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LOCATION: Johnson City, TN
CONFERENCE: Southern (North Division)
LAST SEASON: 17-11 (.607)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-7 (4th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 3/2
NICKNAME: Buccaneers
COLORS: Navy Blue & Old Gold
HOMECOURT: Memorial Center (12,000)
COACH: Ed DeChellis (Penn State '82)
record at school 35-47 (3 years)
career record 35-47 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Jerry Pelphrey (ETSU '94)
David Siepert (Muhlenberg '86)
Hilliary Scott (Roanoke '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 14-7-7-11-17
RPI (last 5 years) 192-271-273-267-174
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Once the toast of the Southern Conference, East Tennessee State has experienced a revival of sorts under fourth-year Coach Ed DeChellis. Last year's 17-11 team will not make fans in Johnson City forget the program's glory years of the late '80s and early '90s, when the Buccaneers won a combined 99 games in four seasons, cracked the national rankings and went to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. But it was a far cry from the seven-win team that DeChellis inherited when he took over before the 1996-97 season. The challenge for DeChellis this year will be finding a way to maintain the program's newfound momentum after the loss of leading scorer Greg Stephens (16.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 132 assists, 49 steals, .383 3 PT) and leading rebounder Reggie Todd (10.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 23 steals, .551 field goal percentage). "We are not going to replace Greg Stephens," said DeChellis. "He was the heart and soul of our team and he played the most important position on the floor, the point guard position." The 1999-2000 roster is lined with solid role players but no star power in the mold of Stephens. DeChellis is hopeful that a more balanced attack will result in success. One positive that may occur with the loss of Stephens is that it will force more players to get involved with the offense, a problem at times when he served as the team's primary ballhandler and scorer. "Overall, we're going to be a more athletic team with better speed," said DeChellis. "We've got 10 or 11 guys who can play and a bunch of guys who can score seven, eight or nine points a game. I'm hoping that we can be the type of team that you don't know on a given night who might be able to step up and beat you."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH B
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C
The Buccaneers are looking to re-establish themselves as one of the conference's elite programs. In order to do so, they will have to do a lot of the little things correctly, like repeating last year's .466 team field goal percentage, .380 team three-point percentage and plus-5.4 team rebounding margin. ETSU ranked among the top three teams in the conference in all three categories. There won't be much margin for error because of this team's lack of size and shot-blocking ability, unless a bonafide go-to player emerges. With the re-emergence of UNC Greensboro, the Buccaneers can probably count on falling a place or two in the North Division standings. |
For starters, DeChellis can rely on 6-2 junior guard D.J. McDuffie (10.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 54 assists, 30 steals, .361 3 PT), who is coming off a breakthrough season. McDuffie was one of the conference's most improved players last season. He averaged just 4.6 points as a freshman and shot an anemic .317 from the field and .091 (two of 22) from three-point range. McDuffie finished 1998-99 with a .408 field goal percentage and ranked third on the team in three-pointers made with 30. "We need D.J. to have a solid, consistent season," said DeChellis. "He had some surgery his freshman year and was never right the whole season. Last year, he improved greatly and he has improved again over the summer. He's a 12-point-a-game guy who can explode for 20 on occasion. He has a solid, all-around game." McDuffie was ETSU's top scorer in last season's Southern Conference Tournament, recording team-high totals of 23 points in a first round win over The Citadel and 19 points in a quarterfinal-round loss against Chattanooga. He also scored 20 points last season in a win over UNC Asheville. Wide-body Leo Murray (8.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 25 steals), a 6-6, 260-pound senior, will need to pick up some of the scoring and rebounding slack inside created by the departure of Todd. Murray is a solid post player who worked feverishly in the off-season on his conditioning. "Some guys are going to have to step up their games and Leo is one of those," said DeChellis. "We need solid minutes out of him in the post. We need him to expand into a 12-14 point scorer and add one or two more rebounds per game. He has dropped about 15 pounds off his frame, so hopefully he can accomplish that by being a more agile, more mobile player." Murray's top performance last season was a 17-point, 11-rebound effort in an overtime loss at Chattanooga on Jan. 11. After McDuffie and Murray, the rest of the team is a little more unproven, although it is stocked with intriguing talents. Dimeco Childress (5.