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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
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By Brian Bailey |
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Another long night on the road
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Bonesville Magazine
WHERE TO BUY... |
• PAT DYE: Short on Tenure, Long on Impact
• INSIDE PIRATE FOOTBALL
• Recruit Profiles
• Rookie Books
• Tracking the Classes
• Florida Pipeline
• NCHSAA & ECU: Smooth Sailing Again
• HIGH HOPES FOR HOOPS
• STEVE BALLARD:
New Leader Takes Charge
• SCOTT COWEN: Busting Down the Door
• KEITH LECLAIR on ECU's Field of Dreams
• BETH GRANT: Actress Still a Pirate
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©2004 Bonesville.net
It wasn’t quite the debacle that the Gardner-Webb game was, but you had
better believe that it still has Bill Herrion and his staff scratching their
heads.
East Carolina went back on the road and lost a game in which the Pirates
had the better talent.
Talent doesn’t get it done on the road. It takes more, and the Pirates
are still in search of that “more."
Western Carolina had it on Tuesday night. The Catamounts slipped by ECU
77-72 in overtime.
The same East Carolina team that pounded Pepperdine and slipped by Oregon
State has yet to make a winning road trip for Coach Herrion.
That BCA Tournament team overcame all obstacles in picking up two key
wins in this early season.
Maybe it is the team’s youth. This IS a very young, but talented team.
Blame it on inexperience, if you will, but you get the feeling that Coach
Herrion’s patience is wearing thin.
Herrion expressed that frustration when he talked with the Pirate Sports
Network after last night's loss.
“We just have to do a much better job of containing the basketball,”
Herrion said. “We just didn’t have any answers in the game.”
Moussa Badiane led the Pirates with 17 points, while ECU's go-to guard,
Mike Cook, struggled on 6-25 shooting from the field.
“Too many shots,” Herrion said. “We have to do a better job in shot
selection.”
Cook had a chance to win the game in regulation. Coach Herrion liked the
opportunity, but the shot wouldn’t go down.
“Mike had a great look at the end of regulation,” Herrion said. “It went
off the back of the rim. But really, you have to make that shot.”
Herrion agreed with my assessment of getting “more.”
“The bottom line is that you have to make plays to win,” Herrion said.
“They made the plays and that’s what you have to do.”
Herrion and the Pirates now head to a crucial part of the non-conference
schedule.
Old Dominion comes to town on Sunday followed by Winthrop the following
Friday. Then, it’s a trip to Mobile to play South Carolina, followed by a
trip to Clemson.
By the way, the Conference USA slate begins on January 5th and includes
the likes of Cincinnati, Louisville, Charlotte, Memphis and Marquette.
“This is a very disappointing loss,” conceded Herrion. “It is really
tough and now we’ve got a tough part of the schedule to get through.
"I really hope that our fans will still get behind this team. We need to
get some rest and get back in the gym. We’ve got plenty of work to do.”
I agree. It’s a definite work in progress. However, this team does have
talent and it will develop.
One night, this team will have you howling from the rooftops. The next
night you might be pulling your hair out.
Just ask Bill Herrion!
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:29:58 AM |
