The Niners have been here before, actually a few weeks ago.  It is time once again to face our in-state brethren.  No, not the mother ship, or even N.C. State, just one of the few in-state schools who will actually play us, East Carolina.  Since we last saw the Pirates, they have gone 3-0 with wins against USC-Upstate (for 7th place in Charleston), Lenoir-Rhyne (a Division II school), and UNC Greensboro (81-53).  So presumably, momentum is in their favor.  Also, Minges Coliseum has not been the kindest place to Niner fans in the past (my memory draws a blank when I try to think of January 29th, 2005…  Moussa who?).  Factor in the thought that Charlotte will once again be playing without Shamari Spears (suspension), Charles Dewhurst (injured), and K.J. Sherrill (injured), and this could be a potential trap for the Niners.  With Spears, the Niners dispatched ECU a few weeks ago by a count of 74-63 in a neutral setting, and now must do the same in hostile territory without the power forward, or his biting words from the “Twitterverse”.

Greenville's #1 Fan... (Space) Pirates... not so much

There will be a familiarity between these two and one is sure the Pirates’ will be out for revenge, have plenty of game tape to go off of, and home-court advantage (and hot distracting Co-Eds) to pull off the victory.  Despite all this, it is not going to happen.  At the end of the day, this is basketball, and we’re talking about ECU.  We cannot lose to them, largely because of family members who attended the university and the abundant text messages that will be received if they win, but also because Greenville is where basketball goes to die (along with just about every other organic body).

Predictions:

McFly: Niners 76, Pirates 70.  That isn’t scurvy, just two losses to the Niners for the Pirates in two weeks

C-Pip: Charlotte 65 East Carolina 60.  Their big man is an absolute scrub and slow, Braswell and Phil will do what needs to be done.

The Legendary HP49er: Cannons fired over ECU’s bow as the Niners take #2 from the Pirates,80-69.

NLP: Niners hit the jackpot in G-vegas, leave with a 73-67 win over the Pirates.

J Felt: Charlotte 71, ECU 59. Braswell continues this new “play with intensity” thing and dominates again, Phil Jones records 7 blocks.

2k: Charlotte 71, ECU 66. StillJonesing? Nope, StillLosing to Charlotte.

49ers

Charlotte travels to Greenville tomorrow for a trio of two’s, the 2nd true road game, the 2nd game versus the East Carolina Pirates, and the 2nd game into Senior Forward Shamari Spears’ indefinite suspension.  With the suspension of Spears and the return of East Carolina’s Senior Guard Brock Young to the starting line-up, this game is not expected to resemble the game in Charleston in many ways except, hopefully, for the Niners walking off the court victors.

In Charlotte’s 74-63 win, all 5 starters for Charlotte scored in double figures, with Phil Jones adding 8 more off the bench.  G-F Jamar Abrams had the duty of guarding Spears, who scored 15 points on 5-11shooting, while big man Darrius Morrow had the challenge of guarding Chris Braswell and Phil Jones with help from Chad Wynn and Darius Morales.  The Pirates 3 big men won the scoring battle 24-19, but lost the rebounding edge to our duo 18-15.  Reserves Wynn and Morales only saw 15 minutes of action and committed 2 fouls apiece and as a team, ECU recorded only 1 block , which came from Guard Corvonn Gaines.  With the way Braswell and Jones dominated inside against Radford(14-15 FG, 34 pts), expect the same strategy from the 49ers tomorrow night. The 49ers have a size and talent advantage inside, and could look to get Morrow, who had 4 fouls in 29 minutes the first game, int0 early foul trouble.  Another strategy Charlotte has available would be having Braswell and Jones on the floor together, which would exploit the severely undersized G-F Abrams, and  could also produce many trips to the free throw line.

