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BASKETBALL |
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ECU topped at Tulsa |
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TULSA, OK — Host Tulsa took
a 69-58 American Athletic
Conference win over East
Carolina on Wednesday night.
The Pirates got 15 points
from Terry Whisnant, 14 from
Caleb White and 13 from
freshman B.J. Tyson in
falling to 11-15 overall and
4-9 in league play. ...
More... |
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Next: ECU vs. USF |
Saturday, 11 am
| TV: ESPNU |
The Season
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates under NFL's
microscope |
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  After
four standout seasons and
more catches than anyone in
FBS history, Justin Hardy
has become an overnight
sensation. It happened last
month at the Senior Bowl in
Mobile, AL, where those who
never took the time to
notice or appreciate the
now- former ECU wide
receiver finally got the
chance to see what they’ve
been missing. ...
More from Brett
Friedlander... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates' mettle tested |
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  We're
never going to accept losing around
here ... It's not okay to lose ... I
don't care if they're ranked number
two or ranked number one or who they
are ... There are no moral victories
when you lose... — Cliff Godwin
Second-ranked
Virginia came to town and swept East
Carolina in Cliff Godwin's debut as
the head baseball coach of the
Pirates. ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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Pictured: Former ECU player Cliff
Godwin looks on from the third base
coach's box at Clark-LeClair Stadium
on Friday in his first game as head
coach for his alma mater in the
season-opening series with Virginia.
(Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
East Carolina head
baseball coach Cliff
Godwin (right):
Replay
show... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Owls streak past ECU |
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PHILADELPHIA — Temple ran
its winning streak to seven
games with a 66-53 American
Athletic Conference victory
over visiting East Carolina
on Saturday afternoon. After
trailing 34-18 at the half,
the Pirates made seven of 15
attempts from behind the arc
in the second half including
four in a row ...
More... |
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BASEBALL |
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Virginia completes sweep |
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GREENVILLE — Second-ranked
Virginia completed a sweep
of its three-game
season-opening series at
East Carolina by taking both
ends of a doubleheader on
Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair
Stadium on Saturday. The
teams played a pair of games
because of the forecast of
cold weather Sunday. ...
More... |
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Next: ECU at Old
Dominion |
Wednesday, 3 pm | |
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By
Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's Basketball
Schedule & Scores
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
In the lineage of coach-player relationships, Jeff Lebo
is only three steps removed from basketball inventor James Naismith.
After conceiving of the game with peach baskets for goals
in Springfield, Mass., in 1891, Naismith later coached the fledgling
sport at Kansas. One of his players, the legendary Forrest "Phog" Allen,
became coach of the Jayhawks. Dean Smith was on Kansas' 1952 NCAA
championship team, which was coached by Allen.
Lebo, the fifth-year East Carolina coach, played for
Smith at North Carolina almost a century after Naismith drew up the
original 13 rules for a physical education class.
Smith's passing earlier this month at age 83 followed
years of diminishing mental capability, a contrast to the man who had an
amazing memory among the assets of his prime.
"You always prepare yourself for the worst but when it
actually happens, it was a tough time on Thursday," Lebo said. "A tough
day, an emotional day when we had the funeral."
The Pirates coach attended a private memorial for Smith
in Chapel Hill on Thursday, Feb. 12.
"It was really nice," Lebo said. "It was really first
class. No former players spoke. Just Coach (Roy) Williams spoke and he
was terrific. A couple of his children spoke and it was neat to kind of
hear them tell stories about Coach as a father and what it was like on a
daily basis with him, how much of a great dad he was.
"We know a lot of the basketball stories, but we heard a
lot of stories from the family about him as a dad and being at home, so
that was kind of cool."
Smith was an innovator, appropriate perhaps for someone
in direct line with the inventor. Smith refined the four corners
offense, the college equivalent of the victory cigar of former Boston
Celtics coach Red Auerbach in a bygone era.
The four corners was one reason the college game
eventually incorporated a shot clock. Smith developed the run and jump
defense, which frustrated foes until N.C. State's Jim Valvano taught his
players to pass the ball before the double team arrived. That tweak
helped the Wolfpack on their way to an NCAA championship in 1983, the
season after Smith won the first of his two national titles.
Smith orchestrated end game strategy by fouling to stop
the clock. He conceived of offensive and defensive substitutions. His
reserves stood up to acknowledge their teammates. And because the
individual was never above the team at UNC, he started a tradition of
pointing to playmakers.
