2016–17 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

The 2016–17 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates were led by seventh year head coach Jeff Lebo and played their home games at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as third year members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 15–18, 6–12 in AAC play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Temple in the first round of the AAC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to SMU.

2016–17 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record15–18 (6–12 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWilliams Arena (8,000)
Seasons
2016–17 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 SMU 17 1   .944 30 5   .857
No. 18 Cincinnati 16 2   .889 30 6   .833
Houston 12 6   .667 21 11   .656
UCF 11 7   .611 24 12   .667
Memphis 9 9   .500 19 13   .594
UConn 9 9   .500 16 17   .485
Tulsa 8 10   .444 15 17   .469
Temple 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
East Carolina 6 12   .333 15 18   .455
Tulane 3 15   .167 6 25   .194
South Florida 1 17   .056 7 23   .233
2017 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

On January 16, 2017, head coach Jeff Lebo underwent hip surgery and was unable to coach for the rest of the season.[1] Assistant coach Michael Perry took over as acting head coach beginning with the January 22 game.[2]

Previous season

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The Pirates finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 12–20, 4–14 in AAC play to finish in a tie for ninth place in conference. They lost to South Florida in the first round of the AAC tournament.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Grant Bryant 1 F 6'7" 200 Sophomore Kennesaw, GA Transferred to Tampa
Charles Foster 3 G 6'0" 160 Junior Louisville, KY Graduate transferred to Kentucky Wesleyan
Prince Williams 4 G 6'5" 200 Senior Raleigh, NC Walk-on; graduated
Lance Tejada 5 G 6'2" 190 Sophomore Pompano Beach, FL Transferred to Lehigh
Drew Bost 24 G 5'10" 175 Senior Raleigh, NC Walk-on; graduated
Peyton Robbins 31 G 6'3" 210 Senior Raleigh, NC Walk-on; graduated
Michael Zangari 34 F 6'9" 240 Senior Etters, PA Graduated
Marshall Guilmette 41 F 6'10" 250 RS Junior Kennesaw, GA Career season ending injury
Kanu Aja 44 F 6'9" 255 Senior Baltimore, MD Graduated

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Isaac Fleming 5 G 6'3" 180 Junior Wilmington, DE Transferred from Hawaii. Under NCAA transfer rules, Fleming will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Andre Washington 31 C 7'0" 240 Senior Roanoke, VA Transferred from Wake Forest. Will be eligible to play immediately since Washington graduated from Wake Forest.

Incoming recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Raquan Wilkins
#41 SF
Atlanta, GA Westlake High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Mar 30, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 76
Elijah Hughes
#44 SF
Somers, NY Kennedy Catholic High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jun 10, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 76
Jeremy Carter-Sheppard
#63 SG
Chesterfield, VA John Marshall High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jun 12, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 72
Shawn Williams
PG
Maumelle, AR Southwest Christian Academy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sep 11, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016.

