Sports News, Nuggets and Notes from East Carolina and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

05.05.04: Prolific scorer King joins ECU recruiting class... .. Troubled N.C. prep star wants to be Cowboy... .. More...

05.04.04: Ascension of Pirates continues... .. Hard-hitting R.J. corrals 2nd C-USA award ... .. Conference baseball tournament tickets up for grabs... .. More...

05.03.04: Rampaging Pirates plow through league foes... .. Conference USA baseball standings & scoreboard ... .. Sweeping restrictions placed on hoops exhibition games... .. More...

05.02.04: Senior Day baseball game moved up to 11 a.m... .. Stairway to Division I made shorter ... .. Politicians takes sides in Illini mascot feud... .. More...

05.01.04: Garrard tripped up by chronic tummy malady... .. Ballard extends Pirates' AD hiring timetable ... .. Calipari's office carries big price tag... .. More...

04.30.04: Memphis-USM football game moved to accommodate TV... .. NCAA to unleash academic police on derelicts ... .. Sunday game time changed... .. More...

04.29.04: Trojans even up hoops recruiting tally with ECU... .. Cards, Bulls, Pirates pace league's free agents ... .. UNM gives Louie and Lucie Lobo job security... .. More...

04.28.04: Pirates' Regional talk no longer idle chatter... .. Both polls agree: Pirates are Top 10 material... .. C-USA baseball tournament hooks up with sponsor... .. More...

No Nuggets April 27, 2004, because of technical problems.

04.26.04: Pirates assert control over first place... .. Day two draft action picks up for C-USA... .. New York prep star joins 49ers backcourt... .. 'Stiff-armed' NAIA pitcher whiffs 25... .. More...

04.25.04: Pirates in driver's seat for regular season stretch run... .. Losman, Rivers plucked in draft's first round... .. More...

04.24.04: Pirates nudge Golden Eagles from shared perch... .. Jackson radio station picks up USM baseball... .. Academic Senate wants Spartans out of I-A... .. More...

Saint Louis (13-32, 4-16 Conference USA) returns to the Billiken Sports Center this weekend for the first time in eight games. SLU hosts national power East Carolina in a three-game league series beginning at 7 p.m. (CT) on Fri., May 7. Saturday and Sunday games are slated for 1 p.m.

The Billikens split four games last week, including a pair of wins at Cincinnati to claim their first C-USA series of the season. In the Fifth Annual Wood Bat Classic at T.R. Hughes Ballpark on Wednesday, the Billikens fell to Big 12 neighbor Missouri 3-0, despite seven strikeouts from starter Kris Weber in 5-2/3 innings.

East Carolina is No. 6 in the nation this week and comes into St. Louis with a 38-7 overall record and a bad attitude after having its 19-game winning streak stopped at home by UNC Wilmington on Wednesday.

The Pirates lead C-USA with an 18-3 mark, having won a record 17 conference games in a row.

The Billikens lead the series 2-1 after winning a three-game set between the teams late in the 2002 season in Greenville. This is the Pirates' first trip to St. Louis.

A promising freshman season behind him, 7-footer Martin Iti has decided to assess his marketability in the professional arena, even though he averaged less than 20 minutes a game on the court for the Charlotte 49ers.

In announcing that he will declare for the NBA Draft, which will be held in June, Iti said he has no plans to sign with an agent, thereby keeping his options open to return to the 49ers.

"I'm really just testing the waters with the intention of coming back to Charlotte," Iti said in a press release from the school, noting that he hopes to compare his skills at the upcoming NBA Draft camp in Chicago.

"I want to go up against the best and see how I do," stated Iti. "Coach (Bobby) Lutz and his staff have helped me a great deal and I love playing for the 49ers. I just want to see where I stand."

Iti was named to the Conference USA all-Freshman team after averaging 6.0 points and 4.7 rebounds, this past year. He led the 49ers with 35 blocked shots and 37 dunks while shooting .569 from the floor.

He started 23 of Charlotte's 30 games, helping the 49ers claim a share of the C-USA regular-season title and notch their fourth NCAA bid in the last six years.

Iti scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added four blocks versus Tulane. For the season, he scored in double figures four times and hauled down double-digit rebounds three times while averaging 18.4 minutes per game.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Iti was a Top 10 national prospect and was selected as the nation's top post prospect by ESPN.com.

"Martin has decided to take advantage of the existing system which allows him to go to Chicago without forfeiting his eligibility," said Lutz, the 49ers head coach. "I support Martin in his endeavor to better evaluate his current status as a player."

Iti is the second Charlotte player in the last four years to declare for the draft early. In 2001, Rodney White, then a freshman, declared and was taken with a lottery pick, ninth, by the Detroit Pistons. White is currently with the Denver Nuggets.

BRISTOL — Former Utah coach Rick Majerus is joining ESPN as a college basketball analyst.

Majerus led the Utes for 15 seasons before leaving them in January because of heart problems.

His Utah teams made 10 trips to the NCAA tournament, including an appearance in the 1998 national championship game.

Majerus, vacationing in Hawaii, said in a conference call Tuesday that he feels good and wanted to take the network job to stay close to the sport.

"I really am very lucky, because if they put this job out on one of those reality shows there'd be a line from Los Angeles to New York to sign up for the position I have," he said.

Majerus is not interested in getting back into coaching any time soon. Instead, he wants to give his new profession a shot.

"I'm not going to entertain any prospect of going back to coaching now," he said. "I always wanted to go into broadcasting. I'm going to see if I like it."