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Next: Houston at ECU |
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Saturday, 12 pm |
TV: ESPNN |
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BASKETBALL |
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Freshman Barkley lifts Pirates |
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GREENVILLE � East Carolina freshman Kentrell
Barkley played 40 minutes in a 64-61
American Athletic Conference win over Temple
in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on
Wednesday night. He boosted the Pirates down
to the final second when his offensive
rebound and 3-point play gave ECU its first
hoops victory over the sixth-winningest
program in NCAA Division I.
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More... |
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Next:
Houston at ECU |
Sat., 12 pm | TV:
ESPNN |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Late push sways Georgia
lineman |
D'Ante Smith's journey to play
college football in North Carolina
took a detour to the East last week.
The offensive lineman from
Grovetown, Georgia accepted a
scholarship offer last July to play
in the western edge of the state for
Appalachian State
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More from
Sammy Batten... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
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 The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30
p.m. Brian's topic this week
 was
Hot Stove baseball with guests
Chuck Humphrey, Chad Tracy and
others:
Replay
show... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates shock Memphis, 84-83 |
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MEMPHIS, TN � In a situation where a win
seemed beyond the realm of realistic hope,
East Carolina stunned host Memphis 84-83 on
Sunday afternoon at the FedEx Forum.
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OLYMPIC SPORTS |
TRACK & FIELD |
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Pirates' Jones raises the bar |
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 Avion
Jones (right) didn't envision being
among the top college high jumpers
in the nation when he was a freshman
at First Colonial High School in
Virginia Beach. Back then, his sport
was basketball.
As a
senior at First Colonial during the
2011-12 season, Jones averaged 19.7
points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists,
1.5 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per
game for a 15-11 team. He scored 29
points twice in wins over Princess
Anne and Kempsville.
...
More
from Al Myatt...
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Texas tackle headed to ECU |
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 Houston
product Alex Turner becomes the second
pickup for East Carolina's recruiting class
of 2016 since Scottie Montgomery took
command of the Pirates last month. A
two-time all-district selection, the Jersey
Village High School defensive tackle chose
the Pirates after an official campus visit
last weekend. ...
Thumbnail sketches... |
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By
Al Myatt
�2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
East Carolina's
basketball fortunes have changed significantly since the Pirates
took an 0-6 record in the American Athletic Conference into
Sunday's 84-83 win at Memphis.
Sophomore B.J. Tyson
came back from a shoulder sprain in
an 84-69 loss to Tulsa
to lead ECU with 26 points. The Pirates played without
second-leading scorer Caleb White due to a concussion sustained
against the Golden Hurricane.
"It was a huge win for
us," ECU coach Jeff Lebo said. "We had so much adversity. We didn't
know if we were going to have B.J. No Caleb. On the road at Memphis,
a place we've never won before against a Memphis team that was
coming off a loss, a close loss to Cincinnati and really needed to
play well at home. We played great and hung on at the end. We showed
some toughness at the end. When they went on the run in the second
half late and took the lead, we came right back and hung on to the
end. It was a huge win for us. We hadn't won on the road and a
league win. ... at Memphis. It was a special locker room after the
game was over."
Two free throws by
senior point guard Prince Williams with 4.1 seconds left accounted
for the deciding points against the Tigers. Williams had 20 points
and 10 assists.
Momentum carries over
For an encore, ECU
handed Temple a 64-61 loss
in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Freshman Kentrell
Barkley had a three-point play with one second left for ECU's second
straight AAC win. Barkley played 40 minutes, scored 13 points,
grabbed 10 rebounds and had six assists. Prince Williams had 18
points against the sixth-winningest program in NCAA Division I
history.
It was the first win
over the Owls in football or basketball since ECU joined the AAC.
"We had some
confidence," Lebo said. "That's one thing. When you win on the road
against a good team that gives you a little confidence. We obviously
had to make some changes with some guys out. Ziggy (Michel Nzege)
has played a lot here lately. Kentrell Barkley has played virtually
every minute the last two games. We haven't really gone to our bench
very much at all. The play of Prince Williams the last two games has
been really, really good. It's been what we've been looking for (at
point guard) for a long time. He's really played well here those
last two games."
Pirates overcome
misfires
Because ECU has lost its
two tallest players, 6-feet, 11-inch Marshall Guilmette to
career-ending health issues and 6-10 Deng Riak for this season for
shoulder surgery, it appeared the Pirates had to shoot well beyond
the arc to have a chance at victory.
That notion was
dispelled as ECU went three for 17 from long range against Temple.
Fortunately, the Pirates
found a solution.
"I think the big thing
was we got out in transition," Lebo said. "We had fast break points
22 to zero over Temple. That's a big number. ... We got some good
looks there and that's what we have to do because in half court we
just can't grind it in there, ... back to the basket stuff. So we
have to get some transition points. We got some at Memphis (12). ...
We got a bunch last night. That's really helped us here kind of
carve out some points when we're offensively challenged not shooting
the ball."
ECU searches, adjusts
The 2015-16 season has
been characterized as a work in progress. The recent wins are
evidence that the process is capable of successful results.
"We've been through a
lot," Lebo said. "We've tried it figure out. We've had a lot of
different changes, a lot of different lineups. Guys injured. Guys
in. Guys out. Trying to find a way to play."
