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Stokes gets the call to
reverse Pirates' fortunes
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
East Carolina has turned
to South Carolina assistant Ricky Stokes to try to turn around a
basketball program with a long history of mediocrity.
Stokes, the former head
coach at Virginia Tech, played under East Carolina athletic director
Terry Holland at Virginia in the early 1980s.
He takes over a program
that didn't have a winning season in six years under Bill Herrion.
Herrion announced his
resignation last month, but coached through the end of the season.
Holland said his 5-foot-10
former player is the right choice for East Carolina, which has only two
NCAA tournament appearances in school history.
``Ricky has spent his
whole life proving that it does not matter what your size may be or what
other people think, as long as you believe in yourself and do things the
right way,'' Holland said at a news conference announcing the hiring.
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BONESVILLE BYTES
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Stokes' introductory press conference:
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Stokes wasted no time
assembling a staff, announcing immediately that former Chattanooga and
Virginia Commonwealth head coach Mack McCarthy will be his associate
head coach.
McCarthy coached the Mocs
to the round of 16 in the 1997 NCAA tournament.
The announcement came
during a break in the NIT schedule for South Carolina, which beat Miami
69-67 on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks next face the winner of the
Arizona State-UNLV matchup.
It was not immediately
clear whether Stokes would remain on the staff at South Carolina through
the end of the team's NIT run.
Stokes was an assistant to
South Carolina coach Dave Odom at Wake Forest from 1989-97, before
spending four seasons coaching the Hokies. He led Virginia Tech to a
46-69 record from 1999-03 before being replaced by Seth Greenberg.
Greenberg credited Stokes
for helping the Hokies transition from the Atlantic 10 to the Big East
Conference. Virginia Tech moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference this
season, and finished 8-8 in the league with several players recruited by
Stokes.
``There's no doubt that
the foundation Ricky laid has enabled us to enjoy the success we have
now,'' said Greenberg, who this week was named ACC coach of the year.
As a player at Virginia,
Stokes was part of Cavalier teams that played in four NCAA tournaments
and two Final Fours.
He began his coaching
career as a graduate assistant during the 1984-85 season, joining Odom
on Holland's staff.
Herrion's last team
finished 9-19, giving him a 70-98 record at the school.
Page updated:
02/23/07 10:56 AM
©2005
The Associated Press. All
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