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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
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By Brian Bailey |
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Shooting woes plague men and
women
©2006 Bonesville.net
Coaches love players who can
“score the basketball.” The term “score” has a variety of meanings, but the
bottom line is that somebody has to get it in the bucket.
Both the men and the women’s
teams at East Carolina struggled with that notion this past weekend, and
both fell short in their games.
The men were on the road at
Texas-El Paso and came up with their lowest output of the season, failing to
crack the half-century mark in falling to the Miners 58-45.
There’s nothing like a jaunt
to the town of El Paso — situated along the Rio Grande River near the
intersection of the borders of Texas, New Mexico and Mexico — for a league
game with the Miners.
The Pirates were really
fortunate to get to 45 points, after ringing up just 18 in the first half.
ECU shot just 33 percent from the field, while UTEP shot just under 50
percent.
Perhaps the Pirates got caught
up in the “Glory Road” fever in El Paso. Evidently, the town and the school
went all out for the weekend debut of the movie based on the Texas Western
team that beat mighty Kentucky for the national championship in 1966.
ECU certainly didn’t find its
road to glory in El Paso. Jeremy Ingram led the team in scoring with just
nine points.
The Pirates are back at home
this week, hosting Southern Methodist on Wednesday night.
Benchmark crowd
The sellout crowd for last
Wednesday's Memphis game was the largest turnout that I can remember since
the remodeling of Minges Coliseum.
The lower bowl was absolutely
packed, with fans even sitting in the walkways of the lower section.
Pirate fans and ECU students
should be commended for providing a great atmosphere for college basketball
in the 10-point loss to Memphis.
Williams Arena was the place
to be that night. The ECU-Memphis game was a hot ticket in town, and the
Pirates' gutsy play probably won the team a few more fans.
The trick now is to try and
get that type of atmosphere for EVERY home game. True, there is a certain
electricity in the air when the fifth-ranked team in the country pays you a
visit. Still, the goal will always be to make Williams Arena the place to be
when the Pirates are at home.
This team plays with a passion
for the game, led by a very emotional Jeremy Ingram. The players have told
me what it means to them to have a big crowd in for a game. ESPN’s
SportsCenter had several highlights from the Memphis win over ECU, giving
the team that much more publicity.
Again, congrats to Pirate fans
and ECU students. The goal should be to continue to work to make Williams
Arena that much more of a home court advantage for the Pirates!
Lady Pirates pillaged
East Carolina’s women returned
home this past Friday, riding the momentum of a 4-1 road trip.
Unfortunately, their four-game
winning streak was snapped in a 54-45 loss to Houston at Williams Arena.
The Lady Pirates missed 58
shots in the game, shooting just 21.6 percent from the field.
“I can’t fault our effort,”
said Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener. “We just couldn’t throw it in the ocean
tonight.”
Former Ayden-Grifton star
Cherie Mills continues to be a bright spot on the team. Mills scored 14
points against Houston and has reached double-figures in all 15 games the
Lady Pirates have played this season. It is the longest such streak since
Courtney Willis posted double-figures in 26 consecutive games during the
2003-04 season.
Mills also recorded her sixth
double-double of the year with 14 points and ten rebounds.
Play ball!
First year East Carolina
baseball coach Billy Godwin opens camp on Wednesday with the club’s first
practice for the 2006 season.
The coaching staff will
continue with individual workouts on Monday and Tuesday of this week, before
the start of practice on Wednesday.
Godwin and the Pirates open
their season on February 10th, when Maryland comes to Greenville for the
start of a three-game series.
Pirate fans can get their
first real look at the team in a couple of weeks at the sixth annual “Meet
the Pirates” luncheon on January 28th. A limited number of tickets are
available at $7 for adults and $3 for children. Advance reservations are
required.
Let there be light
While driving to Minges
Coliseum for the Saint Paul’s game last week, I noticed that Charles
Boulevard had never looked better.
It was a football recruiting weekend and the lights were on at the new
practice facility and at beautiful Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The sight was most impressive
and a great strategy in trying to lure potential recruits to ECU!
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02/23/2007 01:33:22 AM |
