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There were 11 football recruits on the East Carolina campus
this weekend, including five from the state of Florida, as national signing
date approaches on Wednesday.
The Pirates are expected to get commitments from defensive
back Erode Jean of Fort Pierce Westwood and tight end Emanuel Levell of
Miami from this weekend’s group.
Defensive end Brandon Jones of Hialeah-Miami Lakes High
School also visited this weekend and may become a Pirate as well.
ECU coach John Thompson is expecting to sign the NCAA limit
of 25 players, with three already on campus as non-qualifiers last year
included in that total. That group, which has spent this year working on
academic standing, includes defensive lineman Shauntae Hunt of Warren
County, defensive lineman Eric Terry of Richmond County and wide receiver
Iverick Harris of Burlington Cummings.
That will give ECU 10 in-state players, a number which may
lead Division I schools in the state of North Carolina.
Thompson said he wasn’t sure if ECU would sign a full class
but says the situation has changed.
“We’re going to have to turn down some good players,” he
said Saturday.
Honors for ECU grads
Two East Carolina alumni have been named to the North
Carolina Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame, Roger Thrift and Hilda
Worthington.
Thrift was athletic director at New Bern for 20 years. He
was a standout in football for the Pirates in 1949-50 and was inducted into
the ECU Hall of Fame in 1977.
Worthington is a native of Calhoun, Ga., who graduated from
East Carolina in 1960. She was athletic director at Farmville Central for 17
years, one of the first women to serve in that capacity. She also coached
the Jaguars girls basketball team to over 300 wins and two state runner-up
finishes.
Coach ‘Shank’ to Bearcats
Steve Shankweiler, who spent a total of 10 seasons as
offensive line coach at ECU from 1987-91 and then the last five seasons,
will be coaching the offensive line at Cincinnati. Bearcats coach Rick
Minter officially welcomed Shankweiler to his staff last week.
“He boasts the combination of maturity and experience that
will be important to help develop what is generally a young offensive line
unit,” Minter said of Shankweiler in a news release. “He has worked in
Conference USA for the last five years which will give him an understanding
of the defenses we will face.
“He has also worked with Rusty Burns (UC offensive
coordinator) before which will allow him to shorten the usual period of
adjustment that most new staff members go through.”
Shankweiler’s son, Kort, a former standout at Greenville
Rose and a redshirt freshman quarterback at ECU last season, will apparently
remain in the Pirates program.
In another move involving a former ECU assistant, Duke has
added Don Yanowsky, the Pirates' defensive line coach last season, to the
Blue Devils staff.
Carolinas hoops pecking order gets shakeup
That was an impressive wave of humanity that swept over the
court at the Leon County Civic Center on Sunday night after Florida State
knocked off Duke 75-70. The Blue Devils have also been swept out of the top
spot in the rankings of Division I programs in the Carolinas, the first time
it seems in the two seasons of the poll on Bonesville.net. Duke drops to
second behind Wake Forest, 5-2 in the ACC, after the Blue Devils dropped to
4-3 in the league.
Wake Forest (15-2, 5-2 ACC) ... Josh Howard scored a career high 32
points that included the go-ahead three-point play with 21 seconds left in
Chapel Hill as the Deacons topped North Carolina 79-75 for their second
straight ACC road win after winning 81-60 at Clemson on Tuesday. Wake beat
UNC for a third straight time, which hadn’t happened since 1971. Wake
hosts N.C. State at 7 p.m. on Thursday and will be at Marquette for a 1:30
p.m. game on Sunday.
Duke (14-3, 4-3 ACC) ... The rally in Tallahassee came up short for
the Blue Devils, who lost for the second straight year at Florida State.
It was the third straight road loss for Duke, which got 16 points from
freshman J.J. Redick. The Devils were coming off of an 80-60 home win over
Butler but allowed the Seminoles to hit 60 percent from the field. It’s
back to Cameron Indoor Stadium for games this week at 9 p.m. on Wednesday
against North Carolina and at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday against Clemson.
