Joyner enjoying return

Just when things seemed to be going right for DaQuan Joyner last basketball season, things all of sudden went wrong.

Joyner, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward on the East Carolina men's team, appeared to be hitting his stride for the Pirates early last season when a foot injury cut his campaign short after just five games.

“I was kind of surprised that (my season) ended up like that,” the Goldsboro High School product said prior to Wednesday's practice, “but things happen for a reason.”

While that may be true, it seemed the season-ending injury couldn't have happened at worse time for Joyner. In a 93-90 overtime win over Virginia Commonwealth in Greenville last Nov. 25, Joyner played perhaps the best half of collegiate basketball in his short career. In the first 20 minutes against the Rams, he scored 12 points on 4-of-4 field goal shooting and a 4-of-5 effort from the free throw line while also grabbing five rebounds — all game highs in the first half.

Joyner, who was born in the Bronx, N.Y., didn't fare as well after halftime though, attempting just one shot and one free throw — both misses. Joyner did grab three more rebounds to finish with a solid 12-8 points-rebounds line with two assists, a steal and a block in a career-best 33 minutes of playing time.

Then — boom — he was relegated to watching the rest of ECU's games from the bench in street clothes and doing rehabilitation exercises during practice while the rest of his Pirates' teammates were preparing for the next game. That experience was tough for Joyner, but his coach said it's an experience from which the redshirt sophomore can learn.

“The hard part was just not playing,” ECU third-year head coach Mack McCarthy said of Joyner, who was granted a medical hardship and has three years of eligibility left. “Now, he's actually got something he can work toward every day. Getting well, getting healthy, it's vague. But being ready to play and performing, those are concrete things he can get a hold of.

“I think his maturity that came from sitting out last year is really going to be a big deal to him. There's no question that he has grown up because of what he went through.”

Joyner had injured his foot a few weeks prior to the VCU game, but he attempted to play through it. When it was confirmed that he had fractured a bone in his left foot, Joyner had to shut it down and begin the rehab process.

He admitted there is still some lingering pain in the foot, but Joyner is eager to prove that what could've been his breakout season in 2008-09 was only postponed, not cancelled.

“I feel I'm going to get more minutes,” said Joyner, who averaged seven points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season. “I've seen a lot of things in the last year that make me want to push myself to get more minutes.”

Contact Tony Castleberry at tcastleberry@coxnc.com or (252) 329-9591.