ECU Ready to Tee It Up For Game One of the Joe Dooley Era Tonight
Things could get interesting in a hurry when the second Joe Dooley era at ECU begins Tuesday night in Minges Coliseum against Delaware State.
The Hornets finished 4-28 and just 2-14 in MEAC play last season. New head coach Eric Skeeters comes to Delaware State after working as an assistant for two years at Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) under Ryan Odom. Skeeters is the 13th head coach of the Delaware State men’s basketball program and this will be his first game as a head coach.
Last March, UMBC shocked the college basketball world and ruined millions of brackets with a 74-54 Retrievers victory over top-ranked Virginia. It was the first-ever win by a 16 seed against a No. 1 seed in 136 all-time NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament match-ups.
Dooley brings in a young team that has just three seniors. 6-4 Isaac Fleming is the main senior of note for the Pirates that went 15-18 overall and just 6-12 in American Athletic Conference play under former head coach Jeff Lebo last season. Does that find Dooley nervous entering Tuesday night’s first game back at ECU?
“I'm always nervous. It seems like the laundry list doesn’t get any shorter, but we’ve made some strides the last couple of weeks,” Dooley said, “I think the guys are excited to see somebody else and hook up.”
Dooley says his team is getting healthier and he’s gotten some guys back from being banged up a little although he says some are still on limited practice protocol.
“We’re hoping to have everybody. We have to see how these things go. I think we’ll talk with the trainer after practice. We’ve got some guys who are a little beat up. Hopefully they’ll be alright.”
Delaware State has a lot of young guys and some returnees too. 6-3 guard Koby Gantz averaged 13.5 points and 3.3 assists a game last year for Delaware State and should represent their biggest scoring threat. He along with senior Saelik Edwards out of nearby Winterville, a 6-3, 210 pound guard who will make his return to the area for the Hornets are players to watch. Also point guard Johquin “Pinky” Wiley returns at nearly nine points and three assists a game.
Demola Onifade at 6-9, 245 out of Nigeria is back where he presents more of a rebound and defensive threat than anything else. He along with 6-8, 220 pound Ameer Bennett give Delaware State good size in the paint where he averaged three points a game and a couple of rebounds in just ten minutes of play per outing last season.
Last year the Hornets scored around 63 points a game while giving up nearly 78 which sets up as a good opportunity for the Pirates to get things going early offensively in their first game.
“They can do some things we haven’t seen on tape and we haven’t used all of our offensive stuff in our scrimmages. People can’t see it on tape and I’m sure they’ve done the same,” Dooley said.
Isaac Fleming will have plenty of shooting help in the form of last 2017 AAC Rookie of the Year and backcourt running mate Shawn Williams. Dimitrije Spasojevic returns for his second season at forward after playing more like a senior last year.
“I’m excited. This is what everybody has been waiting for. We’ve got a new coach, a new style of play, new enthusiasm. It’s going to be a great feeling,” said Fleming who has bought into the new system and jumped in with both feet, “I had to. I’m the only senior on this team. I had to take that responsibility. I knew the newer guys were going to come in looking at me and seeing what I am doing so I felt why not me to help lead them the right way.”
Fleming stressed the importance of getting off to a fast start this season in the win column.
“It’s very important. Just knowing our past history of having losing seasons and everything. We’re not trying to be about that anymore,” said Fleming, “Coach Dooley came in and he hates losing. We don’t want to lose and we don’t want to be here the next day if we lose.”
The Pirates will hope to get ever improved play from a more experienced 6-8, 240 pound Justin Whatley who will get help from Virginia Tech transfer Seth LeDay. 6-5 K.J. Davis also returns at guard along with newcomers like 6-2 DeShaun Wade, 6-5 guard Tyler Foster and 6-2 Tae Hardy. Freshman forward Jayden Gardner who at 6-6, 245 hopes to get off to a fast start.
“I’m very excited. As soon as I sleep and wake up, it’s time to go,” Gardner said heading into his first collegiate game, “The team is excited. We’re all pumped up and ready to go,” Gardner said, “They expect us to work hard, play hard. We’re coached up, really prepared and ready to play for tomorrow.
Gardner has has an opportunity to try out his stuff in some of the preseason scrimmage against other teams and that could pay early dividends.
"I think my confidence grew because I was able to do things and I kind of like know what works at the next level and know what to do now, so I feel confident I’ll be able to do that on the court.”
“We’re going to run in transition, feed and share the ball, feed the post, try to play inside out and we’ve got some good perimeter shooters. We’ll be able to do a lot of things out there on the court,” said Gardner.
Dooley says the lineup might change on a minute by minute basis in the early going and did not want to elude to who the starters would be. It’s probably safe to say Fleming and Williams should be in the lineup for ECU in the backcourt.
If ECU is ever going to go deep into the bench it will be early in the season where in addition to Delaware State, the Pirates host James Madison on Friday and then Lamar on Sunday afternoon. Dooley says his team is improving heading into the first game.
“We’ve gotten better. The ball movement, there are stretches where you watch the tape we say we know what we’re doing. Then I also forget that we’ve got nine freshmen and sophomores. That’s awfully young. I have to catch myself sometimes but there is noticeable improvement over the last two weeks.”
Game time is 7:45 in Minges Coliseum and also can be heard on Pirate Sports Network Radio with Jeff Charles and Si Seymour calling the action.
