TEST TIME: Pirates look to regain edge against struggling Spartans

East Carolina, UNC Greensboro resume play after exam week

Following a week off for exams, the East Carolina men’s basketball team will return to the court on Saturday night when it hosts in-state rival and Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m.

All in all, second-year Pirates’ coach Mack McCarthy has to be pleased with the progress that his young team has shown through its first eight games. East Carolina has shot the basketball well (47.3%), limited turnovers (12 p/g) while sharing the ball very well (19 assists p/g), overcome double-digit deficits and won on the road.

The senior backcourt combination of Sam Hinnant and James Legan has lived up to its high expectations while producing nearly half of the scoring load. The duo has taken 40 percent of the team’s shots. Either Hinnant or Legan has led ECU in scoring in every contest. Legan, who has four 20-point games, has done so five times while Hinnant has on three occasions.

Senior Sam Hinnant, who is the only fourth year senior on the team, leads the Pirates with his 17.4 points per game average. He has done so despite only shooting just over 39 percent from the floor—including 30 percent from behind the arc. While he has taken 14 more shots than anyone on the team, his newfound ability to get to the free throw line has allowed him to continue to score at such a rate. Hinnant has already shot 49 free throws this year after only shooting 63 all last season. He also averages 4.6 rebounds and nearly four assists per game.

Legan, who shoots 46.8 percent from long range, leads the team with 29 three-pointers and is second on the team with his 15.8 points per game.

Inexperienced big men Chad Wynn and Darrius Morrow have been fairly steady forces in a frontcourt lacking depth.

Morrow, who is playing nearly 27 minutes per game as a true freshman, has already produced three double-doubles. He is third on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and first in rebounding (8.4). However, he must continue to work on his free throw shooting. He has a smooth looking stroke, but has only made 25 of his 48 attempts.

Chad Wynn, a 6’10” sophomore, missed the Limestone game due to sickness, but the center from Atlanta is posting nine points and four boards in 18 minutes. He has swatted a team-high nine shots.

Sophomore point guard Brock Young has done a tremendous job of directing the attack. Young, who averages 9.5 points and eight assists, became only the second player in Pirate history to record two double doubles via the points and assist route when he did so against UNC Wilmington. He also leads the team with 14 steals.

However, while ECU (7-1) has passed most of its on-court exams to date with flying colors, it didn’t handle its most recent one against Division II Limestone nearly as well. The Pirates’ margin of victory was 26, but their veteran coach knows that their mental approach and performance must be more consistent as the schedule is going to get much more difficult over the coming weeks. McCarthy knows his team, which features only ten scholarship players, is neither talented nor deep enough to overcome such a lack of focus against most opponents.

UNCG has struggled to a 1-5 start under fourth-year coach Mike Dement. Dement, who is an ’76 alum of East Carolina, is in his second stint at the school after having also led the program from 1991 to 1995. His team’s lone win was a 90-78 win over Webber International, an NAIA school from Florida. Four of the Spartans’ five losses have been by 13 points or more.

The Spartans, who also only have ten scholarship players, were hit heavily by graduation. They lost the trio of Kyle Hines, Dwayne Jackson and Kevin Oleksiak, which produced 3,466 points, 1,664 rebounds and 430 steals last season. Each player had started more than 100 games in their UNCG careers.

Thus, Dement has spent much of this season toying with his line-up while trying to find the right rotations. How much so? Nine different players have started at some point. All ten scholarship players saw action in the first eight minutes of the first two games.

They have been offensively challenged having only shot 37.9 percent while scoring just over 62 points per game. They’ve only connected on 28.5 percent of their three-pointers. Only four players have hit from deep at all, but a mere two of those have knocked down more than five trifectas. Not only are the Spartans shots not following, but they’re not getting as many as they’re committing slightly over 18 turnovers per contest.

Mikko Koivisto, a 6’4” junior forward, provides nearly a quarter of UNCG’s offense. Koivisto, who has hit a three-pointer in 30 straight games, averages 14.5 points. He shoots 37 percent (16-43) from three and 94 percent (15-16) from the line.

The most minutes on the team are logged by Ben Stywall. Stywall, a 6’5” forward, averages 8.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. He posted a double double with 13 points and ten rebounds the last time out versus College of Charleston.

Guards Landon Clement and Kendall Toney are also threats. Clement has knocked down 12 triples while Toney had 16 points and eight boards against NC State.

Forwards Elhanan Bone (6’8”, 220) and Damian Eargle (6’7”, 200) average around six points and five boards apiece. Eargle leads the team with eight blocks.

In addition to Coach Mike Dement, there are other Greenville and East Carolina ties with this Spartans’ team. Junior guard Montel Smith hails from Greenville while guard Brandon Evans, who is sitting out this season after transferring, played for ECU the past two years.

Final Prediction & Analysis
After its performance against Limestone, expect East Carolina—even after the week layoff for exams—to come back with a renewed approach and better focus. With their offensive firepower and the homecourt advantage, the Pirates will be too much for UNCG. Hinnant, Legan and Morrow will reach double figures again as the Pirates will move to 8-1 overall and 6-1 at home.

East Carolina 78 - UNC Greensboro 61