East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball

East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
2021–22 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team
University	East Tennessee State University
First season	1918
All-time record	1,335–1,046 (.561)
Head coach	Desmond Oliver (1st season)
Conference	SoCon
Location	Johnson City, Tennessee
Arena	Freedom Hall Civic Center (Capacity: 6,149)
Nickname	Buccaneers
Colors	Navy blue and gold[1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1968
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1968, 1992
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1968, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017
NIT Tournament Appearances
1983, 2007
Conference tournament champions
1968, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2020
Conference regular season champions
1968, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2017, 2020

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represents East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, Tennessee, in men's college basketball. East Tennessee State is coached by Desmond Oliver and currently competes in the Southern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2017. In March 2020 the Buccaneers won the SoCon championship.

History[]

East Tennessee State been playing Division I basketball since the 1958–59 season when they joined the Ohio Valley Conference. In the 1979–80 season ETSU joined the Southern Conference and after the 2004–05 season they left the Southern Conference for the Atlantic Sun Conference. On July 1, 2014, they re-joined the Southern Conference.

Season-by-season results[]

Season-by-season results[]

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
(1948–1973)
1958–1959	Madison Brooks	13–10	5–7	4th
1959–1960	Madison Brooks	9–14	2–10	7th
1960–1961	Madison Brooks	9–15	1–11	7th
1961–1962	Madison Brooks	11–14	3–9	6th
1962–1963	Madison Brooks	14–8	7–5	3rd
1963–1964	Madison Brooks	12–10	8–6	6th
1964–1965	Madison Brooks	6–17	4–10	7th
1965–1966	Madison Brooks	7–14	3–11	7th
1966–1967	Madison Brooks	17–9	8–6	3rd
1967–1968	Madison Brooks	19–8	10–4	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1968–1969	Madison Brooks	15–11	6–8	5th
1969–1970	Madison Brooks	15–11	8–6	3rd
1970–1971	Madison Brooks	12–12	8–6	4th
1971–1972	Madison Brooks	11–14	6–8	6th
1972–1973	Madison Brooks	9–17	2–12	8th
Madison Brooks:		370–263
(1973–1976)
1973–1974	Leroy Fisher	8–18	3–11	8th
1974–1975	Leroy Fisher	9–14	5–9	5th
1975–1976	Leroy Fisher	6–20	4–10	8th
Leroy Fisher:		23–53	12–30
Sonny Smith (1976–1978)
1976–1977	Sonny Smith	12–14	6–8	5th
1977–1978	Sonny Smith	18–9	10–4	2nd
Sonny Smith:		30–23	16–13
(1978–1982)
1978–1979	Jim Halihan	16–11
1979–1980	Jim Halihan	15–13	8–7	4th
1980–1981	Jim Halihan	13–14	9–7	4th
1981–1982	Jim Halihan	13–15	8–8	4th
Jim Halihan:		57–53	25–22
(1982–1985)
1982–1983	Barry Dowd	22–9	12–4	3rd	NIT 1st Round
1983–1984	Barry Dowd	9–19	6–10	7th
1984–1985	Barry Dowd	9–18	3–13	9th
Barry Dowd:		40–46	21–27
Les Robinson (1985–1990)
1985–1986	Les Robinson	13–16	8–8	4th
1986–1987	Les Robinson	7–21	3–13	8th
1987–1988	Les Robinson	14–15	9–7	4th
1988–1989	Les Robinson	20–11	7–7	4th	NCAA 1st Round
1989–1990	Les Robinson	27–7	12–2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
Les Robinson:		81–70	39–37
(1990–1996)
1990–1991	Alan LeForce	28–5	11–3	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1991–1992	Alan LeForce	24–7	12–2	1st	NCAA 2nd Round
1992–1993	Alan LeForce	19–10	12–6	2nd
1993–1994	Alan LeForce	16–14	13–5	2nd
1994–1995	Alan LeForce	14–14	9–5	2nd (North)
1995–1996	Alan LeForce	7–20	3–11	T-5th (North)
Alan LeForce:		108–70	60–32
Ed DeChellis (1996–2003)
1996–1997	Ed DeChellis	7–20	2–11	5th (North)	–
1997–1998	Ed DeChellis	11–16	6–9	T–5th	–
1998–1999	Ed DeChellis	17–11	9–7	3rd (North)	–
1999–2000	Ed DeChellis	14–15	8–8	4th (North)	–
2000–2001	Ed DeChellis	18–10	13–3	1st (North)	–
2001–2002	Ed DeChellis	18–10	11–5	T–1st (North)	–
2002–2003	Ed DeChellis	20–11	11–5	T–1st (North)	NCAA 1st Round
Ed DeChellis:		105–93	60–49
Murry Bartow (2003–2015)
2003–2004	Murry Bartow	27–6	15–1	1st (North)	NCAA 1st Round
2004–2005	Murry Bartow	10–19	4–12	5th (North)
2005–2006	Murry Bartow	15–13	12–8	5th
2006–2007	Murry Bartow	24–10	16–2	1st	NIT 1st Round
2007–2008	Murry Bartow	19–13	11–5	T–3rd
2008–2009	Murry Bartow	23–10	14–6	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2009–2010	Murry Bartow	20–15	13–7	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2010–2011	Murry Bartow	24–12	16–4	2nd	CIT Semifinals
2011–2012	Murry Bartow	17–13	10–8	T-4th
2012–13	Murry Bartow	10–22	8–10	T–7th
2013–14	Murry Bartow	19–16	10–8	4th	CIT 2nd Round
2014–15	Murry Bartow	16–14	8–10	5th
Murry Bartow:		224–169	127–81
Steve Forbes (2015–2020)
2015–16	Steve Forbes	24–12	14–4	2nd
2016–17	Steve Forbes	27–8	14–4	T–1st	NCAA 1st Round
2017–18	Steve Forbes	25–9	14–4	2nd
2018–19	Steve Forbes	24–10	13–5	T–3rd	CIT 1st Round
2019–20	Steve Forbes	30–4	16–2	1st	NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID-19
Steve Forbes:		130–43	71–19
Jason Shay (2020–2021)
2020–21	Jason Shay	13–12	8–7	5th
Jason Shay:		13–12	8–7
Desmond Oliver (2021–present)
2021–22	Desmond Oliver
Desmond Oliver:
Total:		1,335–1,046
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

