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College Sports in the Carolinas

Don't miss Al Myatt's profile of ECU Chancellor Steven Ballard in the 2004 Bonesville Magazine.

View from the East Monday, December 20, 2004 By Al Myatt

Faltering Pirates face USC at home of the hex

©2004 Bonesville.net

East Carolina's basketball team traveled by bus and plane on Sunday to Mobile, Ala., a locale that inspires various trains of thought in relation to Pirate athletics.

ECU meets South Carolina in hoops at 7 p.m. as part of the Coors Basketball Doubleheader at the 10,000-seat Mitchell Center on the campus of South Alabama. The host Jaguars meet Southern Miss in the second game.

The basketball action is a prelude to the sixth annual GMAC Bowl, which this year sends Memphis (8-3) of Conference USA against Bowling Green (8-3) of the Mid-American Conference.

ECU was responsible for getting the Mobile bowl event off on the right foot by taking about 9,000 fans to the inaugural matchup with Texas Christian, a 28-14 win for the Horned Frogs, back in 1999. The Frogs had running back LaDanian Tomlinson, who has since established his credentials in the NFL.

This year's game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium could be the final collegiate hurrah for another outstanding back, junior DeAngelo Williams of the Tigers, whose presence caused The Sporting News to rate the game three remote controls (out of four) for watchability (as opposed to one remote for Thursday night's Fort Worth Bowl between Cincinnati and Marshall).

The Pirates returned to Mobile in 2001 for that agonizing 64-61 double-overtime loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl. Both starting quarterbacks in that high-scoring matchup, David Garrard of ECU and Byron Leftwich of the Thundering Herd, now play for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

ECU has never won a football game in the state of Alabama but the Pirate cagers will be looking for better fortune when they challenge the Gamecocks of former ECU coach Dave Odom tonight.

ECU is coming off a 70-55 home loss to Winthrop. Pirates coach Bill Herrion expressed disappointment in terms of some players' efforts after the loss dropped ECU to 4-4.

"It is a concern," Herrion said Sunday. "The thing that disappointed me — not taking anything away from Winthrop, they're a fine basketball team — was that I don't think our team played as hard as they typically do. That was real evident.

"I'm not saying that's true of every kid. (Corey) Rouse, (Japhet) McNeil and (Jonathan) Hart — some of the guys played hard. Some of our supposedly better players did not and that's an issue."

South Carolina is 5-2 after a 64-60 loss at Kansas on Saturday. Forward Carlos Powell leads the Gamecocks in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (6.1). Guard Tre' Kelley averages 11.1 for Odom's club and forward Tarence Kinsey has a 9.9 scoring average.

"It's probably better that we're playing somebody really good right now," Herrion said. "It's good that it's at a neutral site, but we kind of need to see where we are right now. South Carolina is very quick and athletic and they will probably press us. One thing Winthrop was able to do was force us into turnovers in the first half.

"When South Carolina presses, we've got to be able to handle the pressure. We've got to handle the ball and take care of the pressure."

ECU's 6-10 freshman Charles Bronson did not make the trip because of an academic issue that has kept him out of action for ECU's first eight games.

"We'll probably make a determination (on Bronson) right before Christmas," said the ECU coach.

Plans call for the Pirates to return to campus on Tuesday and have a practice that day. Then Herrion will allow the players to go home for Christmas. ECU doesn't play again until a Wednesday, Dec. 29 game at 7 p.m. at Clemson.

Former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney was scheduled to speak at a Fellowship of Christian athletes breakfast in Mobile today. Former Georgia Tech hoops coach Bobby Cremins, who now does color commentary for South Carolina games, will be the guest speaker at a luncheon today.

The GMAC Bowl will be played on Wednesday night, which is exactly five years ago to the day of ECU's first bowl appearance in Mobile. Guest speakers that year included Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer and major league baseball career hits leader Pete Rose.

Fulmer was a candidate for the coaching position at ECU in 1992 when Steve Logan got the job. Rose told media at the Mobile Bowl in 1999 in no uncertain terms that he had not bet on baseball.

Fulmer has turned out to be a pretty good head coach in his own right at Tennessee and Rose, of course, recanted on his no-betting claim.

ECU needs a change, too, in terms of its basketball effort. Tonight would be a good time to start.

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02/23/2007 12:47:05 AM
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