August 24, 2009
Pirate Fans
Summer is quickly coming to a close and we are very excited about getting workouts started once classes begin next week. Our guys have had a great summer in the weight room and the classroom. They have gotten physically stronger and have taken care of their academic responsibilities. The returning players and the freshman started to develop some chemistry by playing pickup during the second session of summer school. Those few weeks in which they are able to get to know one another without coaching supervision is an invaluable learning experience.
As always, I appreciate your interest in Pirate basketball. Y'all continuously have some great commentary and queries. It's because of your support that we are able to continue to move this program forward. Now let's answer some of this week's most probing questions.
Coach Mack
What resources are needed to build a top 25 men's basketball program at ECU?
We have most of the resources and support we need to compete for post-season play. The financial piece is in place. The support personnel, in the critical areas such as student development and sports medicine, is outstanding. We have great fan support and an outstanding home court advantage. Conference USA is getting better and better with more schools showing their level of commitment through coaching, budgets, and facilities improvements. We have addressed the APR issues in a very positive way. Our staff is second to none and more than capable of leading us to where we want to go. Given the time crunch on Williams Arena, a practice facility would be a major step forward toward being nationally competitive. That's probably the one critical area that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
When will the 2009-10 basketball schedule be posted on the ECU Athletic site?
We anticipate getting the league schedule in the middle of next week at the latest. Television is heavily involved and Memphis playing in an NBA arena complicates that effort. Our non-conference schedule is complete and it's very challenging for a very young team. However, that's the direction we want to go--play against the very best.
Is there any truth to the rumor that you'll be sporting a purple blazer for some games this year?
The purple blazer rumor continues to have life. I'm thinking it might just be a good idea!
Is there anyway we could get some interest in FCA and/or SportWorks Ministry during your coaching tenure here at ECU?
We have many young men who participate individually in different religious organizations. As a team, we have attended different church services around town. We have had many motivational and devotional speakers meet with our team over the past four seasons including several from the regional FCA.
Are we better than last year? And how likely are we to win more conference games than last year?
We are certainly better than last year in several areas:
We have more depth. We replaced two seniors with four freshmen and add DaQuan Joyner, who redshirted last year, to the mix and now you have three more available athletes.
We are bigger. Not only do you add a 6-foot-7, 238-pound DaQuan Joyner to the Chad Wynn/Darrius Morrow mix, but you also bring 6-foot-8 1/2 Darius Morales to the frontcourt. In addition, we added 6-foot-4 Corvonn Gaines to the point position, and long athletic wings like 6-foot-6 Erin Straughn and 6-foot-5 Wakefield Ellison. Moving Jamar Abrams to the wing slot helps from a size perspective, too.
We are more diverse offensively. While two outstanding shooters graduate, we have more people who can score in more ways. Jontae Sherrod, Chris Turner, Brock Young, Straughn, Ellison and Gaines can all make plays off the dribble. This wasn't something that we featured much in the past as a predominantly jump-shooting team. Not only should we get higher percentage shots, we should get to the free throw line more often.
The depth and size should assist us in improving in the two weakest areas from last season--defense and rebounding.
Program continuity should be a plus, too. Again, two scoring seniors left, but three double-digit scorers return. Six of our top eight guys in minutes played return.
Now, all that being said, everyone in the league has made improvements since last season. It will be a real challenge for us to win even more games, but I (and even more importantly the team members) really believe we can do this.
August 3, 2009
Pirate Fans,
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer. It has been a very good summer within the Pirate basketball program. The kids having been working hard to get stronger and improve their game. They have shown a lot of maturity with their desire and dedication to making themselves and this team better. Its great to see these young men display the passion that it takes to become a good player and build a good team. Thanks again for your interest in our basketball program. I've enjoyed taking your questions and reading your comments throughout the summer. Now into the mailbox!!
Coach Mack
How much better are we going to be than last year and how likely are we to win more conference games than last year?
We will be more talented than last season. How that translates into wins and losses will be determined by the schedule, how much other league teams have improved, and how this team plays together and executes. Here's where we are more talented than last season. First, we are deeper. Depth caused us to have limited options about style of play. Lack of depth made us wear down over the course of the season, physically and mentally. Lack of depth made foul trouble a devastating blow to our chances of winning in multiple games a year ago. Secondly, we are more athletic. The four freshmen are athletic additions. Sam and James, while great shooters, we not outstanding athletically. A healthy DaQuan Joyner gives us more athleticism in the post. Every one of our players has improved in the strength and conditioning program. Thirdly, we will be more diverse offensively. Chad Wynn and Darrius Morrow will be more experienced and a year older in terms of understanding their strengths. DaQuan is a talented offensive player. Therefore we will be more of a threat to score inside. Along with that weapon, we have more players who can drive it to the basket and finish in transition. Last season we ran the fast break to get three point shots. This year we will be able to shoot the three as a second option and get to the rim for high percentage shots and free throw opportunities. We didn't get to the free throw line nearly enough because we were so jump shot oriented a year ago. Finally, in respect to the offensive diversity, we just have more people who can make shots. Finally we have a chance to be better defensively and rebounding the basketball. We MUST do this to win more games.
What effect will the coaching change in Memphis have on the state of Conference USA?
I'm not sure you're going to see much of a different product on the floor on Memphis. They still have tons of talent, and Josh Pastner has assembled a talented, veteran coaching staff. Memphis has been a great program in the past and they will still be a great program. They have played at a very high level during the Calipari years, and I think they will continue to be a national championship factor.
Is there any chance of moving the game at UNC Greensboro to Sunday? The 4 p.m. Saturday start makes it impossible to attend both the football and basketball game.
I hate the UNCG game is a conflict with our football schedule. It IS their home game and they will decide what's best for their fans and their schedule overall. This is an instate game that we strive to schedule for our fans and players, but it's unfortunate that there is this conflict. We do our best to avoid these problems, but it still happens sometimes.
Have you finalized the non-conference schedule for the upcoming season? If so can you fill us in?
We'll probably wait to release the schedule in its entirety when we get the Conference USA slate in late August. We are very excited about this attractive, challenging opportunity to play some of the best teams in the nation.
Last year it was suggested that we consider offering a variety of partial season ticket packages (such as half a season ticket, one game a month packages, Saturday only packages, midweek games only packages, etc.) and I believe some efforts were tried in that area. Do you have any idea how that worked out?
Last year we offered four different mini-ticket packages. We sold over 150 packages last year, some more popular than others. We will continue this year offering a variety of mini packages. We believe strongly in letting our fans choose the games they would like to see; the Pick-6 package, which allowed you to pick any six games for $90, was by far the most popular. ECU will continue to offer something very similar to that this season. Look for mini packages to be offered after the season ticket push in September. This will be the third straight year of offering some form of a mini package. Last year was better than the year before and we hope that this year will be better than last year.