The Les Robinson / Alan LeForce era[]

Commonly referred to as "The Glory Days" of ETSU basketball, between 1989 and 1992, ETSU won 4 straight Southern Conference titles while compiling 99 wins. During this 4-year period ETSU had wins over prestigious programs such as Arizona, NC State (3 times), Wake Forest, Cincinnati, BYU, Xavier, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tennessee (twice) and Memphis. ETSU also suffered their most famous loss when they lost by 1 point to top ranked Oklahoma as a 16th seed in the 1989 NCAA Tournament.

When Les Robinson left for NC State after the 1990 season, longtime assistant Alan Leforce took over a veteran team led by Senior Keith "Mister" Jennings. The team was ranked as high as 10th^[2] in the nation during the 1991 season and finished the year 17th in the AP poll and 15th in the Coaches poll.^[3] In the 1992 NCAA Tournament ETSU upset the Arizona Wildcats in the opening round, but eventually fell in the second round to the Michigan Wolverines and the Fab Five.

The Buccaneers went into steep decline after that, bottoming out with a 7-20 record in 1995-96. LeForce resigned after the season.

The Ed Dechellis era[]

In 1996 Ed Dechellis replaced Alan Leforce who resigned after the 1995–1996 season. In 2001 Dechellis led ETSU to their first regular season conference title since the 91–92 season. In 2003 Dechellis helped ETSU win their first Southern Conference Tournament title and first NCAA berth since 1992. ETSU faced Wake Forest University in the first round where they lost in the final seconds 73–76 after having a chance to win the game with the last shot. After the 2003 season Dechellis left for Penn State.

Dechellis complied 105–93 record at ETSU but is mostly remembered for bringing prominence back to the ETSU basketball program that had struggled after the 1993 season.

The Murry Bartow era[]

In 2003 ETSU hired Murry Bartow after Ed Dechellis took the head coaching position at Penn State. Bartow took over a senior led team that won 27 games and nearly went undefeated in conference play in his first season; additionally, ETSU won their second straight Southern Conference Tournament and headed back to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. ETSU had another close call in the 2004 NCAA Tournament when they lost to Cincinnati 77–80 in the closing seconds, much like the Wake Forest game the previous year.

