SoCon Basketball needs ETSU to make a smart hire

Steve Forbes (left) and Bob Richey (right) square off in a key Southern Conference game at Freedom Hall in December of 2018

When the 2020-21 season in Southern Conference basketball gets underway in early November should COVID-19 be out of the picture at that point, the league will have a different feel to it.

For the second-straight season, a 30-game winner at the reigning Southern Conference regular-season and tournament champions will be off to new surroundings, as Steve Forbes is set to take the reins at Wake Forest following five seasons at East Tennessee State where he won 130 games and a pair of SoCon titles. 

It's also the second year in a row that the SoCon has lost a coach to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Last year, it wasn't too long after the season that Mike Young took the head coaching job at Wofford following the Terriers run to the round of 32 and narrow loss to Kentucky. 

The Bucs, who went to the NCAA Tournament in Forbes' second year as the head coach in Johnson City, lost to Florida, 80-65, in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. It was bittersweet ending for the Bucs in 2019-20 as it was plenty of college basketball when the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. 

The Bucs won a school-record 30 games this past season, finishing 30-4 and on the verge of a national ranking before the remaining conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament were canceled on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In my opinion, it was Forbes coming into the SoCon that forced other programs in the league to step up to the plate as a programs, and by default, it made the whole league stronger as a result. Forbes was a hired by former ETSU Director of Athletics Dr. Dick Sander, who hit the ball out of the park by bringing Forbes to ETSU. It was a win for the Bucs, and it turned out to be a win for the Southern Conference. 

It will hard to replace Forbes, but he definitely left the job in much better shape than when he took the job in 2015-16, succeeding Murry Bartow after the Bucs finished 16-14 in their first season of membership back in the Southern Conference. 

Forbes was successful from the outset, and had the Bucs in the championship game in his first season at the helm only to lose to Chattanooga, as the Mocs knocked off the Bucs 73-67 in the championship game in Asheville. 

Forbes brought ETSU basketball back to the prominence it was so known for in the early-mid 1990s. When Alan LeForce was asked to resign after pressure from the administration following a 7-20 1995-96 season. Though it wouldn't be a devastating downfall for ETSU basketball in the long run, the years from 1996-2000 weren't exactly ideal for Bucs basketball. ETSU was a combined 49-62 during that time-frame. On the surface, it didn't look like a great hire, but patience would win the day.

DeChellis would finally start building the Bucs into a consistent winner once again following the 2000-01 season, as the Bucs finished with an 18-11 record and won the SoCon’s North Division with a 13-3 record in league play. Two years later, DeChellis led the Bucs back to the NCAA Tournament after claiming both the North Division and tournament titles before moving on to become the head coach at Penn State. 

Bartow seemed like the perfect fit when he took over for DeChellis.  However, after leading the Bucs to three NCAA Tournament appearances, with two of those coming as a member of the Atlantic Sun, and the other one, which came in the second to last year as SoCon members before moving on to the Atlantic Sun came with DeChellis’ players. 

Now, ETSU basketball finds itself at a crossroads once again. Whether to go after another power five assistant or go after a highly successful lower mid-major coach. The thought process from several who know the program well is that the direction would seem to be directed towards an assistant or head coach that is already at a major power five program.  

What Will The Fallout Be?

The burning question ETSU fans now have is what will the fallout be? Well, it has already been announced that Forbes will be taking his entire staff with him to Wake Forest, with the only one he is leaving behind the one he hopes Director of Athletics Scott Carter will hire—Jason Shay.

Shay and Forbes are longtime friends, and its not the coaching acumen that many question about Shay? It’s the social aspect of the job, which Forbes was such a natural in his position. Forbes had an infectious personality, and from the first time I met coach at the 2017 tournament, I knew there was something about his presence that was different than previous ETSU coaches. He had that “it” factor.

We don’t know much about Shay’s personality, or at least I don’t, but I know the guy can flat out coach basketball. The recruiting side of it also involves personality, which Forbes again was a natural. He was built for that part of the job. Most times in any sport the hardest adjustment from going from being an assistant to a head coach is the CEO part of the position, and being able to delegate and trust tasks to your assistants rather than micro-manage them.

If it is Shay, he not only will have to maintain the transfers coming in and hold the recruiting class together, including the grad transfers who will be eligible immediately, but he will also be asked to hire an entire staff of his own coaches. Like Forbes, Shay’s basketball knowledge and style were highly influenced by a Big Ten, physical style of basketball. After all, Shay was a walk-on for tough as nails Tom Davis at Iowa in 1995, and it was a roster that featured stars like Chris Kingsbury,  J.R. Koch and Andre Woolridge.

