# 2018–19 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team

The 2018–19 East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represented East Carolina University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates were led by first 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 fifth-year members of the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Pirates finished the 2017–18 season 10–20, 4–14 in AAC play to finish in 11th place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to UCF.
Following a 2–4 start to the season, eighth-year head coach Jeff Lebo announced his resignation from ECU on November 29, 2017, and Perry was named interim head coach. On April 4, 2018, the school announced that Florida Gulf Coast head coach Joe Dooley, who coached the Pirates from 1995 to 1999, would return as head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jeremy Sheppard | 1 | G | 6'1" | 160 | Sophomore | Richmond, VA | Suspended, left team |
| Aaron Jackson | 10 | G | 6'6" | 215 | RS Senior | Gahanna, OH | Graduated |
| Kentrell Barkley | 15 | G/F | 6'5" | 205 | Junior | Durham, NC | Suspended, left team |
| B. J. Tyson | 21 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Wadesboro, NC | Graduated |
| Jabari Craig | 25 | F/C | 6'10" | 235 | Senior | Maumelle, AR | Graduated |
| Usman Haruna | 35 | F/C | 6'11" | 215 | Junior | Kaduna, Nigeria | Transferred to Montana |

### Recruiting class of 2018

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| DeShaun Wade #72 SG | Virginia Beach, VA | The Miller School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jun 19, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: 66 ||||||
| Jayden Gardner PF | Wake Forest, NC | Heritage High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Sep 24, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Rico Quinton C | Newbern, TN | Dyer County | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 21, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tae Hardy G | Ellenwood, GA | Believe Prep Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 20, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tyler Foster SG | Baltimore, MD | Mount Zion Christian Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Jun 20, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Milan Stakic C | Serbia | Believe Preparatory Academy | 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) | 238 lb (108 kg) | Jun 3, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2019

College recruiting information (2019) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Logan Curtis SG | Baltimore, MD | Calvert High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 23, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:45 pm | | Delaware State | W 81–56 | 1–0 | Williams Arena (3,773) Greenville, NC |
| November 9, 2018* 7:45 pm, ESPN3 | | James Madison | L 72–73 | 1–1 | Williams Arena (3,918) Greenville, NC |
| November 11, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lamar Deep South Showcase | W 84-78 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Williams Arena (3,104) Greenville, NC |
| November 16, 2018* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Georgia Tech Deep South Showcase | L 54–79 | 2–2 | McCamish Pavilion (4,922) Atlanta, GA |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley Deep South Showcase | W 69–64 | 3–2 | Williams Arena (3,144) Greenville, NC |
| November 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Prairie View A&M Deep South Showcase | W 76–64 | 4–2 | Williams Arena (2,972) Greenville, NC |
| November 24, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | High Point | L 52–55 | 4–3 | Williams Arena (3,156) Greenville, NC |
| November 27, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at UNC Wilmington | L 86–95 | 4–4 | Trask Coliseum (3,971) Wilmington, NC |
| November 30, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Appalachian State | W 83–81 | 5–4 | Williams Arena (3,552) Greenville, NC |
| December 2, 2018* 4:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 70–47 | 6–4 | Williams Arena (2,964) Greenville, NC |
| December 18, 2018* 7:30 pm, beIN | | at Charlotte | L 49–55 | 6–5 | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,640) Charlotte, NC |
| December 28, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Carolina A&T | W 77–57 | 7–5 | Williams Arena (4,761) Greenville, NC |
| AAC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at SMU | L 54–82 | 7–6 (0–1) | Moody Coliseum (5,601) Dallas, TX |
| January 5, 2019 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | Cincinnati | W 73–71 | 8–6 (1–1) | Williams Arena (4,238) Greenville, NC |
| January 10, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Memphis | W 78–72 | 8–7 (1–2) | FedEx Forum (14,622) Memphis, TN |
| January 13, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UCF | L 65–76 | 8–8 (1–3) | CFE Arena (4,692) Orlando, FL |
| January 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Temple | L 74–85 | 8–9 (1–4) | Williams Arena (4,551) Greenville, NC |
| January 23, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 17 Houston | L 50–94 | 8–10 (1–5) | Fertitta Center (6,297) Houston, TX |
| January 26, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | South Florida Saturday Showcase | L 57–77 | 8–11 (1–6) | Williams Arena (4,610) Greenville, NC |
| January 31, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tulane | W 66–65 | 9–11 (2–6) | Williams Arena (3,616) Greenville, NC |
| February 3, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPNews | | at UConn | L 52–76 | 9–12 (2–7) | XL Center (8,873) Hartford, CT |
| February 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | Wichita State | L 49–65 | 9–13 (2–8) | Williams Arena (3,631) Greenville, NC |
| February 10, 2019 5:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Florida | L 68–72 $^{OT}$ | 9–14 (2–9) | Yuengling Center (5,707) Tampa, FL |
| February 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Memphis | L 69–79 | 9–15 (2–10) | Williams Arena (3,411) Greenville, NC |
| February 17, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tulsa | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 9–16 (2–11) | Williams Arena (4,248) Greenville, NC |
| February 23, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulane | W 85–81 | 10–16 (3–11) | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,119) New Orleans, LA |
| February 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | No. 8 Houston | L 65–99 | 10–17 (3–12) | Williams Arena (4,087) Greenville, NC |
| March 3, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulsa | L 78–91 | 10–18 (3–13) | Reynolds Center (3,507) Tulsa, OK |
| March 5, 2019 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wichita State | L 55–72 | 10–19 (3–14) | Charles Koch Arena (10,205) Wichita, KS |
| March 10, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | UConn | L 73–82 | 10–20 (3–15) | Williams Arena (3,845) Greenville, NC |
| AAC tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2019 10:00 pm, ESPNU | (11) | vs. (6) Wichita State First round | L 57–73 | 10–21 | FedEx Forum (7,476) Memphis, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||