In the 2005–2006 season ETSU left the Southern Conference to join the Atlantic Sun Conference after the school dropped football. During his time in the Atlantic Sun ETSU has received 4 postseason bids. Back to Back NCAA tournaments in 2009 and 2010, the NIT in 2007 and the CIT in 2011. The Buccaneers rejoined the Southern Conference as part of reinstating football in 2016. After 12 years, an overall record of 224–169 (with a record of 16–14, 8–10 in SoCon play in the 2014–15 season), and three NCAA appearances at East Tennessee State, Bartow was fired due a five-season tournament drought with declining team performance.^[4]

The Steve Forbes era[]

After Murry Bartow was fired, Steve Forbes became the 16th head coach in ETSU's 95-year history on March 30, 2015. He served two seasons as an assistant coach at Wichita State Shockers men's basketball where he helped take the Shockers to the Sweet 16 the past season before taking the ETSU job. Forbes' recruiting ties and his extensive background as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level – which included a five-year stop at the University of Tennessee – made him a perfect fit for ETSU, according to ETSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Richard Sander.^[5] In five seasons at ETSU, Forbes tallied at least 24 wins each year. The 2017 team shared the Southern Conference regular season title and won the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville to represent the league in the NCAA Tournament. Forbes led the team to another conference regular season championship in 2019-20 and a school record 30 wins. On April 30, 2020, Forbes left ETSU to accept the head coaching job at Wake Forest.^[6]

Jason Shay[]

On May 7, 2020, a week after Forbes departed for Wake Forest, ETSU assistant coach Jason Shay was named the 17th head coach of the program.^[7] In the 2020-21 season, Shay led the Buccaneers to a 13-12 overall record and an appearance in the semifinals of the 2021 Southern Conference Tournament. On March 30, 2021, Shay decided to resign after one season as head coach.^[8]

The Desmond Oliver era[]

Six days after Jason Shay resigned, University of Tennessee assistant coach Desmond Oliver was named the 18th head coach of the program on April 5, 2021.^[9]

Postseason[]

NCAA Division I tournament results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament ten times. Their combined record is 2–11. They also qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seed	Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1968		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Florida State Ohio State Marquette	W 79–69 L 72–79 L 57–69
1989	#16	First Round	#1 Oklahoma	L 71–72
1990	#13	First Round	#4 Georgia Tech	L 83–99
1991	#10	First Round	#7 Iowa	L 73–76
1992	#14	First Round Second Round	#3 Arizona #6 Michigan	W 87–80 L 90–102
2003	#15	First Round	#2 Wake Forest	L 73–76
2004	#13	First Round	#4 Cincinnati	L 77–80
2009	#16	First Round	#1 Pittsburgh	L 62–72
2010	#16	First Round	#1 Kentucky	L 71–100
2017	#13	First Round	#4 Florida	L 65–80

NCAA Division II tournament results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1957	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Centenary Kentucky Wesleyan	W 62–61 L 73–84

NAIA tournament results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1953	First Round	Arizona State	L 79–81
1954	First Round	Southwest Missouri State	L 72–77
1956	First Round	Gustavus Adolphus	L 60–80

NIT results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1983	First Round	Vanderbilt	L 73–79
2007	First Round	Clemson	L 57–64

Vegas 16 results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the Vegas 16 one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2016	Quarterfinals Semifinals	Louisiana Tech Oakland	W 88–83 L 81–104

CIT results[]

The Buccaneers have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) three times. Their combined record is 3–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2011	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Furman Ohio Iona	W 76–63 W 82–73 L 80–83
2014	First Round Second Round	Chattanooga Towson	W 79–66 L 77–83
2019	First Round	Green Bay	L 94–102

Team records[]

Career leaders[]