The other, and perhaps the biggest question for Shay should he end up being “the guy” will be how well he does in keeping this team returning and coming in together. There would be a great temptation for someone like a Daivien Williamson to transfer back closer to his home of Greensboro, N.C., to play for Forbes at Wake Forest. For that matter, it could also be a major lure for someone like versatile and multi-talented Bo Hodges,  who is looking to realize a dream of playing in the NBA. 

The platform a place like Wake Forest would provide, and the competition he would face in the ACC would certainly make it a much more tempting decision to transfer without having to sit out a year if he transferred as a grad transfer for his final year. 

But even more than that, guys like Charlie Weber, LeDarrius Brewer, Ty Brewer, Damari Monsanto, Patrick Good, Octavion Corley, and Vonnie Patterson are the future of the program that Shay has to build his foundation as a head coach on. Whether or not he can keep Ledarrius (Southeast Missouri State) and Ty Brewer (Southeastern Louisiana), Jalen Johnson (Tennessee), Silas Adheke (Northern Kentucky) and David Sloan (Kansas State). The harder ones to keep as commitments would obviously be Johnson and Adheke because they are already coming in as graduate transfers. Only time will tell if this class stays together, or whether other all-conference players on the roster, such as Williamson or Hodges decide to jump ship (no pun attended) as well. 

For mid-major madness, I listed some candidates I thought might be viable candidates for the ETSU job below. I have added a couple of names to the list given the news I was informed of about power five schools. 

Jason Shay (ETSU associate head coach)

Shay and Forbes are lifelong friends, and like Forbes, Shay is an Iowa native. Shay has the acumen to keep the Bucs as regular contenders in the Southern Conference race, year-in and year-out. The question becomes: Will he be offered the job? If he isn’t, he’ll be alongside Forbes in Winston-Salem. Shay walked on for Iowa for Tom Davis’s Hawkeyes in 1995.

Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville head coach)

The Elizabethton, Tenn., native led UNC Asheville to an 11-win improvement in his second season at the helm of the Bulldogs and is one of the brightest young minds in the mid-major coaching ranks. He also knows the area and grew up not far from Johnson City.

Michael Schwartz (Tennessee associate head coach)

Rick Barnes and Forbes have a great relationship, so it would be natural to look just up the road to Knoxville for a potential replacement. That coach could be Schwartz, who has served in two different stints under Barnes during his time at Tennessee. Schwartz was the associate head coach under Barnes at Texas back in 2016, and re-joined Barnes at Tennessee in 2019.

Pat Kelsey (Winthrop head coach)

We know, he’s already at a successful mid-major program, but Kelsey has proven himself a winner during his eight seasons at Winthrop, posting a 163-93 overall record with four 20-win seasons. During his time as an assistant at Xavier under Chris Mack, Mack praised him as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation. Kelsey led the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

Penny Collins (Tennessee State head coach)

Penny Collins is a coach that many of the ETSU faithful would want to lead the next era of the program. Collins is the highly successful leader of the Tennessee State basketball program in March of 2018-19, and has led the Tigers to a pair of 18-win assistants in his two seasons at the helm of the Tigers basketball program.

Kenny Payne (Kentucky associate head coach)

Payne has been a highly successful assistant coach during his time as an assistant at Oregon and currently for the past 10 seasons as an assistant coach under John Calipari at Kentucky. In 2020, Payne was named to the STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame. He’s known as a dynamic recruiter, and has been nationally renowned for his work with big men, particularly during his time at Kentucky. He’s responsible for the development of such players as Anthony Davis (LA Lakers) and  Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves). Luring him away to Johnson City might be a bit of a tall order, but if ETSU is willing to spend big money once again, it might be enough to lure a coach like Payne. 

Ira Bowman (Auburn assistant coach)

Bowman is known as another tremendous recruiter, and in his first season on the job, was part of a Bruce Pearl staff that made a run all the way to the Final Four. Bowman helped Penn to a 24-9 record in 2017-18 as a top assistant for the Quakers. The former seven-year veteran of the NBA helped the Tigers sign a top-10 recruiting class in 2019-20. 

