# 2019–20 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

The 2019–20 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates were led by second year head coach, Joe Dooley, who previously coached the Pirates from 1995 to 1999, and played their home games at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as sixth-year members of the American Athletic Conference.

## Previous season

The Pirates finished the 2018–19 season 10–21, 3–15 in AAC play to finish in 11th place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to Wichita State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Isaac Fleming | 0 | G | 6'3" | 195 | RS Senior | Wilmington, DE | Graduated |
| K. J. Davis | 2 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Sophomore | Portsmouth, VA | Transferred to Samford |
| Tyler Foster | 5 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Freshman | Baltimore, MD | Transferred to Youngstown State |
| Tae Hardy | 10 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Freshman | Ellenwood, GA | Transferred to Pearl River CC |
| Justin Whatley | 13 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Sophomore | Chesapeake, VA | Transferred to North Carolina Central |
| Deshaun Wade | 22 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Freshman | Virginia Beach, VA | Transferred to Longwood |
| Rico Quinton | 23 | F/C | 6'9" | 240 | Freshman | Newbern, TN | Left the team for personal reasons |
| John Whitley | 24 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Junior | Washington, D.C. | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Dimitri Spasojevic | 32 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Sophomore | Vršac, Serbia | Transferred to UMBC |
| Addison Hill | 41 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Winterville, NC | Walk-on; graduated |
| Justice Obasohan | 52 | G | 6'5" | 220 | Senior | Wallace, NC | Walk-on; graduated |
| Shawn Williams | 55 | G | 6'1" | 175 | RS Sophomore | Maumelle, AR | Transferred to New Mexico State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tyrie Jackson | 10 | G | 6'1" | 215 | RS Junior | Tifton, GA | Northwest Florida State College |
| J. J. Miles | 11 | G | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Garysburg, NC | Cape Fear CC |
| Tremont Robinson | 12 | G | 6'2" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Little Rock, AR | Garden City CC |
| Bitumba Baruti | 20 | G | 6'6" | 225 | Junior | Lubumbashi, DR Congo | Chipola College |
| Ludgy Debaut | 21 | C | 6'10" | 245 | Junior | Les Abymes, Guadeloupe | Northwest Florida State College |
| Miles James | 33 | G/F | 6'6" | 215 | Sophomore | Inglewood, CA | Palm Beach State College |
| Edra Luster | 44 | C | 6'11" | 230 | Junior | Oakland, CA | Tyler JC |

### Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Charles Coleman Jr. C | Boston, MA | Dexter School | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | May 27, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Logan Curtis SG | Baltimore, MD | Calvert High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 23, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tristen Newton PG | El Paso, TX | Burges High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 26, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Brandon Suggs SF | Austell, GA | Massanutten Military Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jan 17, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2020

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Derrick Quansah C | Fayetteville, NC | Massanutten Military Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | N/A | May 3, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Noah Farrakhan PG | Newark, NJ | The Patrick School (NJ) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 21, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| 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: "2020 East Carolina Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019. "2020 East Carolina Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019. |||||||

## Roster

* Dec. 17, 2019 - Seth LeDay left the team after the Maryland Eastern Shore game.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | VMI | W 80–68 | 1–0 | Williams Arena (4,027) Greenville, NC |
| November 8, 2019* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Navy Veterans Classic | L 57–62 | 1–1 | Alumni Hall (4,549) Annapolis, MD |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | L 62–68 | 1–2 | Holmes Center (1,893) Boone, NC |
| November 16, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Liberty The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on campus game | L 57–77 | 1–3 | Williams Arena (4,527) Greenville, NC |
| November 22, 2019* 8:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Evansville The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase Quarterfinals | W 85–68 | 2–3 | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 23, 2019* 8:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. UMKC The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase Semifinals | L 68–74 | 2–4 | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 24, 2019* 5:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Rice The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase 3rd Place Game | L 69–77 | 2–5 | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 30, 2019* 4:00 pm, FloSports | | at James Madison | L 89–99 | 2–6 | JMU Convocation Center (2,068) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Coppin State | L 75–85 | 2–7 | Williams Arena (3,208) Greenville, NC |
| December 14, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Campbell | W 79–67 | 3–7 | Williams Arena (3,234) Greenville, NC |
| December 17, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 71–57 | 4–7 | Williams Arena (2,584) Greenville, NC |
| December 22, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Charlotte | W 60–56 | 5–7 | Williams Arena (3,626) Greenville, NC |
| December 28, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 82–74 | 6–7 | Williams Arena (3,481) Greenville, NC |
| AAC regular season ||||||
| January 1, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 24 Wichita State | L 69–75 | 6–8 (0–1) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Florida | W 62–59 | 7–8 (1–1) | Williams Arena (3,389) Greenville, NC |
| January 11, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | SMU | W 71–68 | 8–8 (2–1) | Williams Arena (4,014) Greenville, NC |
| January 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tulsa | L 49–65 | 8–9 (2–2) | Williams Arena (5,332) Greenville, NC |
| January 19, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Cincinnati | L 57–82 | 8–10 (2–3) | Fifth Third Arena (11,103) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 22, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at SMU | L 64–84 | 8–11 (2–4) | Moody Coliseum (3,878) Dallas, TX |
| January 25, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tulane | W 81–62 | 9–11 (3–4) | Williams Arena (4,817) Greenville, NC |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | No. 21 Houston | L 59–69 | 9–12 (3–5) | Williams Arena (4,406) Greenville, NC |
| February 1, 2020 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Temple | L 64–76 | 9–13 (3–6) | Liacouras Center (6,877) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | UCF | L 64–68 | 9–14 (3–7) | Williams Arena (3,474) Greenville, NC |
| February 8, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulane | W 81–67 | 10–14 (4–7) | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,742) New Orleans, LA |
| February 12, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tulsa | L 56–70 | 10–15 (4–8) | Reynolds Center (3,232) Tulsa, OK |
| February 16, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Cincinnati | L 67–70 $^{OT}$ | 10–16 (4–9) | Williams Arena (4,082) Greenville, NC |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Memphis | L 73–77 | 10–17 (4–10) | FedExForum (16,038) Memphis, TN |
| February 23, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | Temple | W 67–63 | 11–17 (5–10) | Williams Arena (3,695) Greenville, NC |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Florida | L 68–73 $^{OT}$ | 11–18 (5–11) | Yuengling Center (2,692) Tampa, FL |
| February 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | Connecticut | L 63–84 | 11–19 (5–12) | Williams Arena (5,003) Greenville, NC |
| March 8, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UCF | L 62–94 | 11–20 (5–13) | Addition Financial Arena (4,819) Orlando, FL |
| AAC tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2020 10:00 pm, ESPNU | (11) | vs. (6) Memphis First Round | Cancelled | Cancelled | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
    1.^ Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

## Awards and honors
### American Athletic Conference honors
#### All-AAC Second Team

* Jayden Gardner

#### Player of the Week

* Week 7: Jayden Gardner
* Week 10: Jayden Gardner
Source