Pirates open play in Paradise Jam with tenth-ranked Tennessee

East Carolina will play either DePaul or Northern Iowa in Saturday’s second round

East Carolina head coach Mack McCarthy knew it would likely be a slow, tough start in what he and the Pirates hope is another year of progress toward their goal of building a winning program in Greenville.

However, the start has been even slower than perhaps even the veteran coach McCarthy had anticipated.

> Check out our East Carolina Pirates Snuggies online as well as other Collegiate Snuggie Blankets!

After being forced to bust open a one-point contest with NAIA opponent UVA Wise in the final eight minutes of the season opener, the Bucs were dominated in an 89-58 loss to a much bigger and talented Wake Forest team. Then, the Pirates’ struggles continued on Tuesday night when it fell 74-68 to in-state foe Campbell. The defeat was the first to the Camels in nearly a quarter century.

Offensively, ECU has received decent production on the interior. Darrius Morrow, Chad Wynn and DaQuan Joyner have played fairly well through the first three games. Morrow is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while Wynn is yielding 11.7 and 6.7. Joyner, who missed all but five games of last season, is producing 7 points and just over three boards in not quite 20 minutes of action per night.

While improved, the frontcourt isn’t good enough to shoulder the load that the Pirates are placing on it. The transition and perimeter games have produced essentially nothing the last two contests. ECU is shooting just 21 percent (10-of-47) from behind the arc. Scoring opportunities for the Pirates have been limited due to committing more than 20 turnovers in each of the first three games.

Brock Young, the team’s leading scorer with 16 points per contest, is averaging nearly five assists. However, he’s also turning it over five times per game and had a career-high nine miscues in the loss to Campbell. That unusually large number was partially the result of poor movement by Young’s teammates, which led to the junior point guard having to force the issue in attempts to score.

Junior Jontae Sherrod is averaging 9.3 points per game, but needs to continue to put a harness on his sometime out of control game.

The biggest disappointment to date has been the play of junior Jamar Abrams. Abrams was expected to be with Young and Morrow as one of the team’s scoring leaders, but he didn’t scratch against Wake Forest and Campbell. Lack of production and foul trouble has caused Abrams to play just 21 minutes per game. The inconsistent, but explosive player desperately needs to play as he is capable if the Pirates are going to have a chance to compete in the Paradise Jam and beyond.

The Pirates performance must improve quickly as the schedule will get no easier. They take on No. 10 Tennessee in round one in the Virgin Islands and will play either Big East foe DePaul or a perennially strong Northern Iowa program on day two.

Bruce Pearl’s Vols have won their first two games in blowouts. They defeated in-state foe Austin Peay, 83-54, in the opener and put a 75-point hurting—124-49—on UNC-Asheville on Tuesday night.

Tennessee is led by 6’7” sophomore guard Scotty Hopson. Hopson is averaging 20.5 points in just 23.5 minutes. He has knocked down 10-of-13 three-point attempts.

Cameron Tatum, Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and Renaldo Woolridge are also scoring in double figures for a team that has 11 players averaging 12 or more minutes per contest due to the two lopsided victories.

UT has forced 48 turnovers in its first two games and knocked down 16 three’s en route to scoring a school-record 124 points versus UNCA.

The much more talented, longer and deeper Vols won’t get much of a challenge from an East Carolina club that is struggling to value the ball and score from the perimeter. It’s possible for the Pirates to play their best game to date and still lose this one by 30-plus.

Tennessee 95 East Carolina 59