ETSU men's basketball begins practice
Issue date: 10/20/08 Section: Sports
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The Buccaneers will open official preseason practice sessions Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., inside Memorial Center, as the team begins preparations in earnest for the 2008-09 season. ETSU will play two exhibition games inside Memorial Center on Nov. 1 against Milligan College and Nov. 8 against Mars Hill, before opening their season Nov. 14 against Temple in the Charleston Classic.
"We're ready to get started," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team did take a preseason exhibition trip to Canada in September and has also participated in individual workouts throughout the last two months. "This is an exciting time not only for the players and coaches, but also for our fans, students and alumni."
ETSU fans will get their first public appearance of the new Buccaneers on Tuesday, Oct. 21, as part of the Bluenanza Tipoff '08 inside Memorial Center presented by the Buccaneer Athletic Scholarship Association. The special event will begin at 7 p.m., and will feature special giveaways, on-court contests, a dunk contest, and scrimmages by both the men's and women's basketball teams.
A program that has enjoyed seven trips all-time to the NCAA Tournament and was ranked in the Top 30 percent nationally by ESPN.com's "Prestige" Ranking earlier this year, the ETSU men's basketball team enters the 2008-09 season with redemption, a championship, and an eighth trip to the NCAA postseason as its goals.
The Buccaneers, who finished last season 19-13 overall and 11-5 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, ended the season tied for third in league action and advanced to the semifinals of the A-Sun Championships at Lipscomb University in Nashville. The Bucs return eight players from last year's squad, including the team's top two scorers and only All A-Sun picks, and will add a talented recruiting class to their ranks as they prepare to retake the top spot in the league.
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