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Bailey's Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9

Coach: "We're going to need our crowd"

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©2003 Bonesville.net

Bill Herrion’s basketball team is struggling. If this group isn’t careful, it may hit the wall with still a good seven weeks to go in the season.

Herrion, East Carolina's fourth-year coach, realizes the Pirates' collective backs may be inching towards that said wall. And he knows what must happen to head off any drift towards a downward spiral.

“Right now the most important thing with this basketball team is that we just need to find a way to win a basketball game,” said Herrion.

As I pointed out in my last column, there are no “easy” nights in Conference USA.

Unlike the Colonial Athletic Association, in which ECU grew somewhat accustomed to following a tough loss to a James Madison with a home game against a William & Mary, that’s not the case in this league.

That’s certainly no knock on the Tribe, but no CAA team can compare to the Pirates' next opponent, the Cincinnati Bearcats.

“One of the problems in this league is, when you look at the next game on the schedule and now you’ve got Cincinnati coming in,” said Herrion.

Still, with the Wednesday night matchup set for the wild and crazy confines of Williams Arena, Herrion knows this team can knock off Cincy.

“It’s a game that if our kids believe and are ready to play at a very high level, it’s a game that we could win here in our arena," he insisted. "However, we are going to have to play awfully hard.”

Herrion also has words for those ready to jump off the Pirate bandwagon.

“We’re going to need our crowd,” he said. “Our fans can not give up on this basketball team. Just because we packed this gym for Louisville and didn’t perform well, please don’t evaluate our team after those games. This is a very difficult league that we are playing in.”

Herrion is never one to make excuses. However, he makes several valid points, especially when he talks about his team’s youth.

“We have a very young team, but I think what we have proven in this arena is that when the seats are filled, when we have energy and when we have electricity, these kids play well.”

Cincinnati may not be the best team in Conference USA this season, but Herrion says they still have the top program. That makes this Wednesday’s assignment that much more difficult.

“I think when you look at Conference USA there are two or three programs that really stick out,” Herrion said. “Cincinnati has dominated the league since the league began. Bob Huggins is a premier coach. He’s done a tremendous job.”

It's clear that Herrion has a game plan to pull off another Conference USA upset at home.

Will the Pirates be able to execute that plan?

“The first thing that has to happen for us to have any chance.., we have to play unbelievably hard. That’s Cincinnati’s trademark, that’s there reputation. They compete at a very high level,” Herrion said.

It sounds like a plan to me. Look for the Pirates to come through with a much better effort against Cincinnati than they displayed in losses to Charlotte, Louisville and DePaul.

Herrion has a plan. Just don’t jump off the bandwagon!

Send an e-mail message to Brian Bailey.

Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville archives.

02/23/2007 01:25:49 AM
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