ECU Holds Its Annual Media Day

Watch Coach Dooley's Press Conference

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- ECU Head Basketball Coach Joe Dooley, senior guard Isaac Fleming and sophomores Dimitrije Spasojevic, Justin Whatley and Shawn Williams took part in the Pirates' annual on-campus Media Day Thursday afternoon inside the Smith-Williams Center.

"We've got some things to work on, but we've had a good preseason for the most part," Dooley said. "We are a bunch of guys that give really good effort. Who are we remains to be seen. We're still trying to figure out where the pieces fit together.

"We had one scrimmage last Sunday and [another] on Saturday to get a feel of who we are. These next two weeks we have a lot of work to get in and our guys know that."

Dooley is set to embark on his fifth season on the Pirate bench, but first since the 1998-99 campaign. Dooley owns the program's highest winning percentage (.523) in the school's Division I history, compiling a 57-52 in four years during his previous stint as ECU's head coach.

The Pirates will look to build off the momentum created by the hiring of Dooley this past April. Isaac Fleming is the lone scholarship senior on the team that features a total of nine freshmen and sophomores.

"We just have to find the pieces that fit," Dooley stated. "We'd like to play eight or nine guys on a regular basis, especially early in the season to see who we are. Once we get some depth, it'll be even more fun to try to plug some pieces in."

Fleming is The American's top returning assist distributor (4.8 ppg) and the Pirates' second-leading returning scorer (12.5 ppg). He started 28 games last season and is expected to assume his role as ECU's starting point guard when the season tips off against Delaware State on Nov. 6.

"Isaac has done very well." Dooley said. "He has the ability to get shots and get people shots."

One of the people that Fleming will once again look to get shots for is Williams, who finished third in The American in 3-point field goals per game last season. Williams was voted the league's Rookie-of-the-Year after leading all conference freshmen in scoring (12.5 ppg).

Spasojevic and Whatley are joined by K.J. Davis as returning true sophomores this season. The trio averaged a combined 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as freshmen with Whatley missing eight games due to injury.

Redshirt junior Seth LeDay will see his first game action in two years after sitting out last year in accordance with NCAA rules following his transfer from Virginia Tech.

"Seth in the open spaces can be very good," Dooley explained. "He's been very good for the most part in the preseason. He's very athletic... he's very fast. We need to move him around the court and put him in some open spaces and let him make some plays."

ECU has five freshman on its roster that includes three guards (Tyler Foster, Tae Hardy and DeShaun) and two forwards (Jayden Gardner and Rico Quinton).

"Everybody works hard," Whatley said. "We mix well together. Coach Dooley has a lot of plays that we had to learn. His system is pretty strict. A lot of people had to get used to more strict rules, but we started working out a lot better and got a new motor that we didn't have before."

"I feel like [we lacked discipline] last year," Fleming explained. "[Coach Dooley} has been on us from the start and hasn't allowed any of us to get away with anything. With that on top of just being back in shape, knowing that we can compete the whole 40 minutes it's going to be interesting this year."

Coach Dooley stressed the importance of getting Pirate Nation involved in building the basketball program. ECU drew fewer than 3,300 fans per game for the first time since the 1991-92 season last year and the coach knows what type of home court advantage the Pirates can have inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

"Our fans are worth about 10 points a game," Dooley exclaimed. " We need to make sure we put a good product out there. Pirate fans want a good program and need their help and support. We've got to get this program up and going and we want them to be a part of it.

I" know what our fans stand for. I say it all the time, I'm not one of those people who has a famous last name, I wasn't a great player. I'm like a regular Pirate. You've got to line up every day and get behind this program. Our community is hard working. We need to be hard working and reflect what the Pirate Nation is about."

Players Mentioned

K.J. Davis

Isaac Fleming

Tyler Foster

Jayden Gardner

Tae Hardy

Seth LeDay

Rico Quinton

Dimitrije Spasojevic

Justin Whatley

Shawn Williams

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