N.C. State (12-5, 5-2 ACC) ... Julius Hodge scored 20 points as the
Wolfpack came back from a 75-60 loss at Maryland on Thursday night to whip
visiting Clemson 78-56 on Sunday afternoon. Hodge is averaging 19.1 points
and 6.4 rebounds, both team highs. The Wolfpack visits Wake Forest at 7
p.m. on Thursday and plays at Virginia at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
UNC Wilmington (13-5, 7-2 Colonial) ... Brett Blizzard’s 23 points led
the Seahawks to a 77-56 win over Drexel in Wilmington on Saturday after
UNCW had taken a 70-58 loss at George Mason on Monday. Blizzard is
averaging 21.1 points while hitting 81.3 percent of his free throws and
46.5 percent of his threes. James Madison comes to Trask Coliseum at 7
p.m. on Wednesday and Delaware will be coming in for a 7 p.m. tip on
Saturday.
North Carolina (11-9, 2-5 ACC) ... The Tar Heels lost their fourth
straight, 79-75, at home to Wake Forest on Sunday night despite 22 points
from Jawad Williams, who led five UNC players into double figures. The
Heels visit Duke at 9 p.m. on Wednesday and host Florida State at 1 p.m.
on Saturday.
Charlotte (8-10, 3-4 C-USA) ... The 49ers led by 15 points on the road
in the second half before South Florida came back for a 67-64 win on
Saturday. UNCC guard Demon Brown hit 8 of his 19 attempts from behind the
arc and had 25 points but he missed a desperation try to tie in the final
seconds. Charlotte steps out of the league to play at Valparaiso at 8:05
p.m. on Tuesday and visits DePaul at noon on Saturday.
Clemson (11-6, 1-6 ACC) ... The Tigers continued to tumble with a
78-56 loss at N.C. State on Sunday, the fourth straight setback for Coach
Larry Shyatt’s club and the sixth in eight games since a 9-0 start. Edward
Scott had 12 points against the Pack and is averaging 16.9. Georgia Tech
visits Clemson at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and the Tigers play at Duke at 6:30
p.m. on Sunday.
Appalachian State (14-5, 7-1 Southern) ... The Mountaineers regrouped
from an 88-82 loss at Gardner-Webb to turn back The Citadel 75-65 on
Saturday as Chris McFarland led ASU with 16 points. Rival Western Carolina
is in Boone tonight for a 7 p.m. tipoff and the Apps play at noon on
Saturday at Davidson.
College of Charleston (16-5, 6-2 Southern) ... The Cougars, coached by
Tom Herrion, brother of ECU coach Bill Herrion, got 24 points from Troy
Wheeless of Bunn, N.C., in an 84-79 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday.
The Cougars take a 5-game winning streak into a 7 p.m. home game with UNC
Greensboro tonight and visit Furman at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
East Carolina (11-8, 2-6 C-USA) ... The Pirates are 0-12 on the road
over two seasons in Conference USA after a 67-56 loss at Tulane on
Saturday in which Erroyl Bing and Travis Holcomb-Faye had 10 points each.
Mystifying stat of the day — Gabriel Mikulas, who is hitting 81.6 percent
of his free throws, was one for five at the line. ECU only committed seven
turnovers but was outshot and outrebounded by the Green Wave. The Pirates
try to end their road futility at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Memphis, then it’s
thankfully back home to host Southern Miss at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The Not-So-Sweet 17
11. South Carolina
12. Davidson
13. Wofford
14. Charleston Southern
15. Winthrop
16. South Carolina State
17. Coastal Carolina
18. Furman
19. UNC Asheville
20. UNC Greensboro
21. The Citadel
22. Western Carolina
23. Gardner-Webb
24. Elon
25. High Point
26. Campbell
27. N.C. A&T
