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Pirate Notebook No. 40
Monday, January 7, 2002

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

GREENVILLE — Bill Herrion isn't seeking moral victories these days. He's already seen more than his share in ten-plus years as a head basketball coach. But when the Pirate hoops boss accepted the task of rebuilding the East Carolina program three years ago, he knew he'd have to accept a few more along the way.

The latest in that line of sister-kissers came Saturday night, when the Pirates stood their ground in a surprisingly close 72-62 loss to Conference USA bully Cincinnati.

While most of the near-capacity crowd exited Williams Arena pleased with the effort of the upstart Pirates, Herrion thought heavily about the night's grocery list of "What ifs?".

What if his sharp-shooting guards had connected on a few more of those open threes? What if his young Bucs had matched the Bearcats' almost flawless effort at the charity stripe? What if every close call hadn't seemingly gone the way of Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins, who effectively worked the C-USA officials all game long?

"We put ourselves in a position to win the game down the stretch," Herrion noted after the game. "We had a couple of open looks that we didn't knock down. There (are) no moral victories. I thought it was a game we could have won."

Still, Herrion, who admits his passionate displeasure for losing, left the game with a sense of belonging. Having frequently read and heard the criticism that East Carolina had no business in C-USA, the ECU coach left the court feeling somewhat assured about his team's effort and confident that the Pirates can compete in their new league.

It's an effort that Herrion knows must be repeated night in, night out, if the Pirates are to hold their own in one of the nation's toughest leagues.

"That's the way our team is supposed to play effort-wise every time we step on the court," he said. "If we want to be a legitimate Division-I basketball program, and compete in this league — great teams play and compete every night they step on the floor."

Despite a woeful three-point shooting performance, East Carolina performed well in other facets of the game. The Pirates committed just ten turnovers against UC's tough man-to-man defense, which is excellent when compared to other UC foes.

On the other end, ECU proved a formidable defensive force. Cincinnati had 17 turnovers of its own, many of which were forced by senior swingman Kenyatta Brown, who ended with a game-high four steals.

Outmanned and less talented underneath, East Carolina worked tirelessly in the post. Playing their final game without sophomore standout Gabriel Mikulas, the younger, smaller Pirates found most of their success offensively in the paint, fighting and scrapping for every hoop. Led once again by versatile forward Erroyl Bing, the Pirates gave nary an inch to the big, muscular 'Cats.

Bing, like his coach, isn't too interested in who won those isolated, on-the-court battles. In the end, he knew the only stat that mattered — the 72-62 final score.

Nonetheless, the Pirates took a step in the right direction against Cincinnati, even if it was just a moral victory.

Over the past decade, East Carolina fans have become well-versed in the innovative, cutting edge offensive schemes of Steve Logan — the football coach.

On Saturday night in Minges Coliseum, the Pirate faithful caught a small glimpse of the creative, play-making ability of Steve Logan — the basketball player.

Though Logan struggled to find his stroke early, he ended with a flurry, scoring ten points in the final three minutes, including a perfect eight-of-eight from the line en route to a 24-point night. It was a workman-like effort for the reigning C-USA Player of the Year, who was harassed all night long by the tough, in-your-face East Carolina defense.

For those who have followed Herrion-coached teams over the years, Logan's early-game struggles should have come as no surprise. Defense was a staple when Herrion was at Drexel, and he has brought that ball-hawking mentality to Greenville.

"We do play hard, and we guard people," Herrion said. "We're not a bad defensive team.

"We started off Travis Holcomb-Faye on him (Logan), and he got the two quick fouls. I think he was just too excited and really wanted to get after him — a lot of people want to play him tough. Then I thought Brandon Hawkins did a great job on him for a stretch."

Logan had a rough go of it from the field Saturday night, sinking just five of his 13 attempts. While the senior playmaker was struggling with his jumper, he found comfort at the foul line, knocking in 13 of 14, including his final 12 attempts.

Using his freezing pump fake and quick first step, Logan was able to initiate contact from ECU defenders and get to the charity stripe — a tactic he would use in the waning moments to ice the game.

Free throw shooting was a major factor in the outcome as the Bearcats hit 26 of their 30 attempts, while the Pirates connected on just 13 of 24 tries. According to Herrion, the Pirates may have been too aggressive at times on defense, especially against Logan, which sent the 'Cats to the line way too often.

"There were a lot of touch fouls," Herrion said. "You've got to keep a team like that off the line, especially Steve Logan. He's a career 83-84 percent free throw shooter."

Damane Duckett's college basketball career spans just a handful of games. But in that time, the defensive tackle-turned post player has already developed himself into an ECU fan favorite.

With starting center Moussa Badiane on the bench with four fouls, Duckett nearly brought a near-capacity house down when he extended his 6-6, 280-pound body toward the rim for an earth-rattling slam. Big Duck missed the dunk and thus his chance to rock the Richter Scale, but he did draw a foul on the play from UC center Donald Little.

Duckett followed that crowd-pleasing effort with a cheerleading display that brought the deafening Minges masses to their feet. Though he clanked both free throws off the glass, the Clemmons native was given an ovation when he left the floor, a sign of appreciation for the hustle and sweat he expended against the mighty Bearcats.

"He (Duckett) brings a lot of energy to this basketball team," Herrion said. "I like that. He did a nice job, and we got out of him what we needed to. We've got to work on the free throw line a little bit, but we'll get that straightened out. He gave us great minutes tonight."

Herrion thinks Duckett's size will come in handy in the rough and tumble C-USA. In just seven minutes of action, the big guy snared four rebounds, one of which came on the offensive end.

Duckett has a long way to go as a basketball player, but he is making measurable progress. By no means a scoring threat offensively, double-zero is beginning to embrace his niche.

"I told Damane, 'You've got to understand your role. You've got to lean on people, you've got to bang people, you've got to screen, you've got to defend the post, and you've got to rebound'," said Herrion. " 'Then, if you score, it's gravy.' "

The gravy train showed up midway through the first half when Ducket banked a jumper from 15 feet. The shot gave the Pirates their biggest lead of the evening at 18-7, and sent more than 7,000 members of the budding Damane Duckett Fan Club to their feet.