Basketball Pirates Conclude Second Week Of Practice
October 29, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 29, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. --- The biggest improvements between the first and second week of practice were made on defense according to East Carolina basketball coach Ricky Stokes, whose team completed its second week of practice over the weekend.
"We've made some excellent strides defensively since we began practice," said Stokes. "We have better understanding of where we need to be. We've also made some improvements offensively and are beginning to recognize where our shots will come from out of the offense. We have to continue to work on rebounding."
A year ago Corey Rouse, who graduated with his bachelor's degree over the summer, led the Pirates and Conference USA in rebounding. Now the Pirates will look to a crop of newcomers to take control on the boards.
Freshmen Gabe Blair, John Fields and Justin Ramsey all averaged over 10 rebounds per game as high school seniors, but are now faced with the task of elevating their abilities to the NCAA Division I level.
"We have a lot of young guys on the inside that are not as fully developed as they will be in the future, but I think they are athletic enough to rebound in this league," said Stokes. "We're going to get challenged playing against bigger and stronger teams, so our guards on going to have to help with our rebounding.
"Jeremy Ingram has a done a good job of rebounding as has Brandon Evans, who is a tenacious defender and rebounder. We're demanding that all our guards help on the boards. They're all going to have to box out and get rebounds."
Stokes and the staff also continued to emphasize taking care of the basketball and limiting turnovers.
"We only allow guys one turnover per practice before they are penalized," said Stokes. "We're trying to make them cognizant of valuing each possession."
ECU opens the 2006-07 season November 11 against Morgan State inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 6 p.m. EST.
Season tickets for the Pirates 14-game home schedule are $180. Single game tickets for all six non-conference games are $10, while tickets for all Conference USA games are $15. Discounted tickets are available for youth 12-and-under. Season tickets can be order by calling the East Carolina Athletic Ticket Office at 252.328.4500 or 800.DIAL.ECU. Tickets may also be purchased on-line at ecupirates.com.
