2007-2008 East Carolina Basketball Preview

Head Coach: Mack McCarthy (1st season)

Newcomers: C Chad Wynn (6-10, 230) (redshirted last season); G Brock Young (5-11, 165); G Jontae Sherrod (6-2, 175); G James Legan (6-3, 200) (JUCO transfer); SF Jamar Abrams (6-5, 180); PF Daquan Joyner (6-7, 215)

2007-2008 Projected CUSA Finish: 12th

All-Time NCAA Appearances: 2

All-Time NIT Appearances: 0

ECU Basketball Program History

East Carolina has essentially been a career .500 (921-922) program. However, a large majority of those wins came back in the 1950’s when the Pirates had their most successful run ever. From 1947-1959, they posted a 182-102 mark under coach Howard Porter.

In the modern era, ECU has struggled to post winning seasons muchless flirt with the post-season. The Pirates have had only seven winning seasons in the last 30 years. They have not only never won a regular season conference title, but have amazingly only finished above .500 in league play ONCE during that span.

One of the program’s largest claims to fame is Blue Edwards, who was a first round draft pick of the Utah Jazz back in 1989.

Sophomore Gabe Blair (pictured here shooting a free throw versus Morgan State last season) ranked third in CUSA in rebounding last season when he pulled down seven boards per contest.

Several coaches have tried to solve the Pirates’ basketball puzzle, but only former coaches Eddie Payne and Joe Dooley really experienced any degree of success and neither of them was in Greenville long enough to leave his stamp on the program.

However, there was some success had in the late 60’s and early to mid 70’s under coaches Tom Quinn and “General” Dave Patton. Quinn’s sixth ECU team reached the NCAA tournament in 1971-72 and dropped a 85-70 decision to Villanova.

In only his second season, the Eddie Payne-led Pirates used a late-season flurry to win the CAA Conference Tournament and record only the second NCAA berth in the program’s history. They followed that season with back-to-back winning seasons (15-12 and 18-11). After the 1994-95 campaign, Oregon State of the PAC-10 was able to lure Payne to Corvallis.

One of Payne’s assistant, Joe Dooley, would take over as the program’s head coach—becoming the youngest head coach in NCAA at the time as he was only 29 years old. Dooley led ECU to back-to-back 17-win seasons (17-11, 17-10), which gave him the highest win total ever (34) for a coach in his first two seasons. However, the injury plagued Pirates suffered a plethora of close losses over the next two seasons. After 10-17 and 13-14 finishes, new ECU AD Mike Hamrick for some unknown reason decided to “can” Dooley.

Hamrick hired successful Drexel coach Bill Herrion to take over. In Herrion’s first season, he inherited a team predicted to win the CAA title and finished dead last. In year two, which was also the Pirates’ final in the CAA, ECU finished with what would be its highest win total under Herrion. Having said that, the coach’s task became much tougher in the 2001-2002 season when the program entered the basketball strong Conference USA. However, it was the task that Herrion was hired to accomplish and he was able to deliver more than five league wins in his last four seasons. There were some flashes of brilliance, as the Pirates defeated #9 Marquette twice as well as the Rick Pitino-led Louisville Cardinals. These years also featured Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum becoming one of the top homecourt atmospheres in the league and Moussa Badiane passing Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin to become CUSA’s all-time leader in blocked shots with an eye-opening 314.

After six seasons and some academic issues toward the end, Herrion was let go by new Pirates’ atheltic director Terry Holland.

Holland then made a bit of a surprising hire when he chose Ricky Stokes to lead the program. Stokes, whose reputation was as more of a recruiter, and his staff did improve the Pirates’ academic success and the talent in the program.

2006-2007 East Carolina Basketball Review

Following an 8-20 season in the first year of the Ricky Stokes era, Stokes and his staff—in agreement with Terry Holland—decided that it would be best to essentially start from scratch. This verdict resulted in a major overhaul being performed on the Pirates’ roster prior to the 2006-2007 campaign.

When they opted to make such a severe roster shake-up, they knew that it might not necessarily mean immediate improvement for the program.

While the move will likely be validated in the long run, it certainly did not translate to success on the court last season as the East Carolina program failed to reach double figures in wins for a third consecutive season and the second straight under Stokes.

After opening the season with a 4-1 mark—albeit against a very light schedule—the Pirates proceeded to lose 23 of their next 25 games. During this stretch, ECU lost 20 games in a row versus Division I competition before finally breaking through with a last-minute 79-78 victory over UTEP on Courtney Captain’s Senior Night. Fittingly, Captain paced the Pirates with a fine 29-point performance and the Minges Maniacs rushed the floor to help send him out in style.