"You go into the season,
you think you're going to have certain guys. You've worked all
preseason on playing a particular way. You've got to change.
Different guys that you thought were going to be there, they're not
there. You've got to figure out how to get the other ones involved
now. That's what you have in basketball, the ebb and flows of a long
season, and trying to find ways to win and be flexible enough in
different ideas and changing and trying to do things. I think, more
than anything else, we haven't been able to put together 40-minute
games.
"We've had stretches
where we let games get away from us really quickly. We'd be right in
the game and all of a sudden there would be a 15-0 run. ... The game
got away from us. We haven't had those big, gigantic runs here like
we had early in the season. We've been able to stop the bleeding.
Get a stop. Get a bucket. Get to the foul line, some things that you
need to do to stop those runs. That's been really helpful here in
the last couple of games.
Caleb White's status
Not only has Caleb White
not been a factor in wins over Memphis and Temple, he hasn't been
involved in full-scale practice prior to those games. White is
averaging 12.1 points per game.
Ironically, he could be
the additional scorer the Pirates have been looking for if Barkley,
Tyson and Prince Williams continue producing on the scale of recent
outings.
"He's coming off a
concussion," Lebo said Thursday. "He wasn't cleared for Memphis. He
hasn't practiced, full-go, with any contact. He was cleared right
before the (Temple) game on game day. We put him in for a few
minutes but really it wasn't fair for him to expect that he was
going to be productive because he hadn't practiced any kind of
full-go for a week.
"These next two days are
going to be important for him to get back into full practice, get
the feel and the timing back. We're going to need him. We can't play
our backcourt 40 minutes every night. We're playing a short bench.
We need to get him back so we can rest some guys a little bit. He's
a good player for us. Obviously, he's our second leading scorer. We
need to get him back in the groove of things."
Additional
scholarship available
Guilmette's situation
frees up a scholarship for next year. Lebo said ECU likely would
sign another player before next season.
The Pirates already were
pleased with an incoming class that includes 6-7 Elijah Hughes and
6-2 Shawn Williams.
"I think we've got two
good ones there," Lebo said. "Shawn Williams is a dynamic, flashy,
quick, one-on-one, scoring point guard that can beat you off the
dribble. He can score in a variety of ways. He can shoot it, pass
it. He's got great speed with it."
Williams is having a
solid season with Maumelle, a 5-A program in Arkansas. He is
averaging 19.3 points and is the leading scorer for the Hornets,
coached by Michael Shook. Williams is making 50 percent of his field
goal attempts. He has hit 47 of 114 behind the 3-point line (41
percent) while averaging 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals.
Maumelle is rated No. 18
in Arkansas by MaxPreps.
Hughes is playing for
South Kent (CT) Prep.
"Elijah Hughes has got
size for position," Lebo said. "He can play multiple spots. He can
really shoot the ball. ... He can stretch the defense. He plays for
a really good team at South Kent. He was a really good get for us.
You're looking a guy who can handle, pass, shoot it. We think he's
going to be a fine player in the American."
South Kent coach Kelvin
Jefferson has sent players to a number of high-level Division I
programs and the NBA.
"Elijah is a breath of
fresh air," Jefferson said. "He is a special person on the court and
off the court. As a basketball player, he brings everything to the
table. He brings little things that a lot of players aren't excited
to do like diving for loose balls and taking charges. ... At the
same time, he's a deadly 3-point shooter. He's a high-level athlete.
He's just a great kid and a great competitor and a great teammate.
We're real excited to have him. He's become a primary scorer for
us."
Jefferson said Hughes
was averaging close to 20 points per game.
The South Kent coach
said his program's schedule probably would allow Hughes to attend
ECU's game at Connecticut on Feb. 7.
Houston visits
In the meantime, the
Pirates host Houston (14-8, 4-4 AAC) on Saturday at noon.
Four players are
averaging in double figures for the Cougars, led by sophomore guard
Rob Gray Jr. at 16.6. Houston is averaging 77.7 points per game.
Oregon transfer Damyean
Dotson is averaging 11.6 points and Purdue transplant Ronnie Johnson
is scoring at a 10.5 rate.
"They can score," Lebo
said. "They've got a lot of transfers from high majors that can flat
out score the ball. They're not gigantic but they're a really good
offensive rebounding team. They're really quick. They're really fast
at a lot of spots. They can really shoot it from a variety of
positions, too. They get you all spread out and they can drive it.
We've got our work cut out to be able to play because of their
ability to spread the floor, beat you off the bounce and offensive
rebound."
Going for three in a
row
The Pirates are bidding
for their third straight AAC win. The last time the Pirates won
three in a row in league play was Feb. 27, 2014 when
a 75-68 Conference USA win over Charlotte
followed victories
over Rice and
Louisiana Tech.
ECU also won three
straight in C-USA under Lebo during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Coaching history
Lebo is 97-91 with the
Pirates in his sixth season. Only Tom Quinn, who was 102-107 in
eight seasons from 1966-67 to 1973-74, has more wins since East
Carolina became a Division I program.
Howard Porter was
182-102 with the Pirates in 12 seasons from 1947-48 through 1958-59
when East Carolina competed as a small college.
Porter's first win came
on the road, 50-32, against the Goldsboro All-Stars. The Pirates
split with the Duke junior varsity during the 1947-48 campaign.
