It was impossible not to feel disappointed Friday night when the ETSU men’s basketball team, having entered the Southern Conference Tournament with the league’s best record, was upset in their first game.
Yet, in the light of the morning after, ETSU should feel, instead, proud of its hoops accomplishments this year. The halcyon days of great fame in the early `90s, during which ETSU became arguably the finest mid-major basketball team in the country, are well on their way to being back.
With a multitude of fine freshmen and sophomore Ryan Lawson, the only direction would appear to be up. Not that the seniors have been at all shabby – they stuck out a long and grueling turnaround that saw them rise from the SoCon pack to become a feared team.
The contributions of Adrian Meeks and D.J. McDuffie will not soon be forgotten. Nor will the all too short stay of junior-college transfer Renaldo “Scooter” Johnson.
Perhaps the greatest indication that the Bucs are back is not on the court but surrounding it. Fan support at the tournament in Greenville, S.C., some two or three hours’ drive away, was, along with other upended favorite College of Charleston, one of the strongest, more numerous and boisterous than even those of schools much closer to the Bi-Lo Center.
Kudos, also, to Head Coach Ed DeChellis. The combination of one of the strongest recruiting classes at this school in years and his team’s North Division championship garnered him well-deserved Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors.
With the success of the men’s team and the promising signs displayed in the late-going by the women’s team, East Tennessee has much to look forward to next winter.
Thank you, hoop teams, for restoring our ETSU basketball pride.

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