion Field in Birmingham.

After the North Carolina game, McNeill had started holding team meetings during television timeouts between the quarters of each half just to remind the players of some points of emphasis that had been agreed upon within the program.

"We just try to get back refocused if need be or just continue what we're doing," McNeill said.

During the UAB game, McNeill recalled, "There was a point in the huddle as I was talking and Dwayne said in a calm and confident voice, 'Coach, we got you.' It was chilling. That was all that needed to be said. We broke it down on 'Family.' ... 'One, two, three, Family.'

"Not too long after that, Dwayne had his punt return and then his touchdown catch."

The Pirates had been playing catch-up most of the night but a 56-yard punt return by Harris to the UAB 11 led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dominique Davis to Jonathan Williams with 5:48 to go. Davis ran for a 2-point conversion and a 48-42 ECU lead. The Blazers lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return and Davis connected with Harris for a 10-yard score with 4:12 remaining to put the Pirates ahead, 54-42.

The win gave ECU a 6-4 overall record and made the Pirates bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.

Harris, the do-everything star from Stone Mountain, GA, didn't even have a full week to recover from a lower back contusion that sidelined him briefly in the Navy game. Harris is seventh nationally in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 166.6 all-purpose yards per game. National leader Randall Cobb of Kentucky is averaging 186.1 yards per game.

Another Chapel Hill connection

Jeff Lebo wasn't the only party with strong UNC-Chapel Hill ties at work in East Carolina's 76-63 basketball win over visiting Campbell on Monday night.

Scott Smith, the son of former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, was on the officiating crew. Smith was the smallest, darkest-haired of the three that called the Campbell game.

Dean Smith indirectly got his son into officiating. When Dean was coaching, Scott would sometimes comment about plays during which the officials had missed calls in his dad's games. The North Carolina coach typically was skeptical but often saw on film that his son was right so Coach Smith encouraged his son to go into refereeing. The younger Smith usually works games in the Big South and Southern conferences. He also calls lacrosse.

Lebo, a former Tar Heels point guard, has the Pirates off to a 2-0 start in his first season as coach at ECU despite the loss of several starters due to injuries in the Camels game. Lebo has the Pirates playing a smart, aggressive brand of ball.

Campbell coach impressed

Robbie Laing, the basketball coach at Campbell, knows something about building a program. Laing is in his eighth season with the Camels. He was 5-49 in his first two seasons in Buies Creek but the program progressed to 19-11 in 2009-10 with a home win over ECU and a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title. Laing was the A-Sun's coach of the year last season.

Campbell opened the season with a 70-60 loss at Virginia Tech on Friday night as the Pirates were winning Lebo's ECU debut against Erskine, 74-48.

"I knew very little about (ECU) coming in," Laing said. "I felt they were very vanilla intentionally coming into the game. I expected some more razzle-dazzle but (Coach Lebo) just outsounded us. ... It was obvious that he had spent a great deal of time with his team on the defensive end of the basketball court. I thought when we left Virginia Tech in Blacksburg the other night we wouldn't see that type of suffocating man to man.

"They covered up my shooters early on. ... They made passing angles more difficult. You can see what he's emphasized and it's the right way to do it to build a program. He's building his core around his man-to-man defense. If he can remain as deliberate and efficient on the offensive end with a good, sound man-to-man defense, you're going to have a chance to win every single night."

Wynn probable for State

ECU center Chad Wynn practiced Tuesday and is expected to be ready for the Pirates' first round game at 6 p.m. tonight against N.C. State in the Charleston (SC) Classic. The team made the trip by bus on Tuesday night. Senior point guard Brock Young took part in Wednesday's shoot-around practice but his status is less certain because the knee from which he has been recovering from a torn meniscus has had a tendency to swell unpredictably.

"Brock makes us a different basketball team but we've got to get him healthy, too," Lebo said.

Senior forward DaQuan Joyner is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left foot.

The injuries have affected the Pirates in practice and Lebo was particularly concerned with the depth of his playing rotation as he faced the prospect of three games in four days in Charleston.

"Once we get healthy, I think we're going to be able to play some different combinations," Lebo said. "We're going to be able to be big. We're going to be able to play small if we need to."

Lebo was pleased with ECU's 11 for 23 shooting behind the arc against Campbell.

"Our competition is going to move up quite a bit on Thursday," Lebo said. "We'll find out more about our team then."

Ruff looking forward to hoops

Ruffin McNeill started his coaching career with the basketball program at his alma mater, Lumberton High School, and he is looking forward to taking in the hoops scene at ECU.

"I'm anxious to get to watch and support both men and women, Heather (Macy, Lady Pirates coach) and Jeff," McNeill said. "I'll be at every game once I get settled and have some time. I know they're playing well. ... I'm so happy for them. I'm glad they're here."

Basketball is often a showcase event when football recruits are on campus.

"One of the things in taking the job that was big for me is that we all work as a team," McNeill said. "That's from Chancellor (Steve) Ballard to Coach (Terry) Holland (athletic director) and all the way down. All of us work as a team. I love being here because we have a team concept. I'm here to help any of the other programs that I can. Jeff and Heather and I all came in about the same time. We're all newbies. Our staffs have gotten together and just wished each other good luck."

From two-day break to Texas homecoming

McNeill ordered his coaching staff to take Friday and Saturday off following the UAB game. Players who were within driving distance of their homes were allowed to leave campus as long as they were back by Sunday to begin preparations for this Saturday's 1 p.m. (EST) game at Rice.

"Winning the game (at UAB) made those days a lot better," McNeill said. "In the locker room after the game, everyone was told to stay away from the field house except guys with nicks, bruises and injuries. The coaches were told not to come around the office. I'm a big family guy and I think that's very important as a coach to have balance in your life. We need to keep it all in perspective and keep it all in balance.

"It was important to rejuvenate as a team, get our legs back under us, get refreshed and get a little break in between these next two games. Rice and SMU give us another short week."

ECU will host the Mustangs on Friday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m.

McNeill said the focus has been on preparing properly for Rice. Quarterback Dominique Davis, who bruised his left shoulder at UAB, has been taking practice reps this week, along with backup Brad Wornick. The Pirates must win to help their chances for a third straight Conference USA championship. Many ECU fans remember that the Owls upset the Pirates 18-17 in Houston in 2006 to knock ECU out of league title contention.

"We're working on winning now," McNeill said. "We're not waiting for Friday or Saturday to get ready."

McNeill and many of the Pirate coaching staff who came from Texas Tech will be making a homecoming of sorts when ECU plays in the Lone Star state. McNeill recruited the Houston area for eight years while with the Red Raiders.

"Some of the coaches' ticket requests were for 25 or 30," McNeill said. "We've converted some of those folks in red to purple and gold down in Texas. They're Pirates now."