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Bailey's Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
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By Brian Bailey

Pirates see pair of wins as just the beginning

©2005 Bonesville.net

Saturday afternoon was one of those days that makes a Pirate fan proud.

Charlotte came to Greenville with a swagger and a shot at a Top 25 ranking with a win over lowly East Carolina.

The 49ers took the Pirates lightly, and the youngsters from East Carolina stood up and took notice.

Winning in Conference USA is very difficult. This was a great win for Bill Herrion, as was the victory earlier in the week over Saint Louis.

Young players have a tendency to look great one game and then disappear the next.

Check out Tommy Hammonds. He couldn’t buy a shot in the game with the Billikens. I didn’t thing he had any confidence at all.

But then came the Charlotte game. Hammonds knocked down a couple of threes. Then, with the game on the line, Hammonds dribbled to his right and fired.

He hit nothing by net and the Pirates were on their way to a win.

So much was said going into the game about Moussa Badiane. “Moose” needed two blocks to become the all-time leader in blocked shots in Conference USA, passing Kenyon Martin.

Moussa wasn’t satisfied with just the record. He blocked a key shot late in the game and he drew a crucial charge in the final seconds. Now, Moussa and company hope to make some more noises during the rest of the season.

“We played well today,” said Moussa after the 54-51 win on Saturday. “We can play better, though. We just keep getting more confidence. We were more confident today and I think we’ll get better and better.”

Moussa still gets pushed around in the paint, but for whatever reason the officials did a better job of calling things early against Charlotte.

That big smile of Moussa’s was never bigger or brighter then after the win over Charlotte!

National Signing Day

ECU football coach Skip Holtz will welcome Pirate fans out to his 2005 “Signing Day Fan Fest” today at 5p.m. Those attending will receive a list of the commitments along with thumbnail sketches of each player.

Some East Carolina faithful have been known to tailgate throughout the day, making it truly a football fan’s holiday.

Holtz and his staff deserve a lot of credit in getting a lot of work done in a short amount of time. Holtz told me early on that his staff was behind, but working hard to catch up. From the looks of things, Holtz got what he wanted in luring some of our area's best to Greenville.

His goal in the future, of course, will be to get many of the top players to stay and play at ECU. His commitment to the local student athletes is genuine and I believe it will pay big dividends in the future.

Here’s hoping there is a pleasant surprise or two come tomorrow!

Happy National Signing Day.

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02/23/2007 01:31:29 AM

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