CSNbbs

Date: December 12th, 2009

Time: 4:00 PM

Opponent: Murray State (7-1, 2-0 OVC)

Place: Memorial Center

Television: None

Webcast: ASUN.tv (Subscription)

Radio online: ETSUBucs.com or WKOS.com

Murray 2009-2010 Schedule

Murray 2009-2010 Roster

The good news – this is not a team that will overwhelm us with great size: top six goes 6’9” 200; 6’7” 230; 6’4” 190; 6’2” 205; 6’0” 180; 6’0” 175

The bad news – with their speed, hustle and defense, we can’t beat them playing the way that we have the last 2 games.

The watch words for these guys are balance and speed.

Balance: 8 guys play from 16 to 27 minutes. 2 others play 10. 6 guys average from 8 to 12 points. They outrebound opponents 37.8 to 30.0, but their leading rebounder averages only 7.3 while 8 others average from 2.8 to 4.0 rebounds. 7 guys average 1 to 1.8 steals.

Speed: they average 82 ppg to 58.6 for opponents. They made 103 steals to 59 for opponents; only 118 turnovers while forcing 157; 48 blocks to 18. They get out and defend the perimeter, holding opponents to .297 from 3.

The Racers are 9-1 with the only loss a close 75-70 to California on the road at Berkeley. But most of those 9 wins have been over less than stellar competition.

The team that hustled and fought against Arkansas or College of Charleston and in the second half vs Louisville would beat these guys. The team that played lackluster against UAB and Northern Georgia would get blown out. So which one will show up?

Ivan Aska, 6’7” 230 SO……...; 22.9 mpg; 12.4 ppg; 4.0 rpg, was OVC freshman of the year last year
Danero Thomas, 6’4” 190 SR; 27.1 mpg; 11.5 ppg; 3.4 rpg, almost 3 steals per game; shoots .400 from 3; all OVC
B.J. Jenkins, 6’0” 180 JR…...; 24.9 mpg ; 11.4 ppg; 2.8 rpg; .349 from 3
Isiah Canaan, 6’0” 175 FR….; 19.9 mpg; 10.4 ppg; 2.4 rpg; .400 from 3
Tony Easley, 6’9” 200 SR…..; 19.1 mpg; 9.3 ppg; 7.3 rpg
Isaac Miles, 6’2” 205 JR…….; 24.8 mpg; 8.4 ppg; 2.8 rpg; .381 from 3

Donte Poole, 6’3” 185 SO..; 17.3 mpg; 6.6 ppg
Jeffery McClain, 6’6” 230 JR; 16.4 mpg; 4.3 ppg

Key matchups – probably Tommy at 6’4” or Isiah at 6’8” battling Aska at 6’7”; Tubbs at 6’3” battling Danero at 6’4”.

All signs would seem to point to a pretty ugly game on this one. But we have had a tendancy to play up (or down) to our competition, so I think we keep it a good game.

More information about Murray State and tomorrow's game from selected sources

From:
http://www.ovcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbm...=204822937

After being picked first a season ago and coming up just short, Murray State will look to win its record 21st OVC Championship this season and its first since 2005-06. Billy Kennedy enters his fourth season on the bench in Murray and has four starters and 10 letterwinners returning from last year’s second place team. Among those returning are three selections to the preseason All-OVC team: senior forward Danero Thomas, junior guard Isacc Miles and sophomore forward Ivan Aska. Thomas was a second-team All-OVC pick a year ago after averaging 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a contest. Miles made league history by recording just the ninth triple-double in OVC history against UT Martin in February; Miles had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the Racer victory. Aska took home the hardware as OVC Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and connecting on 52.7 percent of his field goal attempts, fifth best in the league.






Saturday, 12/12/09 Johnson City Press:

Bucs trying to find rhythm
By Kelly Hodge
Press Managing Sports Editor
khodge@johnsoncitypress.com


Ten games into the season, East Tennessee State basketball coach Murry Bartow is admittedly still searching for answers.

There weren't many forthcoming Thursday night.

Bartow shuffled players in and out in what proved to be a disjointed 75-71 victory over North Georgia, a Division II school that didn't figure to be much of a threat. The Bucs are 5-5 heading into a tester here today against a Murray State team that has won seven in a row.

"To be honest, it's very confusing right now," Bartow said Friday. "We're still searching for roles. That's the life of a mid-major basketball team, where you're on the road a lot and playing guarantee games early and you're not very fluid. We're still experimenting a lot.

"I think our best five or six players have risen to the top, but after that it's real cloudy."

MIcah Williams has cemented his status in the lead group. The junior guard came off the bench to score 22 points against the scrappy Saints, including 20 in the second half, and grab 10 rebounds. Both were career highs.

A stickback by Williams -- off his own missed free throw with six seconds left -- prevented any chance of the unthinkable upset in Brooks Gym.

"Micah, based on what he did last night and has done recently, certainly merits a chance to start," said Bartow.

ETSU had hoped the "Back to Brooks" game would be a festive occasion, but it turned into a narrow escape. North Georgia trailed by 14 with 2 1/2 minutes left before staging a frantic rally to the finish.

