Strength On The Perimeter For ECU Heading Into 2017-18

By Joe Corley, ECUPirates.com

The ECU men's basketball team will have a few things going for it this season as it tries to replace some production it lost down low from a year ago.

For starters, the backcourt is something eighth-year coach Jeff Lebo said will be a strength for the Pirates, both in terms of ability and depth. There's also the addition of a few talented freshmen, along with two players who sat out last year and are eligible this season. And for good measure, ECU has a friendly schedule, one that includes 19 home games. Ten of the first 11 will be in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as the Pirates' only non-league road game is at Rutgers on Nov. 24.

Lebo, whose team finished 15-18 overall last season after an 81-77 loss to No. 12 SMU in an American Athletic Conference quarterfinal, is optimistic about the task at hand. The opener is at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, at home against Coppin State.

"We're jelling right now," he said. "We've been able to get on the floor with them. We have an interesting mix where we'll be pretty experienced at the guard spots and inexperienced at the big spots. That's going to be our true test this year, the newness of our big guys. Even the big guys returning haven't played a lot."

On the outside, ECU has to make up for the loss of 6-foot-7 Caleb White, who left as the school's fourth-leading scorer all-time with 1,578 points. Lebo feels good, though, about the return of 6-5 junior Kentrell Barkley and 6-3 senior B.J. Tyson, though Tyson still is battling a nagging foot injury that caused him to miss seven games a year ago.

Barkley started 31 games last season and averaged 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He led ECU in scoring, rebounding, field goals made (134), free throws made (128), steals (33) and minutes (32.3 per game). In the finale, he scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half as the Pirates mounted a furious rally after trailing by 22 at halftime.

Tyson made 18 starts and averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

"Those two guys are experienced players, as they've proven," Lebo said. "Kentrell, at one point last year he was in the top 10 in the league in six different categories statistically, maybe more. So we'll build a lot of stuff around him."

Jeremy Sheppard, a 6-1 point guard, made the American All-Rookie team a year ago. He played in 30 games with 13 starts and averaged 9.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He led the AAC in assists per game.

Isaac Fleming, a 6-3 junior, and Shawn Williams, a 6-0 freshman, are eligible to play after sitting out last year. Fleming played two seasons at Hawaii, where he averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 54 games.

"He's very, very talented," Lebo said of Fleming. "He can really defend, can get to the rim and is physical. I think he'll make an impact. It'll take him some time because he hasn't played for a period of time, but we're expecting big things."

Another option is freshman K.J. Davis, a 6-6 shooting guard who helped his high school, Portsmouth Norcom, to a third consecutive 3A state title in Virginia last year.

"He can score quickly, and he's going to get stronger," Lebo said. "He's a guy who offensively we're excited about, but we've been surprised defensively with his length and ability to move. We think he's going to be a lot better than we even thought."

Down low the Pirates lost 7-1 center Andre Washington, who in his lone season at ECU averaged 6.9 points and 7.1 rebounds as he started every game. His presence was felt most on defense as he averaged 2.9 blocks, good for sixth in the NCAA. His season total of 95 blocks is an ECU single-season record and was fifth-most in the nation.

"He was an elite shot-blocker, something I hadn't had as a coach in a long time," Lebo said. "He really got confident at the end of the year and defensively changed what we could do.

"We'll need Jabari Craig, his backup, to have a breakout year. We've got to have him play smarter, and he's going to have to score the ball better for us. He has to stay out of foul trouble, rebound and play a little harder."

Craig, a 6-10 senior, saw action in 25 games last year and averaged 1.0 point and 2.0 rebounds and had 13 blocks.

Lebo also hopes to get help down low from 7-0 Usman Haruna, who played at Bismarck State College in North Dakota last year and committed to ECU in early May. With the Mystics a year ago, he averaged 9.8 points and 11.1 rebounds. Haruna is from Kaduna, Nigeria, and played high school basketball in Jacksonville, Fla.

The addition of freshman Justin Whatley also should help.

"I think he's going to be an excellent player," Lebo said. "He really should still be a senior in high school. He just turned 18. He's 6-8 ½, 230 pounds already. He can really shoot. I think he's going to be a guy down the road who can help us a lot."

Seth LeDay, a 6-7 forward, has transferred to ECU from Virginia Tech, and depending on the outcome of a waiver request may get to play this season. He never played in a game for the Hokies.

Another newcomer to the program is assistant coach Doug Wojcik, who has experience as an assistant at schools such as Notre Dame, North Carolina, Michigan State and Gonzaga and was head coach at Tulsa from 2005-12 and College of Charleston from 2012-14.

The AAC already was a tough league, and the addition of Wichita State has made it tougher. Lebo believes the Shockers and Cincinnati could be preseason top-10 teams, and that SMU also could be ranked. Throw in schools such as Temple, Memphis, Houston and UConn — which has four national titles in the last 20 years, including two this decade — and ECU has its work cut out for it.

"The league's going to be terrific," Lebo said. "It's exciting for our players and exciting for our coaches to compete against those people."

Fully healthy now after hip surgery in mid-January, Lebo is ready to go.

"I feel great. No issues," he said. "I'm in practice shagging balls, closing out and getting in drills. The guys are laughing at me because they see me back out there now. It's all behind us, and I'm looking forward."

Players Mentioned

Kentrell Barkley

Jabari Craig

K.J. Davis

Isaac Fleming

Usman Haruna

Seth LeDay

Jeremy Sheppard

B.J. Tyson

Andre Washington

Justin Whatley

Caleb White

Shawn Williams

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