Talented young Pirates team looking to take next step

ECU has not necessarily been a program that instills fear in the hearts of Conference USA basketball teams in the past, but head coach Mack McCarthy and company are looking to change that this season.

Under the direction of McCarthy, who is in his third season at the helm and fifth in the program, the Pirates have increased their win total every season.

Last season, ECU fielded a competitive team that finished 13-17 overall, and this year they appear to be poised for a breakout.

In order for the Pirates to take that next step from competitive to contender, they will need to deal with the loss of seniors James Legan and Sam Hinnant, two of the program's most heralded three-point shooters.

"They could really shoot the ball," McCarthy said. "It will take a collective effort to replace them."

ECU returns a core of talented young players with walk-on Greyson Sargent being the only senior on the entire roster.

Junior point guard Brock Young led the conference and finished second in the nation last year in assists per game.

Sophomore power forward Darrius Morrow was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team after an impressive rookie season.

Junior wing player Jamar Abrams has been patiently waiting his turn behind Legan and Hinnant and should shine with increased playing time.

Junior center Chad Wynn offers the Pirates considerable size down in the low post and will be looking to be a bigger factor on the offensive end this season.

The Pirates also welcome in a talented crop of recruits that should push for early minutes.

Coach McCarthy feels that depth, offensive diversity and multiple scoring options are the team's strengths heading into the season.

"We were mainly a three-point shooting team last season," McCarthy said. "But we have more post threats this season than we've ever had in the past. So we are going to be diverse offensively."

McCarthy also cited the plethora of scorers the Pirates possess, stating that the team has the potential to have up to six to eight scorers averaging double figures this season.

The team's weakness at this point, according to McCarthy, is their lack of experience. While he says that his team possesses more experienced players returning than he has had since he has been at ECU, he also points out that most of those players will have a new role this season.

The departures of Legan and Hinnant will be most felt in the backcourt, where they spent most of their time draining threes last season.

However, McCarthy feels confident in the abilities of the returning players on the wing.

"We've got some pretty darn good players coming back at those spots," he said. "Guys like Jontae Sherrod, Chris Turner and even Jamar Abrams to some degree, didn't get any time at the wing because Legan and Hinnant took all those minutes. James and Sam were good, productive players, but that doesn't mean the guys behind them weren't good, too."

Abrams, a 6'6" junior, started 25 of 30 games last season. Being an upperclassman on such a young team, Abrams says he feels the responsibility to fill more of a leadership role this season.

"I try to play the role of the guy who teaches the freshman what to do and I try to lead by example," Abrams said.

Abrams is also a solid rebounder and reliable outside shooter, leading all returning Pirate players in three-pointers made and three-point percentage.

Sherrod and Turner will also try to excel in increased playing time. Both can provide a spark shooting from outside.

The unquestioned leader in the backcourt is Young, who is quietly becoming one of the better floor generals in the country.

A skilled distributor, averaging a stellar 7.57 assists per game, he is also one of only two returning Pirates to average double figures in scoring last season, the other being Abrams.

Freshmen Erin Straughn, Wakefield Ellison and Corvonn Gaines are talented newcomers who are all likely to garner minutes in the rotation.

Straughn is a big wing player at 6'6" and is a multi-dimensional player who McCarthy feels is already one of the best rebounders on the team.

Ellison is an explosive athlete who is capable of scoring in bunches.

Gaines is a strong point guard whose physicality will provide a change of pace when he is brought in to spell Young. He is also the brother of former Louisville standout Reece Gaines.

Senior Greyson Sargent, along with freshmen Howard Hurt and Evan Salzano, are walk-ons who will look to provide depth in the backcourt.

The frontcourt will look to become more of a point of emphasis this season for the Pirates.

"I think that Darrius Morrow, Chad Wynn and DaQuan Joyner provide us with more of a post threat than we have ever had in the past," McCarthy said.

One area the Pirates will look to improve in is rebounding.

While they did improve their rebounding total from the previous season, they still finished in the bottom half of C-USA in that category.

"For us to get to that next level, we are going to have to improve our rebounding," Morrow said.

Morrow, a 6'8", 250-pound sophomore, provides the Pirates with physicality in the paint and is a solid rebounder who is more than capable of helping the Pirates improve in that category.

Wynn, who at 6'10" and 255 pounds is the biggest body on the team, is a capable shot-blocker who will look to be a bigger factor on the glass and in the offense this season.

Joyner, who missed nearly the entire season last year with an injury, is one of the top rebounders on the team. Another factor will be 6'9" freshman Darius Morales, whose length and shot-blocking ability should earn him significant playing time.

The Pirates face a difficult non-conference schedule that will put them against ACC teams Wake Forest and Clemson as well as Tennessee and Virginia Commonwealth; all of which made the NCAA tournament a season ago.

ECU will also have to travel to C-USA super-power Memphis, but they do luck out in playing a highly talented Tulsa team at Minges Coliseum.

ECU has the look of a team on the verge of a breakout season.

The keys this season will be improvement on the boards and how well the players adjust to their new roles.

McCarthy is cautiously optimistic about his team's potential.

"Last year we played hard, but now we have to play better," he said. "The schedule is going to make it really difficult to win more games than we did a year ago, but we have the possibility of having a winning season, and once you have a winning season, anything is possible."

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.