Of all the criticisms that were aimed at former athletic director Jeff Compher — and there were plenty of them, to be sure — the loudest and most frequent usually dealt with his inability to connect with East Carolina's passionate fan base. It’s safe to say he wasn’t much of a people person, especially when compared to his predecessor Terry Holland. Compher’s disconnect … [Read more...]

Steve Shankweiler has been on the East Carolina coaching staff during some of the greatest seasons in program history. Shankweiler was at ECU in 1991 when ECU went 11-1 with a 37-34 Peach Bowl win over N.C. State. When the Pirates beat West Virginia, Duke, South Carolina, Miami of Florida, Houston, Cincinnati and the Wolfpack in 1999, Shankweiler was on staff. When ECU won … [Read more...]

If the East Carolina basketball team was trying to see how dramatically it could set the stage for another improbable Minges comeback, Wednesday night against Temple marked a major miscalculation. Despite heroics to close a seismic gap that formed in the game’s early minutes, the Pirates couldn’t sustain their comeback effort against a relaxed, efficient 14-3 Temple squad … [Read more...]

GREENVILLE — East Carolina could not overcome a sizable early deficit in an 85-74 American Athletic Conference loss to visiting Temple on Wednesday night. The Owls won for the seventh time in their last eight games in improving to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in the AAC. ECU (8-9, 1-4) fell behind 21-2 at the outset. The Pirates went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and … [Read more...]

I first saw Jayden Gardner in action last season in the high school Eastern Regional finals at Williams Arena. Gardner’s Heritage High School knocked off a very talented South Central squad, 61-55, in overtime to advance to the state 4A championship game. Gardner fouled out late in regulation with 21 points and 8 rebounds. He seemed comfortable and at ease in what would … [Read more...]