Recruiting class of 2017

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US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
K.J. Davis
SG
Portsmouth, VA I. C. Norcom High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) N/A Aug 3, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2016–17 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 0 Deng Riak 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Victory Rock Prep Melbourne, Australia
G 1 Jeremy Sheppard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr John Marshall Richmond, VA
G 2 Caleb White 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Virginia Episcopal Buckingham, VA
G 4 Elijah Hughes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr John F. Kennedy Somers, NY
G 5 Isaac Fleming (I)   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr National Christian Academy
Hawaii
Wilmington, DE
F 13 Michel Nzege 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Mount Zion
Winston-Salem State
Geneva, Switzerland
G/F 15 Kentrell Barkley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Northern Durham, NC
G 21 B. J. Tyson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Anson Wadesboro, NC
G 22 Raquan Wilkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Westlake Atlanta, GA
F 23 Clarence Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Druid Hills
Trinity Valley CC
Tallahassee, FL
F 25 Jabari Craig 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Tucker
Pearl River CC
Maumelle, AR
C 31 Andre Washington 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Wake Forest Roanoke, VA
G 52 Justice Obasohan (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So NC School of Science and Math Wallace, NC
G 55 Shawn Williams (I) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Southwest Christian Academy Maumelle, AR
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
8:00 pm, ESPN3
Grambling State W 72–57  1–0
Williams Arena (4,805)
Greenville, NC
11/14/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
North Carolina A&T W 61–51  2–0
Williams Arena (4,177)
Greenville, NC
11/17/2016*
7:00 pm
at Charlotte L 64–76  2–1
Dale F. Halton Arena (4,281)
Charlotte, NC
11/20/2016*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Stetson
Savannah Invitational
W 73–50  3–1
Williams Arena (3,387)
Greenville, NC
11/22/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Florida A&M
Savannah Invitational
W 82–62  4–1
Williams Arena (3,341)
Greenville, NC
11/25/2016*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Mercer
Savannah Invitational semifinals
L 66–70  4–2
Savannah Civic Center 
Savannah, GA
11/26/2016*
5:00 pm
vs. Air Force
Savannah Invitational
W 70–63  4–2
Savannah Civic Center 
Savannah, GA
11/29/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Hampton W 68–48  6–2
Williams Arena (3,631)
Greenville, NC
12/03/2016*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
North Carolina Central W 69–56  7–2
Williams Arena (4,638)
Greenville, NC
12/06/2016*
7:00 pm, RSN
at No. 14 Virginia L 53–76  7–3
John Paul Jones Arena (13,813)
Charlottesville, VA
12/15/2016*
7:00 pm, ASN/ESPN3
College of Charleston L 35–53  7–4
Williams Arena (3,462)
Greenville, NC
12/20/2016*
6:30 pm
at UNC Wilmington L 71–81  7–5
Trask Coliseum (5,200)
Wilmington, NC
12/22/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Presbyterian W 76–56  8–5
Williams Arena (3,667)
Greenville, NC
AAC regular season
12/28/2016
7:00 pm, ESPNews
South Florida W 60–49  9–5
(1–0)
Williams Arena (4,163)
Greenville, NC
12/31/2016
12:00 pm, ASN/ESPN3
SMU L 44-75  9–6
(1–1)
Williams Arena (3,698)
Greenville, NC
01/03/2017
7:15 pm, ESPNews
at UCF L 45–48  9–7
(1–2)
CFE Arena (3,088)
Orlando, FL
01/07/2017
12:00 pm, ASN/ESPN3
at Temple L 62–81  9–8
(1–3)
Liacouras Center (5,613)
Philadelphia, PA
01/11/2017
6:00 pm, ESPNews
Houston L 58–74  9–9
(1–4)
Williams Arena (4,197)
Greenville, NC
01/15/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 22 Cincinnati L 46–55  9–10
(1–5)
Williams Arena (4,597)
Greenville, NC
01/22/2017
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at UConn L 65–72  9–11
(1–6)
XL Center (5,676)
Hartford, CT
01/25/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Tulsa W 69–66  10–11
(2–6)
Williams Arena (3,537)
Greenville, NC
1/28/2017
3:30 pm, ESPNews
at Memphis L 50–57  10–12
(2–7)
FedEx Forum (10,684)
Memphis, TN
02/01/2017
9:30 pm, ESPNews
at SMU L 46–86  10–13
(2–8)
Moody Coliseum (6,723)
Dallas, TX
02/04/2017
2:00 pm, ASN/ESPN3
Tulane W 74–65  11–13
(3–8)
Williams Arena (4,177)
Greenville, NC
02/11/2017
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at South Florida L 57–64  11–14
(3–9)
USF Sun Dome (2,901)
Tampa, FL
02/15/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNews
Temple W 78–64  12–14
(4–9)
Williams Arena (3,741)
Greenville, NC
02/18/2017
4:00 pm, ESPNews
UCF L 58–61  12–15
(4–10)
Williams Arena (4,518)
Greenville, NC
02/21/2017
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Tulane W 76–73  13–15
(5–10)
Devlin Fieldhouse (1,142)
New Orleans, LA
02/26/2017
4:00 pm, ESPNU
at Tulsa L 66–74  13–16
(5–11)
Reynolds Center (4,449)
Tulsa, OK
03/01/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNU
UConn W 66–62  14–16
(6–11)
Williams Arena (4,354)
Greenville, NC
03/05/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN
at Houston L 51–73  14–17
(6–12)
Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)
Houston, TX
AAC tournament
03/09/17
3:30 pm, ESPNU
(9) vs. (8) Temple
First round
W 80–69  15–17
XL Center (4,874)
Hartford, CT
03/10/17
12:00 pm, ESPN2
(9) vs. (1) No. 12 SMU
Quarterfinals
L 77–81  15–18
XL Center (1,844)
Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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  1. ^ "East Carolina Pirates: Jeff Lebo Out for Hip Surgery Indefinitely". Old North Banter. January 14, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "ECU coach Lebo out indefinitely after hip surgery". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.