Barclay Radebaugh (Charleston Southern head coach)

Radebaugh is an East Tennessee State graduate and has carved out a pretty successful career as head coach at Charleston Southern. He was once a graduate assistant at ETSU in 1986-88, and was one of Furman’s top assistants under Butch Estes from 1990-94. Radebaugh even served as an assistant under Gregg Marshall from 2001-03 at Winthrop. Marshall was, of course, one of Forbes’ mentors at Wichita State.

Why East Tennessee State Needs to be Good

Next year is crucial for Southern Conference going forward, and while ETSU should suffer some of the predictable headaches with having to make a coaching change at this point in the journey for the program, the transition has to be as seamless as possible. 

Why might it be so important you might ask? Well, it’s important because what’s at stake with this next hire for the Bucs basketball program is whether or not only ETSU can carry this momentum forward into next season, but the league as a a whole. 

Without an NCAA Tournament this past season, we shall never know if both Furman and UNC Greensboro were chosen for the NIT, or whether it would have been just Furman, or maybe neither team would have gone. What we do know is for the past five years pretty much everyone that follows mid-major basketball knows who East Tennessee State—know about its tradition—and know that the program was, and always will be more than just one coach or player.

While no coach has ever won more games through five seasons than Forbes, there have been other great coaches that have come through the program before. Names like Madison Brooks, Les Robinson, Ed DeChellis and Alan LeForce just to name a few. The Bucs have always been more than one head coach or one player. 

But I might make this assumption at least. When DeChellis left, or Robinson, or even when LeForce resigned, at no time was their a more crucial time to make the right hire for ETSU basketball. Following the departure of LeForce, the SoCon saw a noticeable decline during the first few years of the DeChellis regime. Southern Conference basketball was not very good from 1996-2000. 

Dating from LeForce’s last season at the helm of ETSU basketball, which was the 1995-96 season, the champions are as follows over a five-year period: It goes Western Carolina (1996/No. 16 seed), Chattanooga (1997/No. 14 seed), Davidson (1998/No. 14 seed), College of Charleston (1999/No. 8  seed) and Appalachian State (2000/No. 14 seed). Five different champions over five seasons, with a bit of randomness in the league during that period.

While ETSU, Marshall and Chattanooga carried the banner for the league for the SoCon for the better part of two decades in the 1980s and ‘90s, by the turn of the century, the league was looking for some continuity among its top teams once again. Think about it. 

Western Carolina wasn’t supposed to win the 1996 Southern Conference title, as Davidson entered the tournament as the heavy favorites to claim that title in Greensboro, as the Wildcats had been as dominant against the top of the league in 1995-96 as Wofford was In 2018-19, although since the league wasn’t as strong, the Wildcats would get close, but never achieve a ranking in the national poll. 

The Catamounts acquitted themselves well in the NCAA Tournament, going toe-to-toe with No. 1 seed Purdue at The Pit in New Mexico before eventually losing 76-73. A year later, Chattanooga was dominant in the SoCon, and though the Mocs didn’t go undefeated under the all-time winningest coach in Chattanooga history, Mack McCarthy, the Mocs made their mark in the NCAA Tournament.

Following an epic, 71-70, overtime win over Marshall in the 1997 SoCon championship game at the Greensboro Coliseum, which saw NBA Lottery pick Johnny Taylor score 14 points en route to helping the Mocs back to the NCAA Tournament after a year hiatus, UTC was a team on a mission when they arrived in the NCAA Tournament to do battle with Georgia as the No. 14 seed in the Southeast Regional First Round game. 

Much like ETSU with Forbes, Wofford with Young, or even Davidson with McKillop, you got the feeling that any one of those teams had coaches that could keep their respective teams in a game in the NCAA Tournament with just about anyone, no matter how out-talented or out-athletes any one of those teams might have been in an NCAA Tournament setting. 

The Mocs reeled off wins over Georgia (73-70) and Illinois (75-63) to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Folks knew about McCarthy and they knew about Chattanooga’s basketball tradition. 

Although UTC would end up eventually losing to Providence, 71-65, in Birmingham in the Sweet Sixteen, there was a certain optimism about SoCon basketball coming off such a run. And with highly successful Trans-America Athletic Conference member College of Charleston slated to join the league for the league for the 1998-99 season, and UNC Greensboro coming into the SoCon in the 1997-98 season, it would have seemed to have been a time when SoCon basketball might have been ready to flourish like it has in its current span, with Wofford, ETSU, Furman and UNCG.  

