The Buccaneer Men’s Basketball team has added size and seven freshmen, to go along with four returning seniors in what could be one of the most talented Buc teams in recent years.
The Bucs return four seniors from last year’s squad that finished 14-15 overall and 8-8 in Southern Conference play, and lost in the second round of the Southern Conference tournament to the College of Charleston.
ETSU Head Basketball Coach Ed DeChellis will have to look to his seniors, in particular small forward D.J. McDuffie and power forward Adrian Meeks, for leadership in bringing along a freshman class that will be relied upon early.
“Our freshmen will have to contribute,” DeChellis said. “They’ve been playing extremely well, and they’ll have to contribute right away.”
McDuffie, who is the top returning scorer from last year’s squad at 10.8 points per game, welcomes the challenge of leading such a young team into Southern Conference competition.
“I know I’ll have to step up and be a leader,” he said. “Whether it’s scoring or rebounding, I know I have to play hard each night.”
To go along with McDuffie, the Bucs return the rest of their starting backcourt in point guard Cliff Decoster and shooting guard Dimeco Childress, both of whom are juniors.
Decoster averaged a team high 2.5 assists per game to go along with 6.8 points per game and is excited about a Bucs team that will be an even larger force to reckon with on the glass. Last season they outrebounded their opponents by an average of four a game, best in the Southern Conference.
“Cory Seels and Adrian Meeks can hold their own,” Decoster said. “Last year we weren’t that big, but we were able to outrebound opponents.”
So far DeChellis has been pleased with his team, but realizes they will have to improve defensively and stay healthy to have the season they want.
“We’re playing extremely hard and intense,” he said. “We’ve had great leadership from our seniors, but will have to play a little better, pass and execute better.”
The Bucs plan to be a much more defensive minded and physical team compared to last season.
“We’ve worked really hard on defense,” DeChellis said. “We’re trying to push the ball and be more physical in the post.”
The Bucs have been hit by injury and eligibility problems already.
Senior forward Renaldo “Scooter” Johnson has been troubled with back problems, sophomore forward Isaac Potter will be out four weeks to recover from surgery from internal problems and freshman forward Jerald Fields has had eligibility problems that the Bucs hope to have straightened out by the beginning of the season.
The Bucs will also have to deal with the loss of freshman Tim Boyd, who had difficulty adjusting to life away from home and plans to return to Crossett, Ark., to resume his career.
The Bucs will have to come out and play every night and not give games away if they are going to be successful this season, according to DeChellis.
“We have to take care of our home court, and steal games on the road,” he said. “We can’t give games away.”
The Bucs will open their home season at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Lynchburg in Brooks Gym.
The Bucs will play in the Mini-Dome for most of their remaining season.

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