(01-27-2024 02:10 PM)squeak Wrote:  

(01-27-2024 01:29 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(01-27-2024 09:55 AM)squeak Wrote:  Yeah, the opportunity for a paid education while playing a sport they love surely must be taxing. I happened to tote an M-16 to pay for mine and can assure my accommodations nor journey were that of a student-athlete. Those who choose to become a four or five-year faithful inside a Bucs program usually garner lifelong celebrity status and respect within the area. With that being said, the kid who graduates from Backwoods High School where college is not an option only makes it harder for me to accept the pseudo plight of student-athletes pushed by some.

I certainly don't disagree with any of that, but........................chances are most of the players who've gone thru the ETSU hoops program, even if only partially, likely have had a higher vertical, and a higher shooting percentage than you. Just guessing, of course. The point being, those factors gave them options you likely didn't have. AND..........for 95% of them, they didn't come by that 'accidentally' - they've worked their butt off hours at a time, for days, months, and years to have those options. No, not the same as lugging an M-16 - but due to whatever gifts God gave them, on top of very, very hard work, they arrived at a place where they've had those opportunities. And so I agree with you that any "plight" they have is certainly relative, and most of us would also agree that it's a "pseudo" plight. "Good problem to have", as the saying goes. But if you're from Backwoods High, without, perhaps, good parental guidance and support, then you may not have a very capable decision-making skill set.

I've "befriended" numerous college students thru the years, oftentimes helping them in their academic careers, and I can assure you (with no surprise from you, I suspect) that ex-GI students, 8-9 times out of 10, I'd say, are better prepared for the college experience than younger student-athletes - and thus "make more out of it". Point being.......your pathway, tho almost certainly more difficult, also almost certainly provided you with a better on-ramp to life-long success.

It's only difficult if we choose to make it so. It has to be taught one can't always blame the system if things don't work in our favor. I say kudos to those who've found a way to make a buck, but it should also be noted those successes can only be possible with a good supporting cast. So, if we're to pay the student-athlete, shouldn't it be considered discriminatory to not pay the players equally, in all sports? How much is too much, and how much isn't enough? We've got to find a remedy before fandom at our level of college sports becomes an afterthought.

The latest proposal I saw - football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball — a minimum of $30,000.00 per year for up to four years into a trust account to be collected at the end to avoid having them classified as employees. Yes, what about the rest plus a mountain of other unanswered questions?

At our level - that ain’t gonna happen. Yes, what will keep our level of football and basketball attractive enough to avoid this fandom abandonment as we continue to play amateur ball while the big folks play pro ball and separate from the rest?

34-36 Samford at the half. Happy to see Boyd back—this game wouldn’t be so close without him. Why is it at his truly “small” forward size that he is the only reliable finisher in the post?…There will be no room for stupid turnovers and missed bunnies in the 2nd half. The moment Samford smells blood, it’s over. I just want to see a strong finish and some hope to carry over into the next stretch! Go Bucs

My word, what can you even do when you break your back just to tie it, then at 3 mins and counting the other team gets two garbage threes to drop, plus a bad foul call on a clean blocked dunk, to put them up for good?

Love Jayden Seymour, but he blew it on those missed free-throws before fouling out. How very unfortunate!

Refs didn’t help, but Samford ultimately beat us with strong drives and backdoor layups. Gut wrenching loss. But a game worth watching. A tournament kind of game.

This team needs to take this pain and play with a chip on its shoulder rest of season. Savage and staff did as good of a job as they could.

They made some lucky 3s but we choked at the line too much. Still, a better game than I expected. Poor execution when it mattered.

I really get that the conference is tough this year but I just feel like this team should be better… It’s gonna be a very long season

And I’m rooting for Coach Savage hard

(01-27-2024 06:10 PM)fsurookie911 Wrote:  I really get that the conference is tough this year but I just feel like this team should be better… It’s gonna be a very long season

It’s clear how big of a dent Boyd’s absence was recently. But if ETSU would play like tonight with or without Boyd, I think they would at least be 50-50 in conference instead of the current hole. I really think this loss is an inflection point for a better stretch coming. I was so worried Samford would blow us out, but instead we are reminded that any given night in the SoCon any team can go toe to toe.

Sisk had his breakout game.

Overall, today was one of our best efforts of the season.

(01-27-2024 06:22 PM)squeak Wrote:  Sisk had his breakout game.

I wanted so bad for him to hit that game tying shot, but that kind of moment only makes a young baller better regardless of the outcome. He will be ready for big shots to come.

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A much better played game by the Bucs. Karon truly is a difference maker. We just missed some plays down the stretch that took away our chance of winning. Free throws and missed shots at the rim hurt us. The toughness kept us in it.

Offensively, I saw a lot of passing around the perimeter against the zone, but not much probing with driving or passing into it to find a hole. Then a sense of desperation kicked in about 8 seconds left, as often as not resulting in bad or desperate shot.

Rebounding and relatively low turnovers helped keep it close. Free throw-wise, folks will blame those misses right at the end of the game, fair enough, but the Bucs were outstanding in the second half. You could argue that two or three more makes in the first half would have been just as important.

Why was play stopped close to the end of the game? We had the ball but I’m pretty sure we didn’t call time out? And we had go back and inbound under their basket?

(01-28-2024 09:18 AM)seagrove10 Wrote:  Why was play stopped close to the end of the game? We had the ball but I’m pretty sure we didn’t call time out? And we had go back and inbound under their basket?

The one stoppage that I remember was because the shot clock on the southerly end of the court wasn't working. My guess would be that play had to start over as no one knew how much time had run off before it was noticed.

(01-28-2024 10:15 AM)BigIslandBuc Wrote:  

(01-28-2024 09:18 AM)seagrove10 Wrote:  Why was play stopped close to the end of the game? We had the ball but I’m pretty sure we didn’t call time out? And we had go back and inbound under their basket?

The one stoppage that I remember was because the shot clock on the southerly end of the court wasn't working. My guess would be that play had to start over as no one knew how much time had run off before it was noticed.

Thanks. I was all riled up (as were most seated around me) thinking the refs had awarded Samford a time out.

Coach Savage keeps telling Jay that it is a miss/make game. We just have to hit a healthy percentage of our open shots to be competitive. We saw the beginning of that start to happen last night. Karon brings back the toughness and swagger and rebounding that we need. If we can get our 2 point percentage over 40 and our 3 point percentage in the high thirties then I think we can compete with any team in the league as we saw last night. Our shots just did not fall in the final 2 to 3 minutes and we lost a close game. Hit a couple of those and we would have pulled the upset. Let's hope the team keeps shooting better and keeps getting better all the way to March.

The Bucs played really well. Just a day late and dollar short again. Love the fight and energy. Just seem a little too tight at cruch time.

Sammie blew VMI OUT. I thought that was going to happen to us, but not even close. Big improvement for this team, great to see.