For the ETSU Buccaneers, it is another season where “nearly” seems to be the magic word. Last year, the Bucs opened the season by “nearly” beating the Texas Tech Red Raiders on their home floor, “nearly” finishing the Southern Conference season undefeated and ended the year by “nearly” knocking of Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the Bucs have “nearly” started off the conference schedule undefeated, but instead they are 2-4 after allowing four close games to slip away.
“It’s tough to play on the road in conference play,” said head coach Murry Bartow. “We were one possession away at Appalachian State and then this game (UNC-Greensboro) was down to the last play. Last year, we won a lot of those, but this year has been a different story.”
One reason for the plot twist this season is that the injury bug has bitten the Bucs hard. The loss of Brad Nuckles completely changed the dynamic of the team as the lack of his experience inside made a challenging non-conference schedule almost impossible.
The difference between heartbreak and euphoria can also be traced back to the graduation of post players Zakee Wadood and Gerald Fields. It was thought early in the season that the Bucs would miss the scoring and rebounding of their dynamic duo. Wadood averaged 14.8 points and over 8 rebounds a game while Fields scored 13.3 points and pulled down over 6 boards per contest.
Much of this slack was supposed to be picked up by Nuckles, but as a result of his injury, ETSU was hammered on the boards early as the new post players learned the ropes.
As the season has gone on, however, Dillion Sneed has emerged to fill the void inside. The Bucs are now regularly out-rebounding their opponents, and things have loosened up on the offensive end for the guards to get good shots now that opposing defenses have to worry about Sneed as an offensive threat inside.
So, with all of that solved, what is causing the ETSU to come up empty in close games? Some would say that the injury-depleted roster is leaving the team out of gas in the second half, but the Bucs rarely played more than seven players last year. Others would say turnovers, but through 15 games, ETSU turned the ball over 13 fewer times then they did at the same point last season.
The answer lies in steals and blocked shots. Steals and blocks not only lead to easy baskets, they also stop an opponent’s possession in the closing moments of a game. As a team, ETSU had 199 steals and 96 blocked shots at this point last season. This year, the Bucs have 115 steals and 42 blocked shots. That is the difference between a 4-0 start in conference play a year ago and the 2-4 start this season.
Wadood averaged 2.8 steals per game last season, which was good enough to rank him 4th in the nation. He also blocked 70 shots, a single-season school record. Fields was also impressive, charting 56 steals and 52 blocks.
Together, these two were the equivalent of a good closer in baseball. They stopped opponents from scoring with the game on the line and gave the Bucs a better opportunity to win close games.
With four conference losses by an average of five points, the Bucs need to find a way to get defensive stops with the game on the line. Until then, “nearly” will continue to be a household word.

Author