How bad was 2006-07? Well, the Pirates concluded it with a dismal 6-24 record—the program’s worst since finishing 4-24 in 1983-84. ECU only managed three wins—Morgan State, UNCG and UTEP—against Division I opponents.

However, it was not just that the Pirates were losing, but also how they looked in those losses. The entertainment value was very low and it was undoubtedly painful to watch most games.

While ECU’s problems range far and wide, a large percentage of their issues were the inability to shoot the basketball, a lack of depth and the lack of size on the interior.

The Pirates averaged CUSA-low 59.3 points per game and failed to reach the 50-point barrier in eight games. They shot only 39.7 percent from the floor (11 th in CUSA—believe it or not, Houston was lower at 39.4 percent). They were also 11 th in the league from behind the arc, as they would finish the year at 31.9 percent. Oh yeah, there were also free throws where ECU shot a miserable 57.8 percent—which certainly ranked last in the conference.

John Fields earned all-Freshman honors in CUSA, which meant ECU placed a player on the team for a fourth straight year. Ironically, Fields led CUSA in field goal percentage (62.4%) by connecting on 88 of his 141 shots while playing for the league’s worst shooting team. Fields also swatted 1.9 shots per game—ranking him 51 st nationally in blocks. Despite his success at center, Fields’ natural position is power forward.

A lack of size, reliance on perimeter shooting and the absence of a true swing man were reflected in the Pirates shooting nearly 130 less free throws than the opposition.

Due to its lack of depth, ECU struggled to hold competitive practices and it showed. Point guard Darrell Jenkins claimed that his team was so thin that he was even forced to against a team manager on occasions.

Stokes out, McCarthy in

When East Carolina hired Ricky Stokes in March of 2005, ECU Director of Athletics Terry Holland told the media that Mack McCarthy had also been considered as a possible replacement for Bill Herrion. Therefore, when he learned that he could hire the team of both Stokes and McCarthy he jumped at the opportunity. For whatever reason, Stokes was named the head man while McCarthy—the much more proven head coach—was named the associate head coach.

After two trying seasons and months of discussions following the end of the second, Holland opted to replace Stokes with McCarthy—at least on an interim basis.

Senior point guard Darrell Jenkins (seen here shooting a free throw against North Carolina Central last season) led CUSA in assists last year.

Ricky Stokes concluded his two-year stint in Greenville with a 14-44 mark and only nine wins over Division I foes. While the wins were few and far between, Stokes and his staff did lay the foundation for future success. The Pirates made significant academic progress and recruiting also improved as the staff placed an emphasis on signing in-state talent.

The Pirates’ top assistant, who has 16 years of head coaching experience at Chattanooga and VCU, was named to his role of Acting Head Coach on August 6 th after weeks of rumors regarding the move. Holland stated a decision regarding the future leadership of the program will be made at season’s end, but that Coach McCarthy has in essence been given a one-year contract with the opportunity to retain the position if adequate progress is shown.

McCarthy, 55, is the most proven head coach that East Carolina has ever hired. He has an all-time record of 309-177 and has led his teams to eight 20-win seasons.

During his 12 seasons at Chattanooga, McCarthy led the Mocs to five NCAA tournaments, two NIT bids and eight Southern Conference championships (regular season and tournament combined).

Following the 1996-1997 during which McCarthy led UTC to a berth in the Sweet Sixteen, he rejoined former Auburn coach Sonny Smith at Virginia Commonwealth where he became the heir apparent.

In four seasons in Richmond, he led the Rams program to a 68-55 mark. His final VCU team was his best, as it finished the 2001-2002 season with a 21-11 mark.

New Leadership

Head Coach Mack McCarthy is the only holdover from last season’s coaching staff. The new group of assistant coaches he has assembled possesses a wealth of experience and includes two former head coaches.

Director of Basketball Operations Mark Thompson, who played collegiately at Stetson, joined the program to replace the departed Jeremy Shyatt.

Darryl LeBarrie, who spent last season at Campbell, was also hired before McCarthy officially replaced Stokes. LeBarrie and McCarthy cultivated a relationship when the Pirates’ new head coach was an assistant women’s coach at Georgia Tech, as LeBarrie was a graduate assistant with the men’s program during that time.

Since McCarthy took over the reins of the program, he has hired Michael Perry and Larry Epperly.

Perry spent the past five seasons as the head coach at Georgia State University. Prior to that tour of duty, he spent five seasons at GSU as an assistant to legendary coach Lefty Driesell. He has also been an assistant at Virginia Union and his alma mater the University of Richmond.