Pirates

Nothing should be different in the match-up of guards this time, Deuce and Derrio efficiently combined for 26 points on 21 shots. Both starting guards could have some pressure relieved by the improvement of Gokhan Sirin, who saw 1 minute of playing time in the first game, but exploded for 14 points, shooting 4/7 3-pointers, in Saturdays win against Radford.  His defense and confidence was much improved in that game, although that could be a product of the opponent rather than Gokhan, so we can’t hold our breath for a similar performance in Greenville.  Javarris Barnett is good for 1 or 2 jumpers a game, and 5 or 6 quality rebounds, but shouldn’t have a lot of pressure on him while he is starting in place of Shamari.  An’Juan should be expected to be An’Juan again, scoring by driving to the hoop and off offensive rebounds along with his defensive skill set on the other end of the court.  It is an unknown if Charles Dewhurst will be available, but his presence would only help rest our overworked back court more efficiently than Colby Lewis could,  even though Colby has impressed(for a walk-on) by not “blowing it” on defense, Dewhurst would be a great improvement in the rotation.

Coach Lebo does have game tape of the 49ers and homecourt advantage on his side, but the tape he has is that with Shamari on the court, so its use to him could be limited, but still expect a close game at East Carolina.  Charlotte still has better talent, its up to the players to win it for The Niner Nation

The Niners played last night like they all game down with scurvy, losing to George Mason 78-56.  It was one of the more thorough defeats the Niners have had in recent memory, on par with such shellackings as Tennessee, Duke, Dayton and Old Dominion last year.  The bigger concern:  When does it end?  Where do we shake out as a team?  Upper crust (um…..), middle of the road (well……) or Aristocrap Vodka?

Prooobably not the Dread Pirate Roberts

NLP: What’s this thing called a win? I think I’ve heard of it before.  Niners 74, Poorly Dressed Limeys 68

J Felt: Niners 58. Pirates 54. A real barn burner, offensive offenses collide.

McFly: harlotte 68, ECU 62… we need to win, my brother is an ECU grad and I’ll be hanging out with him tonight, I don’t need to have to drink TOO heavily.

C-pip: The Pirates edge the 49ers 60-59, and that is if we try.
There you have it.  Not the most upbeat set of predictions, but predictions for victory nonetheless.

Pirates fans watch the game come to a close.

Last season at six games in, we were 1-5. Now, at 5-1, as Phil Jones put it in his post game interview, “Well, it’s a lot better than last year.” There’s not a better way to put it than that, really. After downing ECU in easy, but frustrating, fashion, Charlotte is off to its best start in years, and boy does it feel great!

Oh, you want to read about the game? If there’s one worrisome trend that’s developing (other than lack of defense), it’s the lack of a “kick the opponent when he’s down” mentality. At one point early in the second half, we were within one field goal of a twenty point lead but never could make it happen. Instead, we let ECU get back within seven and had to utilize awesome free throw shooting to ice the game. This teams needs to learn how to step on the throat, twist the knife, steal the eye-patch, shave the eyebrow, etc.

The best part? Our best player, Shamari Spears had a terrible game, and we still won. Limited to only 12 pts and 5 rbds, Spears almost seemed to do more harm than good, giving up 5 of our 13 turnovers. However, his presence on the court leads to scoring from our other players as he draws double and triple teams. The turnovers came when he tried to force his offense, but when he learns how to pass out of the double team, our offense will be that much more deadly. Braswell also failed to follow up his great performance versus Yale, but that is to be expected from a freshman. Phil Jones was able to step it up, with 10 points (2 on dunks), 9 rebounds, and even had his own block party with 4 blocks. With those blocks, Jones has come into a tie for tenth place in the all-time blocks list, and we can expect him to climb up the charts through the season.

DiJuan Harris had a stellar game with 17 points, 6 assists and only 1 turnover. One highlight of the game for DiJuan was the wide open three pointer he hit in the flow of the offense. In order to be respected as a threat on offense, DiJuan needs to consistently hit that shot.

Now for bullet points:

Positives

• Phil Jones had a great first half, in fact, the whole team did
• Derrio doesn’t seem too bothered by his Planter Fascia during games
• RaShad Coleman had a great game, and definitely played within himself and didn’t try to do too much
• Shamarr hit two threes, but that 30 footer was a momentum killer
• An ECU player airballed a free throw, he is probably destroyed for the season
• The black out looked great
• ECU turned the ball over 13 times, is our defense improving?

Put on your Green Tinted Glasses

• Still took some stupid threes
• We had difficulty assisting Spears while he was being double-teamed
• We let a guy named Brock torch us for 24 points
• Nobody is stepping up to stop the dribble drive penetration, move your feet on defense!!!!

