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� SPORTBYTE� � |
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"Ninety feet
between home plate
and first base may
be the closest man
has ever come to
perfection." �
Red Smith,
sportswriter [Archives] |
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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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More... |
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Next:
Temple at ECU |
Wed., 7 pm | TV:
ESPN3 |
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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.
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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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BASKETBALL |
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Tulsa shoots past Pirates |
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GREENVILLE � Tulsa closed the first half on
an 18-6 run and went on to take an 84-69
American Athletic Conference win at East
Carolina on Tuesday night. The spree lifted
the Golden Hurricane from a 31-24 deficit
with five minutes left in the first period
to a 42-37 lead at the break.
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More... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Road not getting any easier |
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 East
Carolina's basketball season
continued its downward spiral over
the weekend with a blowout loss at
Central Florida in Orlando. The
Pirates, so competitive in the
matchup between the teams in
Greenville, had no answer for the
Knights' inside game ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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By
Brian Bailey
�2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE
ALPHA VERSION OF THIS PAGE
We had our first sign of snow this past
week. It must be baseball season at East Carolina.
The Pirates will practice for the first time this Friday. The defending
American Athletic Conference champions will open the regular season on
February 19th, hosting Longwood for the first time.
Pirate coach Cliff Godwin is especially excited to begin his second
season as the ECU coach.
�The guys are really excited this time of year,� said Godwin at the
team�s annual media day. �Friday is our first day of practice. That�s
three weeks away from the home opener on February 19th, so guys are
fired up. They are ready to get out there and compete against each other
and get ready for the start of the season.�
Godwin spent a lot of his first year as head coach developing the
culture of his program. It was tough at times, trying to form the
nucleus of his program. The coach says guys have certainly bought in for
year two, and he�s as excited as the players to get things started.
�The past week has been the best individual workouts that I have ever
been associated with,� Godwin explained. �We have been inside a few
times. We actually had to go inside Saturday morning at 6 a.m. over at
Next Level. You always worry about those early morning practices. Are
you really going to get out of (it) what you need to get out of (it) but
our guys have been really focused and really on edge to get out there
and compete against each other.�
Godwin has a veteran squad returning. He is also welcoming several
talented newcomers and expects battles for positions and playing time to
be intense. Godwin also hopes his older players provide the leadership
his new Pirates need.
�I think the older guys, the 17 returners, have done a great job
transitioning the 17 newcomers into our program and into what our
expectations are on the field and off the field. It�s a unique group.
They have brought a lot of athleticism position player wise, a lot more
team speed, a lot more depth on the pitching staff. Last year this time
I was like, I don�t know if we�ll have enough pitchers to finish five
games but this year the newcomers have provided plenty of depth on the
mound.�
Godwin is consistent about pushing the theme.
�Culture wins," he proclaimed. "I will preach that until the day that
they tell me that I can�t coach here anymore. We believe in that. We
believe it 24-7 and our guys take pride in it.�
Godwin and the Pirates will host the 2016 Pirates Baseball Banquet on
February 6th. It�s a privilege for me to serve as emcee for the second
straight year. Former Pirate great Chad Tracy will be the featured
speaker. Tickets are on sale through the end of this week.
One of the items in the silent auction is a Carolina Panthers football
helmet signed by the 10 team members that made the Pro Bowl this season
for the NFC Champions. That list includes Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, and
Thomas Davis. That should be a great item for a Carolina Panthers fan!
Congrats to Pirate basketball
I was in Charlotte on Sunday for the Panthers' win over the Arizona
Cardinals in the NFC Championship game when I got a text from a friend
asking about Caleb White and why White wasn�t playing in ECU's game at
Memphis.
I sent a quick text saying that White was out with a concussion and that
the Pirates were so depleted by injuries that I didn�t like their
chances against the Tigers.
My friend texted back that the Pirates were up by nine at the half. I
immediately got the Panthers press box buzzing about the possibility of
an ECU upset.
Prince Williams hit four clutch free throws in the final seconds and the
Pirates
pulled off the stunner over Memphis, 84-83.
I saw Coach Jeff Lebo going into the post office and I told him
congratulations on the big win.
I said, �I don�t know how you did it!�
He shot back, �Neither do I!�
We shared a quick laugh and you could see the sense of relief on his
face.
He then quickly went back to thinking about the Pirates' next game as
ECU hosts the Temple Owls on Wednesday night.
All Temple did was upset previously unbeaten Southern Methodist over the
weekend.
It certainly doesn�t get any easier in the AAC.
BB
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:
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30
p.m. Brian's guest this week was
Carolina
Panthers
scout Robert Haines (right,