Recently, the addition of former Division II Limestone College head coach Larry Epperly filled out McCarthy’s staff. Epperly was a head coach for 20 years on the Division II level when you take into account the time he was at Limestone and USC-Aiken. The newest Pirate assistant was also a Division I assistant at Ohio, VCU, Richmond and James Madison.

2007-2008 ECU Basketball Outlook

After a couple of very trying seasons under Ricky Stokes, the East Carolina players are happy to be getting what basically amounts to a fresh start this season.

The changing of the guard atop the Pirates program has placed a proven winner in charge and the Pirates are excited about what this change could bring.

"When I got the call, I was excited from Day One," senior point guard Darrell Jenkins said. "I was a little surprised, but at the same time, I was so frustrated with how the season went. I know it wasn't entirely Coach Stokes' fault. I know we had a lot to do with it. But it was a breath of fresh air to start new."

The Pirates will play a school-record 19 home games at Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum this season.  NC State and Clemson are among the teams that will be visiting.

New Head Coach Mack McCarthy mimics the thoughts of his senior point guard.

“The great thing is that we’re starting with a blank slate. It’s almost like the Patty LaBelle song ‘We got a new attitude.’ These kids do have a new attitude. They are competitive, hungry and have a positive outlook on the season.”

The Pirates do return four starters and eight lettermen from last year’s team, but they will also feature six new faces that will be expected to contribute significantly. In all, ECU’s roster includes 11 players that are in either their first or second year in the program.

However, these talented newcomers will add much needed depth—something that the Pirates’ really lacked a season ago. The new additions will not only contribute in the games, but they’ll also produce the necessary competition in practice.

“I think we have a deeper team. It is positive because we have more competition at each position. There is competition for playing time, earning starting status and just trying to improve. The past two years, we haven’t had a lot of competition at practice and it hasn’t been as much of a learning experience. But from day one this year, guys have gotten after each other. They have pushed each other in the individual workouts and that alone will make us a better basketball team.”

However, with youth comes a bigger learning curve and the Pirates’ new boss is changing up a few things to see that his team maximizes their learning opportunities.

The first step he is taking is to close practices this season.

“I want to give our players the best opportunity to be learn. We are going to be throwing a lot of new stuff at them so they do not need to be distracted. We do have some experienced returners but nine out of the 14 players are either freshmen or sophomores. That usually isn’t the formula for success but I want to give them every opportunity to earn that success. I want them to have my full attention and me to have theirs.”

Additionally, McCarthy and the Pirates took full advantage of their first week of official workouts by holding two-a-days since they did not have classes due to fall break.

East Carolina’s new head coach has been pleased with the attitude and approach of this team.

“I think the one thing that has impressed me as the fall has gone on is that they know hen to work and be serious but also when to have fun and relax. They have great camaraderie, great chemistry and a wonderful attitude. We are working to improve their work ethic and mental attitude and I stress it every day.”

McCarthy was given a lot of decision making power with the way the old staff was structured and therefore, there won’t be as much change as there would have been if an entirely new staff would have been hired.

However, there will undoubtedly be changes under the program’s new leader. These will be products of both the increased depth and philosophical differences.

To say the Pirates struggled on the offensive end of the floor last season would be an understatement. East Carolina only managed to score 59.3 points per game and shot less than 40 percent from the floor (39.7%).

Their lack of inside scoring presence’s forced them to consistently attempt to live and far too often die by their perimeter shooting. The lack of these interior scoring threats and the absence of a true slasher resulted in the Pirates shooting far less free throws than their opponents. However, when the Pirates did get there they didn’t convert—shooting a miserable 57.8 percent.

Last year, ECU also lacked the ability to play at a faster tempo—both offensively and defensively—due to its short bench.

However, this year’s depth and increased athleticism will allow the Pirates to shuffle players in and out—allowing them to “turn up the heat” defensively and get into more of a transition game on offensive. This does not necessarily mean full-court pressing on a regular basis, but simply getting up in people’s faces to force five-second counts, bad passes, etc. The two undeniably feed off each other and both should be much better this year as a result of numbers and the influx of talent.

As far as the wins and losses are concerned, McCarthy believes that will take care of itself if his young team is committed to getting better on a daily basis and stays in the process.

Thus far, he has been pleased with what he seen from his players with regard to their attitudes and efforts. However, we will truly find out when adversity hits.

“So far, the work ethic and attitude has been outstanding. We will have some bumps in the road and we will see how we respond to that. That is where mental and physical toughness comes in,” McCarthy stated.