Career scoring leaders
Seasons	Player	Points
2002–06	Tim Smith	2,302
1988–92	Greg Dennis	2,204
2006–09	Courtney Pigram	2,041
1987–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	1,988
1988–92	Calvin Talford	1,872
1959–61	Tom Chilton	1,801
2007–11	Mike Smith	1,783
1980–83	Troy Mikell	1,684
2012-16	Lester Wilson	1,388
2000–04	Zakee Wadood	1,382
Career rebound leaders
Seasons	Player	Rebounds
1964–67	Tommy Woods	1,034
1959-61	Tom Chilton	974
1988–92	Greg Dennis	895
1977–80	Scott Place	825
2000–04	Zakee Wadood	822
2003–07	Brad Nuckles	791
2008–12	Isiah Brown	790
2007–11	Mike Smith	783
2000–04	Jerald Fields	716
1972–74	Ron Mitchell	673
Career Assist Leaders
Seasons	Player	Assists
1987–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	983
2002–06	Tim Smith	508
2006–09	Courtney Pigram	416
2012-16	Petey McClain	412
2009–12	Adam Sollazzo	409
1980–83	Marc Quesenberry	363
2014-18	Desonta Bradford	349
1984–87	Carniel Manuel	322
1997–99	Greg Stephens	265
2007–11	Mike Smith	245
Career Steals Leaders
Seasons	Player	Steals
1987–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	334
2002–06	Tim Smith	313
2000–04	Zakee Wadood	246
2006–09	Courtney Pigram	232
1991–94	Trazel Silvers	183
2000–04	Jerald Fields	167
2013-17	A.J. Merriweather	160
2009–12	Adam Sollazzo	148
2014-18	Desonta Bradford	146
2007–11	Mike Smith	146
Career Blocks Leaders
Seasons	Player	Blocks
2008–12	Isiah Brown	183
2000–04	Zakee Wadood	182
1988–92	Greg Dennis	174
2000–04	Jerald Fields	167
2003–07	Brad Nuckles	158
2005–08	Andrew Reed	95
1993–96	Justin McClellan	83
1993–96	Phil Powe	78
2015-18	Peter Jurkin	75
2013-17	Isaac Banks	75
1991–92	Rodney English	71
Career FG% Leaders (min 200 Made)
Seasons	Player	FG%
1993–96	Phil Powe	.638
1974–77	Bob Brown	.623
1974–75	Morris Tampa	.611
1983–86	Calvin Cannady	.610
2005–06	Dillion Sneed	.598
1991–92	Rodney English	.570
2000–04	Jerald Fields	.567
1980–83	Troy Mikell	.552
2008–12	Isiah Brown	.551
1987–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	.549

Single game leaders[]

Most Points in a game
Date	Player	Points	Opponent
2/5/1961	Tom Chilton	52	Austin Peay
2/24/1961	Tom Chilton	47	Western Kentucky
2/16/2002	Dimeco Childress	42	Western Carolina
2/26/1960	Tom Chilton	42	Middle Tennessee
2/26/2005	Tim Smith	41	Georgia Southern
3/5/2017	T.J. Cromer	41	Samford
Most Rebounds in a game
Date	Player	Rebounds	Opponent
1964–65	Tommy Woods	38	Middle Tennessee
1956–57	Herb Weaver	32	Milligan
1964–65	Tommy Woods	32	East Carolina
1956–57	Herb Weaver	31	Kentucky Wesleyan
1954–55	Dick Creech	30	Middle Tennessee
Most Assists in a game
Date	Player	Assists	Opponent
1990–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	19	Appalachian State
2/24/2007	Courtney Pigram	18	Mercer
1990–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	18	The Citadel
1990–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	16	VMI
1990–91	Keith "Mister" Jennings	15	Chattanooga

• All stats are from the 2010–2011 media guide and are updated through the 2010–2011 basketball season.^[10]

Record home crowds[]

Top 8 all-time home crowds to attend an ETSU basketball game in Johnson City.

Rank	Attendance	Event	Date
1	12,884	Chattanooga vs. ETSU	Feb. 4, 1991
2	12,240	NC State vs. ETSU	Dec. 29, 1990
3	12,208	VMI vs. ETSU	Feb. 25, 1991
4	11,341	Southern Mississippi vs. ETSU	Dec. 7, 1991
5	11,189	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Feb. 1, 1992
6	10,727	Chattanooga vs. ETSU	Jan. 20, 1992
7	10,607	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Jan. 5, 1991
8	10,475	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Feb. 17, 1990

ETSU players in the NBA and ABA[]

3 players from ETSU have played in the NBA & ABA ^[11] and a total of 8 players have been drafted.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Player	Draft Year	Career
Tommy Woods	Undrafted	1967-1968
Skeeter Swift	1969	1969–1974
Keith "Mister" Jennings	Undrafted	1992–1995

References[]

External links[]

• Official website