The Saints converted back-to-back three-point plays in the last 30 seconds to get within striking distance.

"We're up 14 late, and in a normal scenario we win the game by 18 or 20 points," said Bartow. "But we didn't handle their press well, made several turnovers and missed free throws. And there we were at the end in a close game. The best thing we did was win the game."

Adam Sollazzo and Sheldon Cooley, who were in the starting lineup, will apparently go back to reserve roles against the Racers (7-1). How the rotations will develop isn't clear.

"We just can't be running guys in and out of games; it serves no purpose," said Bartow. "We're jumbled up at certain spots. If you look at the perimeter, Sheldon, Adam, Bruce (Grimm) and Jarvis (Jones) are all competing for the same minutes. We can't get into a flow if we're jerking them in and out.

"Over the next couple of weeks we'll decide who's our top seven or eight, period. We're going to go with those seven or eight."

The Bucs will surely have to play better to win again today.

Murray State hasn't lost since its season opener at Cal, a 75-70 decision. Most of its games during the win streak have been of the blowout variety against so-so competition.

The Racers have started 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with wins over Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. The latter was 86-56 a week ago.

"They have a lot of guys who can play," said Bartow. "They can defend, they can score and they just have a lot of balance. I was talking to an OVC coach yesterday, and he thinks this may be the best team that's been in that league in the last five years. There's no question they're the best team that will have been in here so far."

The Racers have four players averaging between 10.4 and 12.4 points per game, led by 6-7, 230-pound sophomore Ivan Aska. Senior forward Tony Easley averages 9.3 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds.

The Racers are outrebounding opponents by almost eight boards per game.

Junior forward Tommy Hubbard continues to lead the Bucs, at 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds. Hubbard collected his sixth double-double of the season with 14 and 11, respectively, against North Georgia.

Junior guard Justin Tubbs scored 16 and is also averaging 15.6 ppg. Williams is next, at 9.6.

Bartow expects the Bucs to make a strong showing today in their first meeting with Murray State since 1978. (The Racers lead the overall series 22-19.)

"It could be a great college basketball game," said Bartow. "I think we can beat anybody here at home, but we're smart enough to know that we have to play well to do it."

My keys to the game align with what we've done well in our 4 wins thiis year (I'm leaving out N.Ga.): First, out rebound your opponent. As swvabucsfan pointed out, Murray State has been crushing the glass. Murray State is a solid squad, but they are not Louisville or UT. We can win the war on the glass. Second, take care of the ball. We had an unacceptable 21 TO's last night. Against UT, we had 13; 14 at Arkansas. It is no secret that a senior laden team such as Murray State will make you pay for mistakes. Third, we need Mike-like performance from our starters. Micah Williams needs to play like that every night. Fourth, Coach Bartow must effectively manage the bench. This musical chairs rotation is woefully ineffectual.

As embarrassing as we've played the last 2 games, a win against Murray State would turn things around in a hurry.

We can win this game!

I've come to a couple of conclusions:

(1) This Bucs team doesn't play well in "event" games. The UAB game was promoted mainly as a tribute to Gene Bartow. The event was nice, but the game was pretty sorry, thanks to Bucs' poor play. North Georgia was promoted as "Back to Brooks" night. Bucs seemed to forget that they were supposed to show up to play.

(2) Throwback games might be swell for baseball, but probably not a good idea for basketball. Baseball is a leisurely, nostalgic sport anyway. The throwback idea fits the nature of the game. Basketball, on the other hand, is an explosive, "in the moment" sport that doesn't go well with cute tributes to yesteryear. I suspect the festivities surrounding last night's basketball game did nothing but send the message to ETSU players, "This is an exhibition game." That's apparently how they treated it--and almost got beat. I suspect it will be a long time before the Bucs play another throwback game--at least with Murry Bartow as coach.

Who starts against Murray State? I have no idea.

What on earth happened to Cooley against North Georgia? I had grown used to him being a major contributor in every game. Sounds like he played like a freshman against North Georgia.

We need our sophomores to start giving us some quality minutes--and consistency. I like our three sophs, but through 10 games, they've been pretty spotty so far. Adam and Jarvis are going to have to pitch in to help offset the loss of Mike Smith. Isiah needs to give us a consistent inside presence.

Sollazzo and Cooley arent starting...so whats our new 5?

Davis
Tubbs
Williams
Hubbard
Brown

I guess....

Murray State Fan here.

Its always nice to find an active mid-major message board. Im looking forward to a good game tomorrow. ETSU will be our toughest challenge so far on the road besides Cal. we fans over at racerfans.com really think we may have something special this year. Its been a while since I've been this excited about a racer team. After our comeback victory over EKU and a blowout at home against MOrehead State this game will be a good measuring stick for us, win or lose. I expect a great game and have the upmost respect for your team. Good luck and GO RACERS.

notes about our team:

--We are very deep 10 guys could easily start for us.
-- Pride ourselfs on defense. We like to run transition but only after defensive stops or turnovers.
--We forced EKU who was leading the NCAAA in assist to turnover ratio and averaging 7 a game to commit 20 turnovers.
--I wouldnt say we are a senior laden team. We do have 2 seniors who see significant minutes around 20-25 a piece, but we do play Freshman significant minutes as well.
--This team has heart. We made a game at cal coming back from an 18 point 2nd half deficit and came back form a 9 point deficit late in the 2nd to win over EKU.
-We are very good at closing out the half but have not faced a team with as much depth as we have.

