With conference play opening Wednesday, the success of the season rests heavy on the large shoulders of the East Carolina’s forwards.

For the Pirates, the lack of size and depth inside is something head coach Jeff Lebo has struggled with in recent years. Before the season started, it looked like a drawback that was corrected. But, with Clarence Williams’ dismissal from the program, the issue again has reared its ugly head.

Simply put, ECU’s lack of depth at forward positions seems guaranteed to hinder its chances at meaningful success within American Athletic Conference play.

Williams was the second most used forward on the team and saw starting time at the four, alongside center Andre Washington. The 6-foot-8 Williams and 7-foot Washington gave Lebo a one-two punch inside the defensive paint that was rarely seen before in Greenville.

But it’s not defensively where the Williams’ absence will be most missed. His five points per game, as small as it seems compared to the likes of Caleb White and B.J. Tyson, creates a gap on both the box score and the court that will be hard to replace given who’s forced to step into the role.

All eyes will turn to Michel Nzege and Deng Riak, the two forwards now tasked with filling the gap left by Williams. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the two have vastly underperformed offensively through the cupcake part of the schedule.

Nzege, who missed seven games to injuries this season, is off to a dismal start in the offensive zone. He’s averaging just two points per game and shooting 28.6 percent from the field. Compare those numbers, albeit it in a small sample size of six games, to his 61.6 and 51.6 percentages his last two seasons.

The clock has struck midnight for Nzege to find his rhythm this season. The Pirates will have to at least attempt to lean on him to some degree through conference play. If he finds his form, his production alone could fill the void, but if not, ECU will have to look elsewhere.

Riak, the highly touted, 6-foot-10 forward from Australia, still remains largely undefined in his role. He’s averaging 17.5 minutes off the bench, spelling both Washington and finding time occasionally at the four. Like Nzege, though, his offensive performance needs to improve.

Still classified as a freshman despite appearing in eight games last season, Riak is averaging just 2.7 points per game this season. But that hasn’t been the point of emphasis for him. Instead, his 4.2 rebounds per game is second behind only Washington and is just .1 off of the clip set by Williams.

For Riak, however, his chance to improve offensively doesn’t lay in improving his shooting percentage and finding high-chance shots. Unlike Nzege, Riak’s shooting at a decent rate, 40.5 percent, but he needs to attempt more shots. Consider that Riak attempts just 2.8 shots per game where Williams attempted 4.8 in a similar workload. That represents a shift in emphasis for what Riak’s expectations will likely be in conference play where the players are bigger.

Ideally, Lebo will find a way to get Nzege back to form and make Riak a bigger point of emphasis on offense. But the competition won’t get any easier in the AAC.

For Riak and Nzege, the weight is as heavy as ever.