Expect ECU to be tougher this season, as the players are simply tired of the losing and eager to prove the prognosticators and other doubters wrong.

“I don’t blame the Conference USA people for picking us last. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were ranked last. This year we have to have the mentality to go out there and prove people wrong. I know I have a chip on my shoulders and the players from last year have a chip on their shoulders. We are tired of getting laughed at; it is embarrassing for us. It has been a long spring and a long summer. I think we are just excited to get out there and prove people wrong. We are working hard and taking the correct steps to win.”

ECU Frontcourt

The front line was very young and very thin last season, as ECU was forced to start freshmen John Fields and Gabe Blair—who each played slightly over 27 minutes per contest. The duo performed pretty well given their youth and showed promise.

The fact that the tandem was thrown into the fire will only make the Pirates better in the post this season. This is particularly true when you consider they will have much more help with the addition of redshirt freshman Chad Wynn and true freshman DaQuan Joyner to the line-up.

Fields, whose natural position is power forward, was forced to play center last season. However, that did not keep the Fayetteville, NC-native from having a standout freshman campaign. He became the first freshman to lead CUSA in field goal percentage (62.4%) and also ranked second among the league’s freshman in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game. Fields also ranked 51 st nationally in blocks, swatting 1.9 per contest. Fields, who registered a lot of dunks last year, will need to extend his range as he will be playing more power forward this year with the addition of Wynn.

Although Gabe Blair wasn’t named to the CUSA All-Freshman team like John Fields, he had a productive first season in the purple and gold. He was the top freshman rebounder in CUSA, pulling down seven per game. However, improvement is needed on the offensive end where Blair averaged only 5.3 points. While Fields only connected on 61 of his 134 free throw attempts, Blair needs to get there more often like his teammate after only shooting 26 last year.

The biggest news along the front line will be the addition of a true big man in Chad Wynn. Wynn, who took the 2006-2007 season to acclimate himself to life as a student-athlete, has impressed his teammates with the “game” he brings to the table.

“Chad Wynn is going to be a great addition, which will allow me to play some of my natural positions. Wynn is going to be a dominant down low scorer, and I will be able to just feed off of him,” said John Fields.

The 6-10, 240-pounder from Atlanta really improved during his redshirt season and provides ECU with an agile big man with good range on his shot.

Former walk-on Taylor Gagnon, who has since earned a scholarship, returns for his senior season. The steady hometown product gives McCarthy a reliable player on his bench that can give the team ten to 12 solid minutes per game. Gagnon, who made good on 23 of his 29 attempts from the charity stripe last year, led the team in free throw percentage (79.3%).

ECU Backcourt

Last season, East Carolina was forced to rely heavily on its backcourt due its lack of experience and depth in the frontcourt. It took around 70 percent of the Pirates’ shots and that wasn’t a good thing with the group’s shooting woes.

This year, the frontcourt will be able to carry more of the scoring load and this will open up better looks for the ECU guards.

Coach Mack McCarthy does have the luxury of having a senior point guard to lead his club’s offense. After transferring from the College of Southern Idaho, Darrell Jenkins set an ECU single-season record in assists while leading Conference USA with 166 (5.3 per game). However, he does need to commit fewer turnovers after giving up the basketball 3.4 times per contest last year. “Smooch” was also the Pirates’ leading scorer in ‘06-’07, as he averaged 12.3 points per game. He should have, though, since he took over 20 percent of the team’s shots. He will need to shoot a better percentage this season, which should happen since this team shouldn’t be as challenged offensively.

Jenkins is not the only returning senior in the backcourt, as Cory Farmer who started 18 games last year returns. Farmer shot a team-high 34.5 percent from three-point range, connecting on 29 of his 84 attempts from deep. He finished last season averaging 6.8 points per contest and was tops on the team in steals with 32.

The Pirates will also benefit from having Sam Hinnant back in the rotation. Hinnant, who missed the final 16 games of last season with an injury, will look to return to and beyond the performance of his rookie year that earned him a spot on the All-CUSA freshman team. He averaged 10.3 points and knocked down nearly 2 trifectas per game that season. The junior also possesses the ability to put the ball on the floor and take it to the hoop.

ECU also returns sophomores Brandon Evans and Greyson Sargent.

Evans (6-2, 190) saw his role grow larger as last season wore on and played an average of 13.1 minutes in 26 contests. He averaged 3.5 points and two rebounds. He is very strong in the lower body and possesses the ability to take the ball to basket strongly.