Either way, it’s wonderful to be 5-1, and now we look forward to finishing out CUSA Reunion Week at Louisville versus the Cardinals and Rick Pitino in Freedom Hall. Lutz has a good record in there, as well as some good memories – hopefully we’ll make one more!   – J Felt

No amount of bleach to the eyes could erase this horrible game from my mind.

The last time the Charlotte 49ers faced the EZU Pirates, it was the Niners who were forced to walk the plank, losing 54-51.  That game featured an ice storm that kept many faithful from making the drive to Greenville and a dominating performance by Moussa Badiane (16 points, 9 rebounds, 3  blocks, and a key charge drawn) and a dreadful shooting night by the Niners (18-56 from the field).  Though the faces on the court have changed in the years since the last game, revenge will be on the minds of fans as Halton Arena welcomes the scourge of the Carolinas with a blackout Wednesday night.

EZU enters the game 2-4 (sorry, the win against Clinch Valley College doesn’t count) with their most recent contest a win Saturday at fellow slave-name institution, UNC Greensboro.  Despite the poor record, the Pirates should not be taken lightly by the Niners (really, no argggggguing with me).  EZU shoots a very high percentage from the field (47.0%) and gets to the line regularly (nearly as many makes as their opponents attempt).  The Pirates are also adept rebounders, enjoying a more than 5 rpg. advantage over their opponents.  Where EZU struggles is maintaining possession.  Turnovers have been the key stumbling block in the early season, with the Pirates averaging nearly 20/game.

A surprising source of frustration has been the play of Jr. PG Brock Young, who last year was second in the NCAA with 7.57 assists/game and a healthy 2.44 assist:turnover ratio.  Despite leading the team in scoring this season (14.4 ppg.) he’s actually committed more turnovers than assists, possibly out of a desire to create more for the team and be the focal point of the offense.  The Niners must head caution to his ability to make things happen for the Pirates and not take his turnover problem for granted tomorrow night as he looks to create for a very potent frontline for EZU.  Terrific young forward Darrius Morrow has emerged as a rising star in his sophomore season, averaging 13.6 ppg. on 63.6% shooting and 7.0 rpg.  Morrow is joined in the paint by Jr. C Chad Wynn, who is chipping in just over 9 ppg. On 59.2% shooting and 5.3 rpg.  Rounding out the perimeter for EZU are wings Jontae Sherrod (12.6 ppg., 35.5% from 3) and Jamar Abrams (7.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg.).  For the Pirates Wednesday night, the focus should be clear:  limit turnovers and use strong interior play to get quality looks and draw fouls.  On the defensive end, force the Niners into tough shots and use the rebounding advantage to limit second-chance scoring opportunities.

The Niners will counter with standout forward Shamari Spears.  Through 4 games Spears has asserted himself in the early mix as an A10 POY candidate averaging 24.3 ppg. on a scorching 62.3% shooting from the field.  Another bright spot in the revamped Niner front court has been the play of frosh forward Chris Braswell.  Last week against Hofstra, Braswell notched the second double-double of his young career with a 15 point, 11 rebound performance in the victory.  Where concern rises is the scoring beyond Spears.  Despite having 7 other players reach double-figures in scoring already this season, no consistent second and third options have emerged.  DiJuan Harris. Derrio Green, and Shamarr Bowden are each averaging between 8.0 and 9.2 ppg.; however, neither are shooting better than 40% from the field.  In fact, it’s not until 6^th leading scorer Phil Jones (6.6 ppg.) do the Niners have a player shooting better than 40% from the field (and that being a low figure for a post player).  Bowden is the quintessential case of inconsistency, having not reached double-figures in scoring since his 21 point eruption against Asheville in the season opener.   Help should be on the way shortly, with the return of An’juan Wilderness to the lineup, but not until Saturday against Louisville.  Until then, the Niners will have to continue to search for consistent scoring.  Hopefully deliverance will come in the form of better shooting, with signs that Derrio Green is emerging from his early shooting slumber.   – NLP

The EZU mascot needs updating.

Keys to the game for EZU:

• limit turnovers (absolute must for the Pirates)
• maintain a rebounding advantage
• dominate the Niner interior (really no one has done this yet)

Keys to the game for Charlotte:

• shoot the ball better (>45% will be a feat)
• get offensive rebounds
• force Brock Young to try to do too much himself