Three quarterbacks took turns as the running
game received emphasis during East Carolina's first scrimmage of spring
practice at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday.
The controlled scrimmage consisted of a series
of 10-play possessions and closed with goal line situations.
"I thought today went pretty well, especially
the way the weather cooperated with us," head coach Skip Holtz said. "We
ran about 135 plays, which was probably the most complete scrimmage we
have had since I have been here. In general terms, it was a good one but
it also showed that we are a very young team. One of our goals was for
everyone to have
an opportunity to get in and see some action and I think we accomplished
that."
Sophomores Rob Kass and Brett Clay and junior
Patrick Pinkney took turns guiding the Pirates' offensive unit during
the succession of series, which also employed a total of 15 ball
carriers and 13 pass receivers.
Senior tailback Chris Johnson, who spent the
second half of the 2006 campaign lined up as a slot receiver, accounted
for the game's only touchdown, rushing for a scrimmage-long 27-yarder on
his second attempt of the contest while splitting time with junior
Dominique Lindsay on the No. 1 offensive unit. Lindsay produced a pair
of 23-yard runs and was on the receiving end of a six-yard pass thrown
by Kass.
Kass guided ECU's top offense to a total of 11
first downs and helped convert six-of-10 third down situations. He also
completed his first four passes of the scrimmage, which included a
17-yard strike to sophomore Jamar Bryant on his second attempt of the
afternoon.
Pinkney recorded the longest completion of the
day, connecting with junior transfer Ricky Johnson on 23-yarder.
Clay led all quarterbacks in rushing with 20
yards on four carries.
Prosser announces two players leaving Deacs
Freshman forward Casey Crawford and sophomore
guard Shamaine "Joe" Dukes will leave the Wake Forest basketball program
at the conclusion of the spring semester, coach Skip Prosser has
confirmed.
Crawford and Dukes, both reserves this past
season, will transfer to other schools with hopes of continuing their
respective basketball careers. Neither has committed to another program
at this time.
Gophers bring in Tubby Smith to direct hoops
Minnesota has named Tubby Smith its new
basketball coach. Smith comes to Minnesota after having spent the past
10 seasons (1997-2007) as coach at Kentucky. During his tenure in
Lexington, Smith, 55, led the Wildcats to the 1998 national
championship, four “Elite Eight” appearances, five Southeastern
Conference titles, five SEC Tournament titles and six “Sweet Sixteen”
finishes.
March
23, 2007
East Carolina to stage first scrimmage today
East Carolina conducted a two-hour workout
Wednesday afternoon and completed preparations for its first official
intra-squad scrimmage today. The Pirates were off last week for spring
break and returned to practice Monday.
The session was ECU's seventh practice of the
spring period. Eight more workouts are scheduled, including two
scrimmages and the annual Purple-Gold spring game set for April 14.
"Right now, it's hard to see the big picture,"
ECU coach Skip Holtz said. "We haven't been real sharp or crisp since
getting back from the break. There's certainly talent and speed out
there but we're not a very good team. It's been difficult to put it
together because of our inexperience.
"There has been a lot of individual work done
and now we're starting to put the team aspect together which sometimes
is a slow process. The key will be for us to make that transition from
start to finish."
Hoosiers capture Pinehurst golf; ECU 12th
Indiana finished with a 16-over par 880 to claim
the team title at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate golf tournament. The
Hoosiers entered the final round tied with Michigan at 14-over par, but
carded a four-over par to capture the title. The Wolverines shot
nine-over on the final 18 holes.
East Carolina tallied a three-round total of 909
(306-296-307) to finish in 12th place at plus-45.
Dukie
McRoberts opts for NBA draft
Duke forward Josh McRoberts has declared himself
eligible for the 2007 NBA draft that will be held on June 28 in New York
City.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that he and
McRoberts' family concurred with the player's decision.
During his sophomore season, McRoberts was
Duke's second-leading scorer (13.0) while also leading the team in
rebounds (7.9 rpg.), blocks (2.5 bpg.) and field goal percentage (.502 –
164-of-327).
Burning couch gets former OSU student jail time
A former Ohio State student was sentenced to 21
days in jail for setting a couch on fire after the Ohio State-Texas
football game last fall.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told The
Lantern, the campus newspaper, that Jeffrey Peters moved the couch from
a porch onto Summit Street and then set fire to it. Peters entered a
guilty plea to criminal damaging.
March
22, 2007
Gov. Easley presents Yow with highest honor
North Carolina governor Mike Easley presented
legendary N.C. State women's basketball coach Kay Yow with the Laurel
Wreath Award, the state's highest sports recognition, prior to the
Wolfpack's 78-72 overtime win over Baylor in the second round of the
NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night.
Yow is a 1964 graduate of East Carolina,
majoring in English.
Heels football coach undergoing chemotherapy
North Carolina’s new head football coach Butch
Davis is taking a “business as usual’’ attitude about spring practice,
despite undergoing chemotherapy treatments to treat a cancerous growth
in his mouth, according to a report by Sammy Batten of the Fayetteville
Observer.
Davis, 55, had the growth removed from his gum
last month after a routine dental checkup in Cleveland where he resided
before taking the UNC job in November. Pathology tests at the Cleveland
Clinic revealed the growth to be non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Mountaineers send Wolfpack packing in NIT
West Virginia connected on a flurry of
three-point shots in the NIT quarterfinals on Tuesday night to end N.C.
State's season by a 71-66 margin in the NIT quarterfinals.
Hitting 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, senior Frank
Young scored 25 points and Alex Ruoff added 15, boosting West Virginia
(25-9) to its second win over the Wolfpack (20-16) this season before
11,215 vocal fans at West Virginia Coliseum.
The Mountaineers advance to the NIT semifinals
on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York against
Mississippi State, an 86-71 winner over Florida State.
March
21, 2007
Mathews, Mollenhauer earn national recognition
East Carolina relief pitcher Shane Mathews and
shortstop Dale Mollenhauer were named to the College Baseball Foundation
national honor roll on Monday after helping the No. 22 Pirates extend
their winning streak to nine games with sweeps of Radford and Michigan
last week.
Mathews struck out seven of the 11 batters he
faced in 2 2/3 innings and picked up his first win of the season as the
Pirates completed a doubleheader sweep of Michigan 3-2 in 12 innings
Saturday. Mollenhauer batted .412 (7-for-17) while helping the Pirates
to a perfect 4-0 week.
Texans on clock to match Giants' offer for Leach
Hoping to add a powerful lead blocker to their
revamped backfield, the New York Giants signed Houston Texans three-year
veteran fullback Vonta Leach to a restricted free agent offer sheet on
Monday.
The Texans will have seven days to match the
four-year offer sheet, which is worth a total of $8 million and includes
$1.6 million in guarantees.
If the Texans match the offer sheet, they will
assume the terms of the deal that the Giants negotiated with the former
East Carolina standout. If the Texans decline to match the offer sheet,
Leach will move on to the Giants.
Kansas aide named Redbirds hoops coach
Tim Jankovich was introduced as the new
basketball coach at Illinois State on Tuesday. Jankovich has been an
assistant at Kansas, which reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament
this past weekend.
He replaces Porter Moser, who was fired March 5
with a record of 51-67 over four years with the Redbirds, including
15-16 this year.