However, in 1997, Mack McCarthy was fired after doing something in violation of school policy, which involved a relationship with a Mocs cheerleader. It got McCarthy canned, and though the SoCon would still have emerging Davidson under McKillop,  as well as Appalachian State under Buzz Peterson, ETSU and Chattanooga were about to enter a period of rebuilding, and though Chattanooga was very mediocre under McCarthy’s right-hand man Henry Dickerson, it just wasn’t the same when the Mocs hired from within. 

The Mocs would struggle to find themselves again as a basketball program until the arrival of Jeff Lebo in 2001, and then would finally make the tournament again in 2005 under the direction of former ETSU assistant John Shulman. That time the Mocs got it right hiring from within with Shulman. 

But from 1996-2000, it was an awkward time for Southern Conference hoops scene as a whole, due in large part to what I would call a time of transition and patience under Ed DeChellis at ETSU, while at UTC, even though Dickerson knew the program, he just obviously wasn’t the right hire. 

Though College of Charleston would achieve a national ranking in 1999 and knock off North Carolina, it was still largely a team made up of players that would have been dominant in any mid-major league in the country. After College of Charleston, Appalachian State and Davidson, there was an extreme drop-off in the league’s pecking order.

From about 1998-2006, the SoCon was a mid-major league that didn’t garner much respect anywhere. It was the punching bag for even the top of other mid-major conferences, due in large part from the traditional powers like Chattanooga and ETSU not being relevant at the same time in most seasons. The Bucs, who won the league back-to-back in 2003 and ’04, bolted for the Atlantic Sun following the 2004-05 season. 

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In 1997, the SoCon suffered a blow just as bad as McCarthy getting canned in July, as it would see Marshall officially leave the SoCon to join the Mid-American Conference. Marshall had been another traditional league power that people knew nationally throughout college basketball as a member of the SoCon. Coaches like Dave Huckaby, Billy Donovan and Gregg White helped keep the Thundering Herd a national name as a mid-major, which also raised the prestige of the SoCon.

In 2000, Buzz Peterson finally broke through and won the championship and took the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years. Then, Rufus Leach tragically drowned in the Watauga River, and then Buzz Peterson left shortly thereafter to become the new head coach at Tulsa. The Mountaineers haven’t been back to the NCAA Tournament since, and it wasn’t until the Cougars exited the SoCon that it would make the NCAA Tournament again following being so dominant in its first year in the league under John Kresse. 

Stephen Curry arrived at Davidson in 2006, and slowly the SoCon prestige would rise little-by-little from about 2006-09, and then it would be a sharp decline after the ’08-09 season. In fact, the SoCon’s current success had the perfect storm of Mike Young finally getting Wofford in gear in 2010, winning the first of five tournament titles in a decade, and the second major event was the hiring of Steve Forbes at ETSU during the spring of 2015 after the Bucs first year back in the league. 

In fact the 2015-16 season was the season that started to see a significant rise in the level of competition in the league, with Forbes making the Bucs into an instant contender, Furman making a near-miraculous run to the SoCon title in 2015 and returned everyone for the following season, and Wes Miller leading the Spartans to its first postseason win as a Division I member in the College Basketball Invitational. It was the beginning of a major turnaround and ascendance for SoCon basketball.

Which finally brings me back to my original point. A coach doesn’t and won’t ever make a program. But guys like Steve Forbes, Mack McCarthy, Bob McKillop, Mike Young, Billy Donovan,  Wes Miller, and Les Robinson have given this league a personality over the years. There are still two of the best coaches in mid-major basketball left, in Furman’s Bob Richey and UNCG’s Miller. But the league needs a third guy at ETSU. 

A guy that won’t let the Bucs slip into obscurity in mid-major hoops and then have to fight to get back to its traditional success like it did under DeChellis. The SoCon needs ETSU to be good now, and that’s because my belief is if you hear the top four names enough year-in and year-out during this current time of success at Furman, Wofford, UNCG and ETSU, then it’s bound to lead to an at-large berth soon. Let’s hope ETSU makes the right choice.

I think Shay has the coaching acumen to be the guy to take the program forward, however, as proven in the past, it’s been a mixed bag when hiring from within at some programs. Here’s a look at a few.

Furman’s Niko Medved leaves for Drake/Furman hires top assistant Bob Richey—-COMPLETE SUCCESS SO FAR!

UTC’s Mack McCarthy fired/UTC hires Henry Dickerson—Failure

App State’s Buzz Peterson leaves for Tulsa/App State hires Houston Fancher—Not a complete success, but not a failure either.

App State’s Buzz Peterson leaves for a second time for UNC Wilmington in 2010/App State hires Jason Capel—COMPLETE FAILURE!

