Coach Jeff Lebo's rebuilding plan at East Carolina will continue this season.
Lebo had a successful first season in Greenville, leading the Pirates to records of 18-16 overall and 8-8 in Conference USA, good enough for a seventh-place tie. Lebo also led ECU to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament and to the Collegeinsider.com tournament, where it lost in the first round.
The winning record was the first in 14 seasons for the Pirates, who will return starters Darrius Morrow, a senior, and Corvonn Gaines and Erin Straughn, both juniors.
Morrow, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 13 points and 6.3 rebounds last season and ranked fourth in C-USA in field goal percentage, sixth in rebounding and 10th in scoring.
Morrow also dropped a few pounds in the offseason and started preseason practice in better shape.
"If you want to talk about the older guys we're going to count on from the beginning of the year, it starts with Darrius Morrow," Lebo said. "He really improved from the beginning of the year to the end. We need for him to be good right away."
The Pirates lost starting guards Jontae Sherrod and Brock Young and reserve Jamar Abrams, who accounted for 60 percent of their scoring.
Lebo will welcome transfers Shamarr Bowden, Maurice Kemp, Miguel Paul and Austin Steed.
Bowden and Kemp started their careers at Division I schools, then went to junior college before transferring to East Carolina. Paul sat out last season after transferring from Missouri, and Steed transferred from South Carolina.
"It's nice to come in this year and have veterans with an understanding of what's expected of them," said Lebo, who also has returning sophomores Darius Morales, Robert Sampson and Peter Torlak. "The new guys can look at the older guys in drills during practice and see how it's supposed to be done. From that standpoint, I think we are moving in the right direction."
Gaines averaged 6.7 points and 3.1 assists, and Straughn averaged 5 points and 4.4 rebounds last season.
Opponents outrebounded the Pirates by nearly two a game last season, and Lebo is well aware of the deficiency.
"I think we're going to have to rebound the ball better defensively and not foul so much," Lebo said. "At times we turned it over a bit too much last year. If we can take care of the basketball, we'll get high-percentage shots. We have some better speed and more depth this year than we did last year. Hopefully, that will help."
Lebo's knowledge of Conference USA and what to expect also should help. He has a career record of 229-172 in 13 seasons and knows the value of bringing in older transfers.
"Those guys have been through a few wars at this level and will be able to have a better feel of what it's going to be like right away," Lebo said. "I've been impressed with those guys."
Lebo, who was given a contract extension through 2019, says that the league race is wide open.
"Memphis has typically been head and shoulders above everybody in the league, and they have almost everybody back," Lebo said. "They are the top pick right now. Marshall is picked second and has a ton of people back.
"This was a league with a lot of seniors last year. UTEP has 10 new players, and Tulane has nine new players. Southern Miss has a completely new team. We have a new group. A lot of the better players in the league, besides Memphis, last year were seniors."
One of the keys for the Pirates will be Paul's replacing Young in the backcourt.
"Brock and I are similar in many ways," Paul said. "He is quicker on the ball, but I am faster down the court and can finish at the rim. We can both shoot the ball, but I think I am a little taller and stronger."
Morrow will carry the load inside.
"We have a lot of new guys but still have high expectations and want to be one of the upper echelon teams in Conference USA by the end of the season," Morrow said.
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