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, .483 field goal percentage, .444 3 PT), a 6-3 sophomore, showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie year. Childress is an outstanding shooter who can score standing still or off the dribble. Childress' major drawbacks are his rail-thin frame (175 pounds) and lack of strength. He led the team in scoring on five occasions in 1998-99, including a 19-point outing in an 83-81 win at VMI. "Dimeco is a great shooter and he can score points in a hurry," said DeChellis. "He won three or four games for us last year by making big shots. He just needs to mature and get stronger." Childress will back up McDuffie at off guard and might wind up starting if the versatile McDuffie is forced to play the point. Understandably, it is that unstable point guard situation that is DeChellis' major concern heading into the season. "That is the one uncertainty that is the most problematic," said DeChellis. "How our point guard position comes into play will dictate how we will grow as a team." First crack at filling the position should go to 6-0 sophomore Cliff Decoster (2.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 35 assists), who appeared in 25 games last season. A good penetrator, Decoster's challenge will be to change his mind set from a scorer's mentality to a point-guard mentality. He had more turnovers (39) than assists last season. Ryan Lawson (Cherokee HS/Rogersville, Tenn.), a 6-2 freshman, is the antithesis of Decoster. Although not as creative offensively, he is heady, sees the floor well and is a good perimeter shooter. Lawson averaged 26.5 points last season and scored 50 of his team's 56 points in one game. Another player who will see minutes in the backcourt is 6-0 senior Gabe Lisicky (5.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 49 assists, .373 3 PT). A former walk-on who has since earned a scholarship, Lisicky played in all 28 games last season and averaged almost 16 minutes. His major assets are his perimeter touch and mental toughness. Two newcomers with potential are 6-0 freshman Michael Griffith (Pleasure Ridge Park HS/Louisville, Ky.) and 6-3 junior Deon Daniels (Cecil CC/North East, Md). Griffith is the cousin of former Louisville and NBA standout Darrell Griffith. He averaged 18.8 points last season and had a strong showing in the Kentucky-Indiana High School All-Star Game. He should see quality minutes as a freshman if offseason calf problems don't slow him too much at the beginning of the year. "Griffith is athletic, can shoot, drive and is aggressive and strong," said DeChellis. "He will play, I just don't know where he will play at the moment. Potentially, he is a great player." Daniels and 6-7 junior Renaldo Johnson (Carl Albert State (Okla.) College & Montgomery, Ala.) are the first junior college recruits signed by DeChellis. Daniels averaged 16.0 points last season. "We recruited a couple of junior college kids this season because the class structure of our team was a little goofy," said DeChellis. "We needed to even that out. Daniels is a wing player who is very athletic and can score in a bunch of ways. He is also a good defender. If somebody asked me what he does great, I would have to say that he does nothing great, but lots of things extremely well." Rounding out a crowded backcourt are 6-0 senior Erskin Anavitarte (0.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg) and 6-1 junior Jon Perry (1.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg), both of whom played in just four games last season. Both players will make their biggest (if not only) contributions as practice players. Providing support for Murray in the frontcourt will be Johnson, 6-5 junior Adrian Meeks (4.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .544 FG) and 6-9 senior Gareth Davis (2.7 ppg, 1.5 ppg, .694 FG). Johnson and Meeks are athletic players who are good defenders and scorers. Meeks played in 28 games last season. "We need a big year from Adrian," said DeChellis. "He has been foul prone and he needs to grow out of that." Davis is the Buccaneers' only player taller than 6-7. His biggest problem during his career has been his lack of strength. He is listed at just 190 pounds heading into the season but should be stronger after working hard in the off-season. Davis played this summer in the World University Games for his native England. Isaac Potter (Manchester HS/Richmond, Va.), a 6-6 freshman, may also see time up front. He has a strong frame and a good combination of post and perimeter skills that should allow him to play at both the small-forward and power-forward spots. He averaged 17.4 points last season.
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