ETSU’s Les Robinson leaves for NC State/ETSU hires top assistant Alan LeForce—Success for the most part.

Wofford’s Richard Johnson retires/Wofford hires top assistant Mike Young—COMPLETE SUCCESS AND A GAME-CHANGER!/This one took patience though.

Wofford’s Mike Young moves on to Virginia Tech/Wofford hires top assistant Jay McAuley—SUCCESS so far.

UTC head coach Jeff Lebo leaves for Auburn/UTC hires top assistant John Shulman—Success for the most part, as he won two conference titles!

Samford fired Bennie Seltzer/Samford hired top assistant Scott Padgett—Not a success, but not a complete failure…more the wrong fit and lack of support. 

UNCG’s Mike Dement steps down in Dec. of 2011/Wes Miller takes over in an interim role and wins SoCon Coach of the Year—HUGE SUCCESS!

—There are also two outliers…Furman and UNCG, who have hired coaches that were once either head coaches or assistants before and then left only to return to those programs. Those coaches are Mike Dement, who served previously as the head coach of the Spartans from 1991-95 before becoming the head coach at SMU. Dement would return to UNCG exactly a decade later to become the head coach. 

—Furman hired Niko Medved prior to the 2013-14 season after firing Jeff Jackson. Medved had been a part of Larry Davis’ staff from 2000-06, but Medved was not retained by Jackson. Medved went on to ply his trade at Colorado State before returning to Furman. An interesting side note is that Jackson hired Bob Richey as an assistant from Charleston Southern’s staff in the spring of 2012. After Jackson was fired, Richey was the only coach retained by Medved from Jackson’s staff. 

Furman's 2019-20 season comes to an abrupt end due to Coronavirus Pandemic

Furman senior guard Jordan Lyons

Mar. 12, 2020

Furman third-year head coach Bob Richey and senior guard Jordan Lyons had hoped the 2019-20 season would once again see the Paladins receive a postseason bid to a prestigious college basketball tournament on Thursday, however, college basketball season has come to an end at all levels due to the pandemic spread of the Novel Coronavirus, which is also more commonly referred to COVID-19. 

Richey and Lyons had hoped to have the opportunity to set at least one more record in the 2019-20 season, which was receive a second-straight bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), and being able to claim a 26th win on the season, which would have eclipsed the 25 victories the Paladins achieved last year and matched this season.

The Paladins finish the 2019-20 season with a 25-7 overall record, which was the second-best record in the Southern Conference this season behind only East Tennessee State’s 30-4 record. Furman saw its season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament, dropping a 77-68 decision to arch-rival and No. 7 seed Wofford.

At the time, it was thought the Paladins would likely receive an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament  (NIT), however, the week started with the official release by the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. When Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus Wednesday night prior to tip-off between the Jazz and Oklahoma Thunder, the season was suspended indefinitely.

The dominoes would fall in quick succession following news of the remainder of the NBA season being canceled, as 14 conference tournaments followed suit by cancelling their tournaments and by Thursday late afternoon, both the NCAA Tournament and NIT were canceled in a statement released by NCAA President Mark Emert. 

Furman finished the season with a school-record 15 Southern Conference wins, finishing second overall in the league with a 15-3 record in league play. The Paladins were one of two teams that were able to take down East Tennessee State during the regular-season, positing an impressive 65-56 win over the Bucs back on Jan. 4 at Timmons Arena. For the first time in school history, Furman went 12-0 at its on-campus facility. 

ETSU wins 100th Southern Conference Tournament

East Tennessee State  punches 11th ticket to NCAA Tournament by knocking off defending champions

ETSU senior guard Tray Boyd III

East Tennessee State 72, Wofford 58

Top seeded East Tennessee State finished what they started, claiming the 2020 Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles, as the Bucs posted a 72-58 win over No. 7 seed and defending SoCon champion Wofford Monday night before a sellout crowd on hand at the Harrah's Cherokee Center. 

The win punched ETSU’s 11th ticket to the NCAA Tournament, marked the14th-straight win, and clinched the program’s eighth Southern Conference crown, as the Bucs became just the fourth team in Southern Conference history to win 30 games, improving to 30-4 overall. ETSU will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. 

ETSU joins the 2018-19 Wofford Terriers (30-5), the 1950-51 North Carolina State Wolfpack (30-7) and the 1946-47 North Carolina Tar Heels (30-5).Wofford ended its season with a 19-16 record. The Bucs are the first team in Southern Conference history to enter the tournament with 30 wins.  ETSU will see who it will face in the upcoming NCAA Tournament in Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show to be broadcast by CBS at 6:30 p.m. EST.

