The murmuring started early this season. It began quietly in the stands and around water coolers when the Bucs opened the year with losses to Marshall and Fresno State. It got a little bit louder when ETSU got drilled at Old Dominion and started 0-3 in the conference.
Then came a blowout loss at Chattanooga followed by a home defeat Monday night at the hands of the perennial conference doormat, The Citadel Bulldogs. That’s when the murmurs became cries of discontent.
The phone lines lit up on WJCW’s Sports Line with Bill Meade Tuesday, where callers targeted Tim Smith, calling him “selfish,” claiming that instead of looking for open teammates, Smith “looks for open shots.”
One caller asked, “Don’t you want your point guard to have more assists than turnovers?” With the Bucs sitting at 6-12, the long knives are out and the finger-pointing has officially begun.
When things get rough, many fans only see what they want to. Last year, Smith’s turnovers and sporadic shooting were forgiven because of the ultimate statistic: the final score. This year, he’s being picked apart on the radio for having more turnovers than assists. Never mind the fact that Smith had 75 assists compared to only 72 turnovers going into the Davidson game, the caller needed to find somewhere to place the blame.
While everyone seems to have an opinion, you have to be there every day to know the whole story. As Coach Murry Bartow said earlier in the season, “I wasn’t as smart as you thought I was last year, and I’m not as dumb as you think I am this year.”
To know why that’s true, you have to see more than what happens on the court.
You can see a lot after games, in a concrete hallway underneath the Memorial Center bleachers. It is in that hallway where last year’s champions now file out of their locker room to speak in hushed tones about injury, heartbreaking losses and getting focused for the next game. Words like “fortunate” and “thrilled” have been replaced by “frustrating” and “redshirt.”
It is there where players disappointed after dropping yet another home game still have enough class to put smiles on their faces and sign posters and T-shirts for kids who don’t let the standings determine who their heroes are.
It is there where Bartow came out of the locker room moments after a loss to Fresno State to shake hands with the ball boys and tell them, “We didn’t play very well today, but you guys did a great job.”
What you see on the court tells you a lot about what kind of basketball team the Bucs are. Have they lived up to the preseason hype? No. Have they played sloppy basketball at times this season? Yes. Anyone who buys a ticket can tell you that.
It is in that hallway where you find out a lot about what kind of people the Bucs are. That’s where you find the answers to the really important questions. Are the guys frustrated by all the losing? Yes. Do they make excuses? No. Have they given up on the season? Not on your life.
I’ve learned a lot in that hallway in the last year and a half. Last season I learned that the guys on the team are great basketball players. This season I’ve learned that those guys also happen to be great people.
In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, the critics will always point out how the strong man stumbles. Personally, I’ll always be more interested in the guys in the arena, faces marred with dust, sweat and blood. That’s where the action is.

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