Most of the videos I have posted have been from the Mister years, however I can't forget that ETSU has had some great teams recently as well. I know we have a lot of Tim Smith fans on the board, me being one of them, so I decided to put together a little highlight reel from Smith. All of the highlights are from the 2003-2004 season. Enjoy!

You have to appreciate how fun it was to watch Timmy play.

That really was amazing to watch. But as it was proven, Tim Smith needed other players around him. When we had those 2 threats down low and the 3 point threat outside with James Anthony, it was just incredibly hard to guard him or ETSU at all. Thats the first time since 04 that I've seen Fresno or Charleston highlights. Really enjoyed those. Even though Charleston was the only SoCon game we lost that year. Fields missed a tipin with a couple of seconds left. And notice the crowd at the UTC home game for us. You can really see it at the 6:25 mark. That place was rockin.

Only true basketball fans recognized just how valuable Wadood and Fields were. Wadood was a lock down defender, the best I have ever seen at anticipating the pass, an incredible shot blocker, tough as nails, clutch, and a LEADER who was not afraid to jerk somebody by the jersey and keep them in check. Fields was a highly skilled big man that could pull the other teams big outside the paint to allow lanes for Timmy to drive. He was undersized heighth wise but could keep most bigs out of the paint. I could go on and on and on.

(07-15-2009 12:20 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Even though Charleston was the only SoCon game we lost that year. Fields missed a tipin with a couple of seconds left.

While putting together this video, it was also the first time I had seen the Charleston game since 04. I remember being pretty mad at the time because it was our only conference loss and it was to the hands of C of C and their rude fans. I never re-watched it until yesterday. I had completely forgotten how crazy that game was toward the end. We were down big most of the game and towards the end we just kept making huge defensive plays to finally tie it back up. Wadood had fouled out with about 2 or 3 minutes left. Smith had a wide open 3 with about 30 seconds left that would have put us up by two but it rimmed out. 2004 was a fun season, certainly one of the best.

Against Cincinnati or the College of Charleston, it looks like Tim Smith is going at 45 rpm while the rest of the players are at 33 1/3. Or a Roadrunner cartoon character against ordinary mortals. He never even slows down... it's just pure hustle and speed over all 90 feet of floor. If he makes an error, he corrects it with a steal before the moment even registers in the brains of the other team. How did he get 5 feet out of bounds to make that save against Cincy? It's fun to listen to the network announcers in the Cincinnatti game - they are just beside themselves with amazement. He was one of the most exciting college players I have ever seen.

Unfortunately, that sophomore year was pretty much the high point. With Wadood, Fields and Anthony gone and 'All-American' 'Slip' Mitchell becoming perhaps ETSU's biggest recruiting disappointment, it was just the Tim Smith show. It became much harder to free lance when everybody could focus on stopping Tim. And things sometimes got repetitive to the point of self parody, with other guys standing around hoping for Tim to do something magical. The one dimensional aspect of Tim's game was exposed, and the inability to adjust to make those around him better. Still, at the top of his game, he was one of the greats.

Great Smith Clip Bucster. I especially remember that steal and backwards pass in the Cincy game. The Wake Forest NCAA game was a Smith highlighter also as I remember. He was pictured in the SI college basketball preview issue the next season. I also remember that Saturday CofC game when it looked like ETSU was out of it. Did we pull that game out?

James Anthony was still there TImmy's Junior year, but played sub-par most of the year.

We gotta get out of this conference! That is just the bottom line.

BTW...

Notice the crowds in the dome against Chattanooga. It isn't on Mister's level but it is a very respectable atmosphere. Big ETSU crowds is not ancient history as some would have you believe. WE MUST GET OUT OF THIS CONFERENCE


College of Charleston may have a small gym....BUT IT IS A FILLED GYM. In the A-sun you don't see this. THIS IS VISUAL PROOF OF EVERYTHING I've BEEN SAYING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS!

Timmy's speed was just incredible, he was faster than the other players on the court. I have a different angle of the Wadood oop from the UT-C game that is just amazing. I need to get those old tapes out one night with a bottle of Crown of re-live those days.

We should have won the Cincinnati game...why we went ZONE in the final couple of plays I'll never know.

Regardless of what you people say about Timmy Smith...he was one of the all time ETSU greats. No question.

Tim Smith. Speed captured in a uniform.

He is the kind of player that gets your team noticed nationally. The media love to do stories on the little guys who make it big.

Thanks for the video. He made some unbelievable plays. That drive by Tim at the end of one of those Furman games was awesome.

I agree that he was at his best with Fields and Wadood.

Turnovers and last second shots plagued him sometimes but he could do some things that nobody else here could ever do.

After watching this video for about the 5th time, I am reminded of two things.

1. The team with Tim, Zak, and Jerald would have beaten last years team by 20 points.

2. That College of Charleston game was by FAR the most hostile environment of any league game I have ever been to. God I miss those days.

Fan1

I really believe that the Tim,Zak, and Jerald team was the second best team to ever put on an ETSU jersey. However, I never saw the Harley Swift teams. So someone might come along and make me look ridiculous.

I know this is a pipe dream before I ask it....but is there any chance that we could attain footage from the troy lee michael/Winfred King days?

(07-15-2009 03:29 PM)Goldfinger Wrote:  We should have won the Cincinnati game...why we went ZONE in the final couple of plays I'll never know.

Come on Goldfinger; you know Murry touches himself when he thinks about the 2-3 zone. Thank God Wagers made him see the light last year.