Bill Herrion is a victim of his own near success. That's one explanation for any outcry that may exist over East Carolina's disappointment on the hardwood this season.

Over the past three years, the Pirates coach sparked more optimism for ECU than previously had existed in its lackluster hoops history. He did that by shifting the program's perception from a perennial doormat to one that could potentially compete in a power conference.

Where a split with William & Mary once marked a successful season, Herrion raised the bar by twice splitting with Marquette. The non-conference showdowns where the Pirates and Radford played down to the wire were replaced by blowouts that allowed Herrion to empty his bench.

Paradoxically, those were glory days of sorts for East Carolina basketball — a stretch where the Pirates never won more than five Conference USA games.

"It's been a lot of hard work, believe me," Herrion said back in November. "I think what's happened is, when I came here going on six years ago, we were in the Colonial Athletic Association. And I think when you are playing in the shadow of the ACC — with the ACC schools being right up the road — I don't know if our fans really respected the CAA.

"I've said this many times. I really think the CAA conference is probably one of the most underrated mid-major Division I basketball conferences in the country. I think until we made the jump into Conference USA with all of our sports, particularly with our basketball program three years ago, I think that kind of opened our fans' eyes to 'big-time' basketball."

But after losses this season to Gardner-Webb, Western Carolina, Old Dominion and Winthrop, some would just as soon keep them closed.

After three seasons in C-USA, its natural for fans to expect the Pirates to easily dispose of that lineup of no-names. And truthfully, it's hard to generate a legitimate excuse for most of the losses ECU has endured this year.

To attribute the Pirates' misfortunes solely to youth would be missing the point. However, ECU's overwhelming lack of experience — especially at key positions — is a contributing factor that can't be overlooked.

More than anything, though, the Pirates are struggling because they refuse to embrace what Herrion preaches most — playing with desire and love for the game.

When Herrion arrived at East Carolina, he did so as a consistent winner who had elevated Drexel to where it was a postseason regular. For the most part, he accomplished that by developing blue-collar players who bought into the system and shared his passion for winning.

Aside from Malik Rose, Drexel wasn't a farm system for the NBA. East Carolina hasn't provided that luxury, either.

The overwhelming reason the Pirates have been somewhat competitive against teams with superior talent over the past three seasons is the relentless effort they put forth. On many occasions, Herrion was able to overcome his shortcomings in personnel with an astute game plan and a determined bunch that executed it.

But this year, the Herrion has an awkward combination of players that lack seasoning and the desire to go the extra mile. The perfect example is guard Mike Cook, whose tremendous upside is undermined by his lack of discipline and a tendency to overlook getting his teammates involved.

Bottom line, finding players who are both talented and coachable is quite a challenge when you work for ECU.

The question here isn't whether Herrion can survive in East Carolina's hoops climate. At this stage, you can't help but wonder if anyone can.

Simply stated, East Carolina is one of the more difficult jobs in the country. The Pirates have no tradition on which to fall back and more neighborhood bullies than a schoolyard in the Bronx.

Anyone short of Bob Knight or Mike Krzyzewski likely would struggle to build a consistent winner at the highest level in Greenville.

Joe Dooley came the closest in recent memory, but he was ushered out the door just as the program seemed poised to finally make that next step up the ladder.

No question, Herrion at some point will have to finish a season with substantially more wins than losses to gain long-term security.

Barring a miracle, it won't happen this year.

But if he can hang on for one more season, he should find smoother sailing in a trimmed down C-USA.