ETSU senior guard Isaiah Tisdale was sensational in the championship win for the Bucs, scoring a game-high 24 points and his play during the tournament was that of a man on a mission, as well as personifying a team on a mission. For his three double-figure scoring games during the tournament, and in particular, his performance in Monday night’s championship game, Tisdale was selected as the SoCon Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. 

Tisdale finished the contest connecting on 5-of-8 shots from the field, including going 4-for-7 from three-point land. He was also 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. The only other Bucs player in double figures in the contest was Tray Boyd III, who chipped in with 11 points. 

Wofford was led in the contest by Chevez Goodwin, who posted 18 points, five rebounds and one block. The junior also finished going a perfect 8-for-8 from the the field, including 2-for-4 from the free throw line to equal his point total. The only other Terrier in double figures was Tray Hollowell off the bench, who posted 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and was 3-for-5 from three-point land. 

The Bucs ran out to an 11-2 lead early, however, Wofford responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game almost as quickly, in what what was a frenetic start to the 100th edition of the Southern Conference Tournament championship game. 

ETSU would match its nine-point lead with 11:49 remaining in the game on a triple by Patrick Good, however, on Wofford’s next possession, Lucas N’Guessan picked up his fourth foul, as ETSU led 49-40 heading into the second media timeout of the second half.  The Bucs then responded with six-straight points following a Joe Hugley three-point play the old-fashioned and one of Tisdale’s four triples, taking a 17-11 lead with 13:44 remaining in the first half.

Wofford responded with another haymaker of its own, going on a 13-2 run to take the lead, 24-19, following a Messiah Jones layup in the lane with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening frame. Over the next five minutes, the game featured three ties, with the last coming when Storm Murphy drained a three, answering three-straight made free throws from Tisdale, knotting the game, 29-29, with three minutes to play in the first half. 

The Bucs would close the half on a flurry, however, with Tisdale scoring the final seven points of the half for the Bucs, as they went to the halftime locker room with all of the momentum, leading 36-31 at the break. 

In the second half,  the stage was set for Hugley to re-enter the lineup following Lucas N’Guessan’s fourth personal foul with  11:23 left and the Bucs having a 49-40 lead following a Patrick Good three-pointer. With the game in a precarious spot for the Terriers, Hugley would help the Bucs start to pull away from the Terriers and helping the Bucs to their first double-digit lead of the night after ripping a rebound away from Wofford’s Chevez Goodwin, and then nailing a right elbow three on the other end, as the Bucs assumed a 52-40 lead with 10:45 left.

The Terriers could never get within double digits of ETSU the remainder of the week, and a pair of Boyd free throws would see the Bucs lead grow to as large as 18 points  (72-54) with 1:11 remaining. Wofford scored the final four points of the game,  but the celebrations had already begun among the partisan ETSU sellout crowd of 6,400 fans on hand at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center. 

ETSU finished the night connecting on 48.9% (23-of-47) from the field, including hitting on 42.9% (9-of-21) from three-point range, while holding the Terriers to 43.4% (23-of-53) from the field and just 24.0% (6-of-25) from three-point range. Coming into Monday night’s championship game, the Terriers had hit on 49.3% (36-of-73) shots from three-point range through their first three games of the tournament coming into the championship game. 

Wofford held advantages in points in the paint (26-24),  points off turnovers (17-15), bench scoring (21-20), and fast-break points (6-4). ETSU held a slight advantage in points in the paint (7-6), while posting advantages in total assists (12-7) and total rebounds (32-27). Both teams took relatively good care of the basketball, as the Bucs turned it over 13 times, while Wofford finished with 11. 

Quotable:

ETSU head coach Steve Forbes on when he knew the team was at a different level

“There was a couple of things I could tell you. The win at LSU. I don’t believe in moral victories but, when we went to Kansas and we were down five with four to go and we were right there, had the ball, I’ve been in there a lot of times and just got whipped. A lot of teams. So I knew then we had a chance. Didn’t get it done. Then we went to LSU and popped them. Had them down 23 in the second half and beat them by double digits, So I knew we had a chance. Then Jeromy [Rodriguez] got hurt against Furman, tough loss and the sky was falling in Johnson City. Came back and beat Greensboro on the road. Kind of exorcised a demon that we haven’t won there in a while. So I knew we’d be okay. And after Mercer, we changed. Changed the starting lineup, got better on offense and we haven't lost since. Those were probably the biggest moments for me. Important to get Jeromy back before the tournament. He made a lot of plays defensively for us.”