"The neatest part was when Coach Williams talked about
Coach Smith starting thanking the guy for the pass," Lebo said. "You
point to the guy who passed you the ball when you scored. Coach Williams
had everybody there point to the sky and thank him for what he's passed
on to us. There were maybe 300 people there. I wish I had a picture of
all of us, and most of the former players were there, pointing to the
sky, thanking him for what he's given to us."
Lebo, incidentally, got his share of points as a Tar
Heel. He began the 2014-15 season eighth on UNC's all-time assist list
and was 24th in career scoring.
That morning last week at Binkley Baptist Church drew
quite a collection of former Tar Heel talent and hoops icons. Duke coach
Mike Krzyzewski was there. So was former Georgetown coach John Thompson.
"Almost everybody that could get back was there," Lebo
said. "To (Michael) Jordan, to (James) Worthy. You name it that played
for him. They were there. Most of the people that I played with were all
there. It was just a who's who of basketball people and former players."
Lebo finished his high school career in 1985 with a 4-A
state championship, playing for his dad, Dave, at Carlisle (PA) High
School.
Lebo attracted a lot of recruiting interest but Smith
ultimately was the deciding factor.
"I wanted to play for him," Lebo said. "That's why I went
to North Carolina. That was it. ... There were a lot of other things
that were important. ... That's why a lot of people went to North
Carolina. It's a great place. It's a great school. It's got great
tradition. It's got great history. It's got great facilities. It's got
all those things but in the end the chance to play for him was what
pushed you over the edge."
Unfavorable factors at Tulsa
The Pirates are coming off
a 69-58 loss at Tulsa on
Wednesday night. The weather caused some travel adjustments.
ECU's charter flight left from Raleigh-Durham Airport
rather than Pitt-Greenville. The Pirates practiced earlier Tuesday
because of the change in travel plans.
There was another snag before tipoff. Pirates frontcourt
reserve Kanu Aja was not listed on the official scorebook.
"For some reason, Kanu was not on the sheet that they put
in the scorebook," Lebo said. "He could have played but we would have
been assessed a technical foul."
Aja didn't play for the first time this season. He's
averaging 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 8.6 minutes.
"He hasn't played a whole lot," Lebo said of Aja. "He's
had games where he played better than others. He's a physical body.
"I was planning on playing Keith Armstrong anyhow in that
game because, Keith, the last two weeks, has really done very well. I
thought he was solid (Wednesday) night. He drew two charges, got his
hands on some balls. He was physical in there. He's not going to be an
offensive player but he's 240 (pounds) in there and at least held his
own. He doesn't get pushed back. At that position, I've tried
everything. That's where we're at right now."
Armstrong, a transfer from Robert Morris, also had three
rebounds in 18 minutes against the Golden Hurricane.
Breakfast, then USF
ECU hosts South Florida for an 11 a.m. television slot
Saturday on ESPNU.
"I don't know if I've had an 11 o'clock tip in my
career," Lebo said. "I can't remember one. That's early, so your day is
a little bit different."
The Pirates will have breakfast at 7:30. They won't have
their usual pregame shoot-around.
USF
topped ECU 58-50 on Jan.
3. The Bulls improved to 8-19 overall and 2-12 in the American Athletic
Conference on Tuesday night by edging visiting Houston, 69-67.
"They won a close game with Houston so they're coming
with some confidence," Lebo said. "They've had some ups and downs like
we have. Their guards are very good. Their guards are experienced.
"Those guards have played in the Big East, played many
minutes in the Big East. They've got size inside. They've got (Ruben)
Guerrero (6-11, 240) inside, who hurt us in the first game."
Guerrero, a freshman from Spain, had 13 points and seven
rebounds in the initial encounter with the Pirates. Senior guard Corey
Allen Jr. added 12 points. Junior guard Anthony Collins had seven
assists.
"They hurt us on the glass, as most teams have," Lebo
said. "They've struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter but the
last game ... was one of their best offensive games."
McNeill scheduled for surgery
ECU football coach
Ruffin McNeill is scheduled to undergo hip surgery on Monday. He has
curtailed the walking regimen which helped keep him fit and focused
because of the troublesome joint.
The Pirate alumnus will
have the procedure at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville during a
relative lull in his annual routine.
He
announced the additions to the ECU football family on
national signing date on Feb. 4.
The Pirates start spring
practice on March 20. The Purple-Gold game is slated for April 18.
Players
at every position on East
Carolina's defensive unit
completed their eligibility
at the end of the 2014
season, including six
starters. The result was a
wide-ranging list of needs
to cover those losses ...