East Carolina’s basketball team looks different this season, and it is not just because of the six newcomers on the roster.
The physical appearance of many of the returning Pirates, and the overall size of the squad, has changed after ECU’s first season in the American Athletic Conference. It needed to in order for East Carolina, which begins practice on Friday, to be competitive in the physical league that features several teams with dominant big men in the paint and strong guards on the perimeter.
Put simply, the Pirates grew up and out through work in the weight room, vigorous, contact-heavy summer workouts and recruiting.