ETSU senior forward Joe Hugley on energizing the team

“Every game I try to come in, no matter if I play five or 20 minutes, I have to affect the game in the most efficient way possible. I think today I knew we needed some energy. We took a punch from them and I tried to do whatever I could to help us punch back. I did everything the team needed me to do and that’s been my role all year. Just filling the plug. Going out there and getting it done no matter how many minutes I played. Just affect the game positively any way I can.”

Wofford junior guard Storm Murphy on how this will motivate the team for next year

“We came in thinking ‘we’re the defending champions this year.’ We had some rough patches but I’m proud of our team for how we did in getting here. All three of us [himself, Goodwin and Hollowell] have learned a ton this year and we’ve learned how to lead and how to create a program that is a winning program. We will all have to step up in major ways and lead better.”

Full Press ETSU Conference link

https://www.facebook.com/ETSUAthletics/videos/3074638795936355/

ETSU and Wofford meet in 100th SoCon Championship Game

Defending champs and preseason favorites set for championship meeting

SoCon Championship Preview:  No. 1 East Tennessee State (29-4) vs. No.7 Wofford (19-15), 7 p.m.

ASHEVILLE, N.C.--From the outset of the season, I thought it would be a good season for the Southern Conference. The preseason favorite has made it to Monday night. The challenger is also the holder, however, for Jay McAuley’s Wofford Terriers and Steve Forbes’ East Tennessee State Bucs, it’s been a strange trip to get here. 

The preseason favorite has made it to Monday night. The challenger is also the holder, however, for Jay McAuley’s Wofford Terriers and Steve Forbes’ East Tennessee State Bucs, it’s been a strange trip to get here. 

If you’re looking for two teams with a star, like former Wofford guard Fletcher Magee or former East Tennessee State floor general Keith ‘Mister’ Jennings, tonight’s SoCon title game between ETSU and Wofford is not for you. However, there are plenty of team-oriented storylines.

Let’s rewind a bit. Just a little over a week ago, McAuley’s Terriers were licking their wounds from a seventh-straight loss to close the season—a 59-47 decision at Mercer. A little over a week later, the Terriers are on the cusp of another 20-win season, SoCon title, and would be the first team in the modern format of the tournament to win four games in four days if they pull the shocker over top seeded ETSU this evening.

The Terriers, who are 5-0 all-time in SoCon Tournament championship games, have what it takes to win Monday night. In fact all five of those Terrier titles have come in the past decade. 

McAuley has been here before. Just five years ago as a member of Niko Medved’s staff at Furman, he faced heavily favored and top seeded Wofford in the title game. The Paladins entered the 2015 SoCon Tournament as the No. 10 seed. 

That must seem like light years ago to McAuley, who is in his first season as the head coach at Wofford, having been asked to fill the shoes of legendary Wofford head coach Mike Young, who is now at Virginia Tech. 

The Terriers followed up that seven-game skid by getting wins over No. 10 The Citadel (93-76), No. 2 Furman (77-68) and No. 6 Chattanooga (72-70) to arrive at tonight’s 100th SoCon title game. The Terriers needed another miracle from Storm Murphy—something he did last year in the regular-season vs. Furman and Samford—to get past Chattanooga, as his free throw line jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining ended the Mocs run one game short of a potential rematch with their Volunteer State rival. 

ETSU has arrived at its fourth championship game in five seasons under head coach Steve Forbes. A little over a week ago, the Bucs were in very serious danger of seeing their SoCon regular-season outright crown slip into obscurity trailing Western Carolina late. However, ‘Good’ things happened to the Bucs once again—as in the form of Patrick Good—as the junior guard connected on seven threes in the final eight minutes, including the game-winner with six seconds left, as the Bucs came up with a thrilling 68-67 win in the regular-season finale.

Tonight, the Bucs don’t want to share the spotlight with Wofford. Share? A Wofford win likely puts two SoCon teams in the NCAA Tournament, although waiting on pins and needles for a week to let a committee decide your fate probably isn’t Forbes’ idea of a fun time.

The Bucs are 7-4 all-time in SoCon championship games and have made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. An ETSU win Monday night would give the SoCon a 30-game winner for a second-straight season, and would be just the fourth SoCon team to do it in the 100-year history of the league. Only former members NC State (1950-51), North Carolina (1945-46) and Wofford last year, have been able to achieve that milestone. 

