Coming off back to back 18-10 season and two Southern Conference North Division titles, the ETSU basketball team is set to go all the way in the 2002-03 season.
The Bucs return four starters, nine letterwinners and an impressive recruiting class as they make their run for the SoCon title.
“We know where we’ve been and where we’re going,” ETSU head coach Ed DeChellis said at the team’s Media Day on Wednesday in Brooks Gym. “We’re trying to get better each day, each game.”
After a heartbreaking overtime loss to College of Charleston in the first round of the conference tournament last year the Bucs have their sights set on the SoCon title.
“We’re not going to get killed in the postseason this year,” Buc junior forward Gerald Fields said. “This year we’re going to go out and win some games.”
With a challenging schedule that includes Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coastal Conference names South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia, DeChellis said “if this team stays together through highs and lows we’ll be in good shape.”
The Bucs will face a test on the road early in the season as they take on UNC-Wilmington, which upset Southern Cal last season in the NCAA Tournament.
“The main thing we’re looking at is beating one of or all of the big teams this year,” Fields said.
Fields said the conference lineup would be a challenge but nothing the Bucs can’t handle.
“Everybody’s looking good but no one has depth like we do,” Fields said. “That makes us work even harder.
DeChellis said the team’s goal is “to be as good as we can and try to improve every day. There is going to be some ups and downs, but it is a marathon not a sprint.”
Even though the Bucs only have four days of practice under their belt this season, DeChellis was impressed with what he saw.
“We’ve had four good days of practice,” DeChellis said. “We got some capable experience in play time. That’s obviously important.”
Overall, DeChellis said the Bucs have to be assertive on the court this year.
“We want to push the ball offensively. We want to be aggressive on both ends of the field,” DeChellis said. “We also have maturity, which is extremely important.”
With the loss of Southern Conference Player of the Year, Dimeco Childress, the Bucs will need someone to fill the point guard spot.
“We’ve got some flexibility there, which is important,” DeChellis said. “You could do some different things with those

Author