East Carolina Basketball Notebook

Thursday, November 27, 2007

Fields did not have to shoulder the entire load down low, as Blair continues to establish himself as a steady force. Blair, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, logged another double double and has now led the Pirates in rebounding in all but two games.

The Pirates’ primary problem was the inability to convert from the perimeter when UNCW collapsed on Fields and Blair on the interior. Junior Sam Hinnant, who leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game, was only able to total five points after putting up 30 versus NC State two weeks prior. He combined with Cory Farmer to shoot a dismal 1-of-15 from the floor, which shows just how dominant Fields’ game was in the post.

The Pirates will look to improve to 5-6 overall when they host Lee University (TN) at Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum on Saturday night.

As a team, East Carolina must execute better down the stretch. It had trimmed UNCW’s lead from ten to one, but proceeded to turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions—failing to capitalize on a golden opportunity to assume the advantage in the contest.

Despite a poor shooting night from behind the arc (4-of-16) and from the charity stripe (13-of-21), the Pirates still had a shot to send the game to overtime. The Seahawks shot 50 percent from the floor and from deep. They also made good on 14 of their 17 free throw attempts.

Lee University (9-0), which is located in Cleveland, TN, enters the game ranked eighth in the latest NAIA poll. The Flames have not played an actual game in three weeks, but they did take a Christmas trip to Hawaii where they faced Division II powers Hawaii-Hilo and Chaminade in exhibition contests on December 15th and 17th. They held their own with those clubs, losing 84-72 to Hilo and 92-91 to the Silverswords.

The Flames appear to play a fast and furious brand of basketball. They average 89.3 points per game while only giving up 66.8. Lee also shoots the basketball very well, as it connecting on nearly 50 percent (49.4) of its attempts from the floor. Third-year coach Tommy Brown’s club also hits 38.6 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, they limit the opposition to 37 percent from the floor while forcing 20 miscues per game. The Flames outrebound their opponents by nearly 11 boards per contest.

Lee is a deep team. Nine Flames play at least 17.5 minutes per contest while seven are over 20 and only one plays more than 23. Each of these nine players has started at some point during the season.

The lone player to start every game is guard Brad Harris (6’3, 180). Harris, who plays a team high 28.5 minutes, leads the team in scoring with his 13.8 average and also shoots 90 percent (27-of-30) from the free throw line.

Harris is one of four Flames that scores in double figures. Freddie Williams (6’2, 195) shoots 52.4 percent from the floor and is second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg). Kellen Pickel (6’2, 180) is the team’s top three-point threat, as he shoots 40.9 percent (18-of-44) from deep.

6’5, 230-pound forward Joe Fulp is the team’s top inside threat. Fulp shoots 60.6 percent (40-of-66) from the floor and also pulls down the third most rebounds (4.7) on the team. Paco Diaw, who stands 6’6 and 200 pounds, and Harold Griffin (6’7, 245) also provide significant help on the inside. Diaw averages eight points and nearly eight rebounds per game. Griffin puts up 7.8 points and 6.1 boards.

Keys to Victory for ECU

1. Extinguish the Flames’ fire early - Lee University has won 24 and 22 games the past two seasons and is yet to lose this year. While they have not faced an NCAA Division I opponent yet, they likely won’t be intimidated—especially since the students won’t be in town. Therefore, it is critical that the Pirates get off to a quick start and not allow the Flames to hang around. In other words, they can ill-afford a repeat of the first 22 minutes of the North Carolina Wesleyan contest.
2. Battle on the boards - East Carolina has had some issues rebounding against your undersized, but quick teams this year. It allowed NC Wesleyan to grab 18 offensive boards and can’t allow that many second chances to a good shooting team like Lee.
3. Establish the inside-out game - Against UNCW, Fields and Blair combined for 39 points in the post. However, the perimeter game failed to take advantage. Hinnant and Farmer need to rebound after such a poor outing versus the Seahawks. If they don’t, don’t be surprised to see rifleman James Legan log more minutes off the bench.

Final ECU Prediction & Analysis

This marks the first of three very winnable—if not should win—home games for McCarthy’s club and it can ill-afford to slip up after making considerable strides. Lee is capable of pulling off the upset so don’t be surprised if they hang around for awhile. However, if ECU does what it should then it will collect its 27th consecutive victory over non-Division I competition.

East Carolina 87 - Lee 70