The Bucs have a school-record 29 wins, eclipsing those great Bucs of 1990-91, which were ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation at one point during that particular season, and a team that featured the likes of Calvin Talford and Keith “Mister” Jennings, whose banner hangs in the rafters at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville.

The Bucs got to Monday night by defeating gritty VMI (70-57) and rolling by upstart Western Carolina—a team it narrowly defeated at home just a little over a week ago by 22 points (97-75) in yesterday’s first semifinal. 

ETSU was the only one of the top three to sweep Wofford during the regular-season. The Bucs won a 49-48 game in Johnson City that, at times, made you cringe the shooting was so woeful, but it also had something to do with really good defense, too.In a late February meeting in Spartanburg, the Bucs held off pesky Wofford, which led most of the night, as ETSU charged back for a 60-54 road win. 

The difference in this Bucs team—what stands out from some of those great ones that still elicit stories from yesteryear—is that precisely they aren’t distinguished by stars. There’s no “Mister” or dunking champion like Calvin Talford. 

What the winningest team in Bucs history does have is connection and selflessness. Isaiah Tisdale’s importance can’t be defined or captured just by a stats sheet alone. Tisdale isn’t a fancy player. He’s tough and gritty. He’s not interested in what you have to say nor does he talk much on the floor. His game speaks loud enough, especially on the defensive end.

Much the same can be said of Wofford. There’s no Cam Jackson or Fletcher Magee around to save the day, and while Storm Murphy has had his moments, there’s not a star that can be defined by a nickname or a stat that really sticks out on a stats sheet. 

As Chevez Goodwin put it after the win over Furman, the Terriers have played with a chip on their proverbial shoulders the whole season. They play like they are disrespected defending champions. Fact is, guys like Goodwin, Murphy, Tray Hollowell, and Nathan Hoover still have their individual pieces of net from the 2019 SoCon title run. They were more than a Magee and me team. They were multi-faceted last season.

The guy that has arguably been Wofford’s most key piece spent most of last season sidelined with an injury—Trevor Stumpe. Stumpe was the hero in Wofford’s upset win over Furman, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half, with most of those coming during a key Wofford run late. However, Stumpe is averaging just 7.4 PPG. Other key pieces like sophomore guard Ryan Larson and SoCon All-Freshman team member Messiah Jones have also been big.

ETSU has had its own injury issues this season in season, with the foot injury Jeromy Rodriguez has battled since the start of league play. Rodriguez’s impact in the tournament won’t show up on the stats sheet, but it could very well be huge tonight in terms of depth. 

Wofford has played one more game, and though it was The Citadel, it wasn’t as if it were a church league over 40 outing either. Rodriguez’s ability to spell guys with minutes could come up huge. 

Lucas N’Guessan has been one of the most improved big men in the SoCon. His steal and slam in the six-point win at Wofford changed the game.  Daivien Williamson has been the man over the last month of the season, and he is putting together quite the Southern Conference Tournament, posting his sixth 20-point effort of his career in the win over Western Carolina and is 14-of-16 from the field in the tournament. Williamson has been in double figures in eight of the last 11 games. Tray Boyd III and Bo Hodges have provided big moments throughout the season for the Bucs, and while there’s no star, there’s not a weakness. 

Wofford has clearly been the team of the last decade in the Southern Conference, while the Bucs come in having won 129 games in five seasons. Not a bad performance either. Monday night’s title game will give the winner a head start on the next decade. 

I am not giving up on a two-bid SoCon yet, but with UNCG and Furman now longer an option as a potential close loss in the championship game now for an at-large bid, the Bucs might not have a fall-back plan if they lose. That should make for an intriguing battle in the SoCon title game.

Other Notes:

--The last team to defend their title in the SoCon Tournament was Wofford in 2014 and '15

--A win for ETSU would give the Bucs its eighth Southern Conference title and 11th all-time NCAA Tournament appearances. An 11th tournament appearance would be tied for most in the league among current league members, as Chattanooga also has made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.

--ETSU and Wofford will be meeting for the third time in tournament history, with Wofford winning over ETSU in the semifinals last year, downing the Bucs 81-72. The only other meeting between the two in the Southern Conference Tournament came in 2003, as ETSU knocked off Wofford 80-75
--Should Wofford win Monday night, it would mark the first time in the modern format of the tournament, and it would mark the first time it has happened in any format of the tournament since Clemson did so in 1939.