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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
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By Brian Bailey |
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George Mason's success gives
all hope
�2006 Bonesville.net
Is there a better sports story
then
George Mason�s run in this year�s NCAA
basketball tournament?
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Replay
the archive of Monday night's Brian Bailey Show,
with guest Terry Holland: |
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The Colonial Athletic
Association has a Final Four team for the first time. The league had two
entries in the field of 64 this season, with UNC-Wilmington going in as the
CAA Tournament champion.
George Mason was an at-large
entry, and not a very popular one. The Patriots had lost to Hofstra twice in
the span of ten days, and many felt the Pride was the better choice for the
NCAA�s.
Jim Larranaga and company took
advantage of their chance, becoming this year�s Cinderella darlings. Mason�s
win over top seed Connecticut may go down as the biggest upset in tournament
history.
The George Mason coach has
an East Carolina tie. Larranaga worked
under ECU athletic director Terry Holland during the Ralph Sampson era at
the University of Virginia.
In fact, Larranaga got his
coaching start with Holland at Davidson in the early �70�s. The Wildcats won
three Southern Conference regular season championships in those years.
In 1979, Larranaga and Holland
hooked up again at Virginia. Larranaga spent seven seasons under Holland in
Charlottesville.
Larranaga was a part of the
glory years at UVA, which included a pair of Final Four trips, one with
Ralph Sampson, and one without. Three ACC regular season championships and
an overall record of 169-62 were other products of that powerhouse stretch.
Larranaga�s other connection
with East Carolina is the former UVA point guard who now runs the East
Carolina program, Ricky Stokes.
George Mason�s run to the
Final Four is "Exhibit A" for all that is good about college basketball.
Teams win with experienced players. How many Patriots do you think were
recruited by UConn, UNC-Chapel Hill or Michigan State?
How many Patriots will be in
the NBA? Still, these Pats are just two wins away from a national title.
On the other end of the
spectrum is East Carolina. Word broke this weekend that the team would be
undergoing a major facelift in the
off-season.
It�s a tough sell. Kids want
to play and want to win. Successful programs like George Mason keep enough
players happy to build a winner.
Teams like East Carolina
always seem to be rebuilding. We can only hope that this time the staff is
in place to make it happen.
Baseball gears up for big
week
East Carolina�s Diamond
Pirates came back to North Carolina after winning one game at second-ranked
Rice. The Pirates won the opener before losing games two and three in the
series.
Houston and Southern Miss were
the
only Conference USA teams to sweep
during the opening week of league games.
The Cougars swept Marshall and
now head to Greenville this weekend to take on the Pirates. Houston is 12-3
on the season at home this year, but just 3-7 on the road.
Before Houston pays a visit,
the Pirates head to Raleigh on Wednesday to take on North Carolina State.
The Wolfpack is 21-8 on the season and 5-4 in the ACC.
N.C. State will be looking to
snap a four-game losing streak at the Pirates' expense. Clemson swept the
Pack in a three-game series this past weekend.
State did take two out of
three in its series with Georgia Tech, losing the Sunday game to the Yellow
Jackets.
It�s always a good time when
ECU and N.C. State hook up in baseball, and this one should also be no
exception.
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:33:35 AM |
