'K-Town phenom' finally hooks up with Pirates

From staff and ECU reports

Wake Forest backcourt player and former Kinston High School star Jeremy Ingram is heading for the place East Carolina wanted him to be all along.

The Demon Deacons sophomore, who played alongside ECU junior swingman Corey Rouse at Kinston High, has transferred to East Carolina, the school announced Thursday in a press release.

Two years ago, Pirates head coach Bill Herrion waged an intense recruiting battle for the K-Town phenom before losing out to Wake Forest.

Ingram told the Kinston Free Press last month that he was reevaluating his future, indicating he had a desire to join the Pirates.

“I’ve been thinking about this since the summer,” Ingram told the paper at the time. “And ECU is where I want to be.”

A 6-foot-3 guard who played his freshman season and the first semester of his sophomore season at Wake Forest, Ingram must sit out two consecutive semesters before regaining his playing eligibility.

He can begin practicing with the Pirates at the start of the 2005 spring semester, but will not be eligible to compete in a game until the completion of the 2005 fall semester.

Once he officially joins the Pirates' roster, Ingram will have two and a half years of eligibility remaining.

Ingram played in eight games for the Deacons last season, averaging 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. He made 5-of-15 field goal attempts, including 3-of-7 three-point attempts. He finished his rookie campaign with an assist to turnover ratio of 2:1.

“We’re very happy to add Jeremy to our program,” said Pirate head coach Bill Herrion in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for him to restart his basketball career at East Carolina.

"The thing we liked about him in high school when we were recruiting him was that he was a really good kid, very good athlete, strong physically and had a chance to be a really good defensive player at the college level.

“He was a very highly rated player coming out of high school and a lot of kids, particularly from North Carolina, want to play in the ACC. Sometimes that just doesn’t work out. Again, this is a great opportunity for him to restart his basketball career. I think this is going to be a great fit and we welcome him with open arms.”

One of the nation's most sought-after prep prospects in 2003, Ingram averaged 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks per game as a senior at Kinston High, leading the Vikings to a 23-7 overall record and the state finals, earning all-conference and all-state honors along the way.

He played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star Game in Greensboro and participated in the Nike All-American camp twice.

As a junior, Ingram averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four three-point field goals and two steals per game, teaming with Rouse to lead the team to a 26-4 mark and a berth in the Eastern Regionals.

Ingram played his junior and senior campaigns at Kinston High under Coach Wells Gullege. During his his freshman and sophomore seasons at the school, Ingram played for current ECU assistant coach George Stackhouse.

Ingram announced his intention to transfer from Wake Forest on November 2.

02/23/07 11:46 AM

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