East Carolina Basketball Preview: Spiders spin into Minges Tuesday Night

Monday, November 12, 2007

While the wholesale changes didn’t work as well as they had in practice, McCarthy did discover some other things about his club. He found out that freshman point guard Brock Young is much more comfortable and effective running the show when surrounded by experienced players. Another revelation was that certain substitution patterns should be avoided for the time being.

All 14 East Carolina players saw action and 12 got into the scoring column. No one played more than 26 minutes in the contest and only two logged over 22.

The Pirates shot 45.6 percent from the floor, but McCarthy knows some easy shots enhanced that. However, he was encouraged with the way his team executed and feels confident that it will knock down some of the shots it missed in this one.

A real bright spot for the Pirates in their opener was their ability to knock down free throws. Last season, ECU connected on only 57.8 percent from the charity stripe. It connected on 20-of-27 attempts (74%) versus the Saints.

Darrell Jenkins demonstrated excellent senior leadership at point and finished the game with 17 points while also dishing out seven assists.

The Pirates’ performance from behind the arc was adequate (6-of-16) despite starters Sam Hinnant and Cory Farmer shooting a combined 2-of-10 from deep.

Newcomers Brock Young and Jontae Sherrod—both of whom saw 15 minutes of action—had solid showings in their first outing in the purple and gold. Young, who was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, finished with 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. The highlight of his debut was likely his no look alley oop pass that John Fields slammed home with two hands. Sherrod totaled six points and knocked down one of his two attempts from long range.

On the interior, sophomore John Fields led the way with his 14-point (6-of-8 fg) and six rebound effort. Fellow sophomore Gabe Blair was his usual self as he defended well (3 blocks and 5 steals) and cleaned the glass (9 rebounds). However, he only scored 4 points and ECU will need him to be a scoring presence also. Redshirt freshman center Chad Wynn played 13 minutes in his first game as a Pirate and concluded the game with 8 points and 2 rebounds.

Defensively, East Carolina limited Limestone to 36.7 percent shooting and was the recipient of 25 turnovers. However, McCarthy knew his team had too many lapses—particularly in transition—and that its rebounding must improve.

Sneaking a peek at the Spiders…

Following its relatively easy 78-60 win over Division II Limestone in Mack McCarthy’s debut as head coach Saturday, East Carolina will face a much more revealing challenge when Atlantic 10 foe Richmond comes to town Tuesday night.

Richmond is only 1-2 to date, but it played CUSA member and No. 3 Memphis a competitive contest—trailing 40-39 at the break—before losing 80-63. Prior to the Spiders’ loss to the Tigers, they won a 44-42 decision over Maine in the first game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. In their last game, they dropped their home opener to Norfolk State when they relinquished an 11-point lead in the final four minutes and were beaten on a three-pointer as time expired.

Chris Mooney, who is in his third season at UR, has compiled a 22-41 mark. Last season, the Spiders were very young and stumbled to an 8-22 finish. However, one of those eight was a 71-67 overtime win over East Carolina in their season opener.

Mooney’s squad is not as experienced as he had planned this year due to some defections. He had to dismiss one player and two others transferred; therefore, nine of the 12 scholarship players on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

Thus, there has been a steeper learning curve for a team looking to perfect its Princeton-style offense.

After mustering only 44 points in their win over Maine, the Spiders have been more in sync the last two times out. However, they still have not shot or taken the care of the basketball the way their coach knows they need to. UR is hitting only 37.3 percent of its shots and is turning the ball over more than 16 times a game. The Spiders have sunk 72 percent (31-43) of their free throws.

Defensively, Richmond is allowing 64.6 points per game and opponents are shooting 44.1 percent from the floor—including 34 percent from behind the arc. The Spiders have been surpassed by an average of eight boards per contest, but have forced 59 turnovers—including 29 against Maine.

Mooney has used the same starting five in every game thus far and only two players have seen significant minutes off the bench.

Sophomore David Gonzalvez leads their line-up. The point guard, who’s averaging 18.3 points per game, put up 25 versus Memphis and is 9-of-16 from three-point range on the year. Gonzalvez’ running mate in the backcourt is senior Oumar Sylla (9 ppg, 5.3 rpg).

The Spiders are bulky and pretty talented along the frontline. Dan Geriot, who scored 14 points against the Pirates last season, provides UR with a versatile big man that can be effective from inside and out. The 6’9, 235-pound center registered a double double against Norfolk State, as he finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jarhon Giddings (6’9, 235) and Ryan Butler (6’6, 200) are the other two starters and possess excellent versatility as well. Giddings had 9 points and knocked down 2-of-3 from long range against ECU last season. Butler connected on three trifectas and finished with 11 points.

Freshman point guard Kevin Anderson (6’0) and sophomore Kevin Hovde are the first two off the bench. Anderson is playing 29 minutes per contest and has distributed the ball well (11 assists to only 4 turnovers), but has only made 5 of his 25 shots. Hovde (6-5, 200) is pulling down three boards in slightly more than 16 minutes per contest.

Keys to Victory for ECU

1. Gear to slow down the “G-men”- David Gonzalvez and Dan Geriot are a couple of the Spiders’ prime weapons. The Pirates will need to force other people to play a larger role for Richmond. Both are tough match-ups due to their size and versatility.
2. Communicate defensively – Richmond utilizes a Princeton-style offense that features a lot of backdoor cuts, screening and such. The Pirates must play disciplined defense.
3. Maximize each possession – As mentioned above, the Spiders like to play at a moderate pace; therefore, a premium is placed on each possession. In what will likely be a competitive game, ECU cannot afford possessions without shots. They need to improve on their 18 turnover effort in game one.
   

Final ECU Prediction & Analysis

Last season, Richmond’s versatility and East Carolina’s poor free throw shooting made the difference. While East Carolina is still at a size disadvantage, it is much more equipped to combat that differential this time around. ECU could ice this one with free throws in the game’s waning minutes.

East Carolina 70 - Richmond 65