Sargent (6-5, 180), a walk-on, played sparingly in his first season in the program—seeing minimal action in 15 contests. He is a tremendous three-point shooter and could see increased playing time this year in situations where a long-range threat is needed.

There will also be four newcomers—Jontae Sherrod, Brock Young, Jamar Abrams and James Legan—who are likely to see significant action.

Sherrod, who is a local product as he played his high school at nearby Tarboro HS, will likely open some eyes. The 6-2, 175-pounder is very athletic and has a nice outside shot. He also has a certain swagger about his game and seems to have the willingness to take a shot if need be.

Young, who was one of the best point guards in North Carolina high school competition last season, handles the ball nicely and should be able to relieve Jenkins at the point. He is an excellent passer with good court vision. Young also has the ability to play the two-guard, but needs to become more consistent with his perimeter shot.

The past couple seasons, East Carolina has been lacking that versatile wing that can slash. The Pirates are hoping that freshman Jamar Abrams can be that man. Abrams, who stands six-feet six-inches and 180 pounds, has the ability. The lefty’s combination of athleticism, leaping ability and his shooting touch make him likely to see plenty of minutes in his initial season in Greenville.

Junior college transfer James Legan (6-3, 200) is a tough, mature player. He is known as a very-good shooter with tremendous range and should definitely help improve the Pirates’ shooting woes.

ECU 2007-2008 Schedule Breakdown

Mack McCarthy and Terry Holland did a superb job putting together an attractive and challenging schedule, but also one that presents a young team with an opportunity to succeed.

This year’s slate features the Pirates playing a school-record 19 home games, which includes ACC foes Clemson and NC State coming to Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum. There are also non-conference visits from Atlantic 10 opponent Richmond, 2007 NCAA Tournament round of 32 participant Winthrop and in-state rival UNC-Wilmington.

ECU will play 11 of its first 13 contests at home and will only leave home twice before 2008. However, both of those games will be against formidable opponents. On November 24 th, the Pirates will take on the South Florida Bulls of the Big East. Approximately a week later, they will travel to the nation’s capital where they will face 2006 Final Four participant George Mason.

While there are certainly no guarantees for a program that has struggled like ECU has, there are some “should win” games and some that should be a toss-up at worst. For instance, McCarthy’s squad will certainly be expected to beat non-Division I opponents Limestone, North Carolina Wesleyan and Lee. Others that fall into this category are Liberty, Coastal Carolina and North Carolina Central. Non-conference contests that should be at least a toss-up include UNCW and Richmond.

ECU will open CUSA play with a bang, as it will travel to the FedEx Forum to face a lot of people’s preseason No.1—the Memphis Tigers. The Pirates play home and home with Marshall, UCF, Tulane, Southern Miss and Rice. They will also face Tulsa, SMU and Houston at home while traveling to UAB and UTEP.

Final ECU Analysis

There will be improvement. How could there not be? It is just a matter of how much better the Pirates will be.

East Carolina will certainly be a much deeper and talented team than it was a season ago, but they will still possess a decent amount of youth—particularly on the interior.

John Fields (seen here shooting a free throw at UNCG last season) led CUSA in field goal percentage as a freshman in '06-'07 by shooting 62.4 percent.

The extent of the improvement will be dictated by a plethora of factors, but the following variables could very well determine the Pirates’ level of success (or failure).

First and foremost, ECU must shoot the basketball better this season. When you can’t score, it takes a toll on you mentally and often affects the other aspects of your game.

Secondly, how great will the contributions be from the newcomers? This team will likely need these fresh faces to contribute much more than a handful of minutes per game.

Last, but certainly not least, how quickly will the Pirates adapt to their new coaching staff and the style of play that they will implement? Will they improve from game to game throughout the season while developing some degree of consistency?

If this team can develop at a considerably high level as the season progresses, then a winning season (15-14?) isn’t totally out of the question. The Pirates could also win their most CUSA games (6) since beginning league competition in the 2001-02 campaign.

At the very least, the Pirates should win a minimum of 10-12 games while being much more competitive and entertaining to watch than last season.

The progress will certainly be more than enough to warrant retaining McCarthy and the new coaching staff to guide the program into the future.

DID YOU KNOW? Despite it’s last place finish, East Carolina still ranked fifth of 12 in attendance in CUSA last season. The Pirates drew an average of 4,533 fans per contest. They trailed Memphis (14,527), UTEP (8,707), Tulsa (5,425) and UAB (4,752).

Expect this average to increase this season, as there will not only be a considerably better product on the floor, but also a much more appealing schedule played. There will be multiple sellouts with teams such as Clemson and NC State coming to Minges.