The ETSU men’s basketball team took two of the three Southern Conference basketball awards announced on Monday as senior Dimeco Childress was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year and head coach Ed DeChellis was named the Coach of the Year.
Childress is the first ETSU player to earn Player of the Year honors since Keith Jennings was named to the award in back-to-back seasons in 1989-90 and 1990-91.
DeChellis becomes the first ETSU coach to win back-to-back Coach of the Year honors.
Childress has been the leader of the late season Buccaneer surge that has led to eight straight wins to close the regular season. Childress is fourth in the SoCon in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game.
In his last three home games he scored 35, 36 and 42 points, with his 42-point outburst against Western Carolina setting a new Memorial Center record.
During ETSU’s winning streak he is averaging 22.9 points a game. Childress has scored 1,271 points in his career, eighth on ETSU’s all-time scoring list.
DeChellis, in his sixth season at ETSU, has guided the Bucs to back-to-back 18-win seasons and consecutive regular season North Division titles. His Buccaneer teams have won more conference games (24) over the last two seasons than any other SoCon school.
In his career at ETSU he is 85-81, 49-44 in Southern Conference games.
Undefeated in February this season, the Bucs current eight-game win streak is tied for the ninth longest in the nation with Utah State and has carried the team to No. 17 in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll and among the top-100 teams in the Sagarin power rankings.
It is the highest ranking that the Bucs have ever achieved in the poll. ETSU moved up from No. 25 last week and is the only Southern Conference team ranked entering the Southern Conference tournament.
Gonzaga (26-3) is ranked No. 1 in the poll with Western Kentucky (25-3) No. 2.
The Bucs tied with Davidson and UNC Greensboro for first place in the Southern Conference North Division race this season with 11-5 conference marks. The Bucs have the No. 2 seed in the north for the SoCon Tournament, giving them a first-round bye.
ETSU will take on the winner of the Appalachian State vs. College of Charleston game on Friday at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The game will be carried live on cable on CSS, and live in Johnson City on WKPT-TV and WAPK-TV.
—
The awards continued for the ETSU men’s basketball team on Tuesday as three of its players were honored when the Southern Conference announced the 2001-02 All-League and All-Freshman teams.
Senior Dimeco Childress and sophomore Zakee Wadood were both named first team All-Southern Conference by the league’s coaches.
This is the second straight year that Childress has earned all-conference honors.
Freshman Tiras Wade was selected to the All-Freshman team by the league’s sports information directors.
Childress has scored 1,271 points in his career, eighth on ETSU’s all-time scoring list.
After seeing limited playing time as a freshman, Wadood stepped into the starting lineup after the sixth game this season and has not looked back, becoming one of the best all-around forwards in the SoCon.
He leads the league in rebounding with a 9.1 average, a mark that is the best by a Buccaneer since the 1982-83 season when Winfred King averaged 10.3 boards a game.
Wadood is also among the conference leaders in scoring (14.7), blocked shots (32) and steals (45). He also leads the conference in double-doubles with 10 so far this season.
Playing in every game this season as a freshman, Wade has made an immediate impact on the lineup and has moved into a starting position over the last month of the regular season.
He is fourth on the team in scoring (11.3) and third in rebounding (4.6).

Author