Welcome Racer fan. We obviously have our work cut out for us. Your beat down of Morehead State certainly got my attention. They beat us last year at our house. Incidentally, Faried (sp?) for Morehead was a beast. We didn't have answer for him. I'm sure he's one of the best in the OVC. I read somewhere that he has gotten the attention of NBA scouts too.

Anyways, our coach has said nothing but glowing remarks about your team. I'm looking forward to a great college basketball game.

Will you please go on and on about Murray's 1968 OVC Championship and 1932 victory against Kentucky?

PLEEEEEEEEEEEZE?

(Board vets know what I'm talking about).

Quote:"We just can't be running guys in and out of games; it serves no purpose," said Bartow. "We're jumbled up at certain spots. If you look at the perimeter, Sheldon, Adam, Bruce (Grimm) and Jarvis (Jones) are all competing for the same minutes. We can't get into a flow if we're jerking them in and out.

SO WHY DOES HE KEEP DOING IT???????

Bartow says one thing to the media then does the exact opposite on game day. Does he have a memory loss problem? Two years ago I remember in the middle of the season he kept saying we have to get Greg Hamlin more PT, then proceeded to play him the exact same amount he had been playing. Since 2005 we've had an ongoing shuffling lineup, its never worked out well yet we continue to do it

Murry Bartow and Mike Tomlin seem to have much in common.

Murray State has had solid basketball teams over the years.

I had the opportunity to be on their campus during the summer 3 or 4 years ago, thought it was nice. I think the enrollment is a little smaller than ETSU? The building design and campus layout were pleasing, I wasn't expecting such a nice campus, good job, you MS guys can be proud of that.

I hold degrees from both ETSU and Murray State, but I'll pull for ETSU anyway. I will say this: Murray State is a well run university and they make good program decisions from an atheletic and academic standpoint. While I know it is frustrating for them to lose coaches to the SEC (e.g. Houston Nutt) is does say a great deal about their ability to identify and attract talent. ETSU could learn a lot from them.

(12-12-2009 02:48 PM)$1.80 Wrote: [ -> ]I hold degrees from both ETSU and Murray State, but I'll pull for ETSU anyway. I will say this: Murray State is a well run university and they make good program decisions from an atheletic and academic standpoint. While I know it is frustrating for them to lose coaches to the SEC (e.g. Houston Nutt) is does say a great deal about their ability to identify and attract talent. ETSU could learn a lot from them.

Looks like you didn't have to change much regarding school colors, huh?

Murray State has always had good basketball teams, I remember when Popeye Jones played for you guys.

Isiah Brown 3 shots, 4rebs. WTF????

Adam Sollazzo 10mins. WTF??????

57pts WTF?????

64% FT shooting. WTF?????????

Bartow talks about reducing the rotation and not jerking guys in and out and we come out and do the EXACT opposite. We play more people, some of whom haven't played any significant minutes all season.

(12-12-2009 07:29 PM)BucNut22 Wrote: [ -> ]Isiah Brown 3 shots, 4rebs. WTF????

Adam Sollazzo 10mins. WTF??????

57pts WTF?????

64% FT shooting. WTF?????????

Bartow talks about reducing the rotation and not jerking guys in and out and we come out and do the EXACT opposite. We play more people, some of whom haven't played any significant minutes all season.

I don't understand it. This is going to be a looooonnnngggg season.

The entire game was frustrating to watch. Bucs stood around and got behind by 16 at the half. Played much better in second half and actually had a chance to win but it came down to a deadlocked game with 2 minutes and guess who wins that duel.

(12-12-2009 07:41 PM)bucfan81 Wrote: [ -> ]The entire game was frustrating to watch. Bucs stood around and got behind by 16 at the half. Played much better in second half and actually had a chance to win but it came down to a deadlocked game with 2 minutes and guess who wins that duel.

I appreciate Grimm's efforts and his enthusiasm, but look at his shot production:

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 GRIMM, Bruce........ 2-11 1-4 6-8 0 0 0 2 11 3 1 0 4 14
05 COOLEY, Sheldon..... 0-4 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 2 1 0 1 19

(12-12-2009 07:57 PM)Goodfella Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-12-2009 07:41 PM)bucfan81 Wrote: [ -> ]The entire game was frustrating to watch. Bucs stood around and got behind by 16 at the half. Played much better in second half and actually had a chance to win but it came down to a deadlocked game with 2 minutes and guess who wins that duel.

I appreciate Grimm's efforts and his enthusiasm, but look at his shot production:

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 GRIMM, Bruce........ 2-11 1-4 6-8 0 0 0 2 11 3 1 0 4 14
05 COOLEY, Sheldon..... 0-4 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 2 1 0 1 19

Yeah I`m still trying to figure out how Grimm was able to jack up 11 shots in 14mins. Better yet I`m trying to figure out why Grimm was in the game.