One of these nights, Murry Bartow figures, his team will have an easy time bringing the ball up the court.
It just won?t be tonight.
Bartow?s East Tennessee State basketball team plays at Samford at 8 p.m. in a Southern Conference game, and it will be the fifth time in the last six games the opponent will come at the Bucs with full-court pressure.
?It?s so amazing,? Bartow said. ?We might go 10 straight games without seeing a press. But we?re gonna see another press.?
Samford?s new coach, Scott Padgett, played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky, where he was part of the 1998 national championship team and undoubtedly picked up Pitino?s penchant for full-court defensive pressure.
?They?re gonna press us and trap us and do a lot of things we?ve been seeing,? Bartow said. ?We?ve had pretty good practice at that the last couple weeks.?
Samford (7-9 overall, 0-3 in the SoCon) had a four-game winning streak broken on Saturday when it fell 68-65 to Wofford, the SoCon?s defending champion and preseason pick to repeat.
The Bucs are 7-4 overall, 2-1 in the SoCon. They beat VMI 98-88 in their last game and proved they can win without the 3-pointers falling. They made 4 of 20 from 3-point range, usually a recipe for disaster for a team relying on its long range shooting.
While the outside shots weren?t falling, Jalen Riley was taking care of business. The 6-foot senior guard took it inside, slashing to the basket to score a career-high 32 points. He made 11 of 17 shots and 10 of 11 free throws in one of the most efficient performances of his career.
?Early on when I missed a couple, I just figured I?d put my head down and see what I can get going to the rim,? Riley said. ?And it was opening up, so I kept going to it.?
Riley, who has not started since the season-opening game at Valparaiso, took over the SoCon scoring lead at 19.9 points per game.
ETSU?s starting point guard, Petey McClain, is third in the conference in assists at 4.3 per game and second in assist-to-turnover ratio, but his playing time has been limited because of a nagging ankle injury. He was seen having it re-wrapped during the VMI game.
?He?s got a bad, recurring ankle that just won?t heal,? Bartow said. ?It just keeps bothering him. Some days he can?t practice. He?s a tough kid, maybe the toughest kid on our team. He?s playing through a lot of pain.?
Bucs? freshman, Desonta Bradford, showed his explosiveness against VMI. The 6-foot-1 guard came off the bench in a big way, with three dunks in a two-minute span during a 10-point effort.
Bradford had been nursing a wrist injury.
?Desonta really has as much talent as anybody on our team,? Bartow said. ?We knew that when we recruited him. He just needs time. He?s a smart player. He knows how to play.
?He?s just got to keep playing better in practice. The better he plays in practice, the more minutes he?ll get.?
ETSU is now the top free throw shooting team in the SoCon at 73.7 percent. A big part of that came against VMI when it went 32 of 36.
?We?ve got really good free throw shooters,? Bartow said. ?And we spend a lot of time shooting free throws in practice and just getting reps.?
It just won?t be tonight.
Bartow?s East Tennessee State basketball team plays at Samford at 8 p.m. in a Southern Conference game, and it will be the fifth time in the last six games the opponent will come at the Bucs with full-court pressure.
?It?s so amazing,? Bartow said. ?We might go 10 straight games without seeing a press. But we?re gonna see another press.?
Samford?s new coach, Scott Padgett, played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky, where he was part of the 1998 national championship team and undoubtedly picked up Pitino?s penchant for full-court defensive pressure.
?They?re gonna press us and trap us and do a lot of things we?ve been seeing,? Bartow said. ?We?ve had pretty good practice at that the last couple weeks.?
Samford (7-9 overall, 0-3 in the SoCon) had a four-game winning streak broken on Saturday when it fell 68-65 to Wofford, the SoCon?s defending champion and preseason pick to repeat.
The Bucs are 7-4 overall, 2-1 in the SoCon. They beat VMI 98-88 in their last game and proved they can win without the 3-pointers falling. They made 4 of 20 from 3-point range, usually a recipe for disaster for a team relying on its long range shooting.
While the outside shots weren?t falling, Jalen Riley was taking care of business. The 6-foot senior guard took it inside, slashing to the basket to score a career-high 32 points. He made 11 of 17 shots and 10 of 11 free throws in one of the most efficient performances of his career.
?Early on when I missed a couple, I just figured I?d put my head down and see what I can get going to the rim,? Riley said. ?And it was opening up, so I kept going to it.?
Riley, who has not started since the season-opening game at Valparaiso, took over the SoCon scoring lead at 19.9 points per game.
ETSU?s starting point guard, Petey McClain, is third in the conference in assists at 4.3 per game and second in assist-to-turnover ratio, but his playing time has been limited because of a nagging ankle injury. He was seen having it re-wrapped during the VMI game.
?He?s got a bad, recurring ankle that just won?t heal,? Bartow said. ?It just keeps bothering him. Some days he can?t practice. He?s a tough kid, maybe the toughest kid on our team. He?s playing through a lot of pain.?
Bucs? freshman, Desonta Bradford, showed his explosiveness against VMI. The 6-foot-1 guard came off the bench in a big way, with three dunks in a two-minute span during a 10-point effort.
Bradford had been nursing a wrist injury.
?Desonta really has as much talent as anybody on our team,? Bartow said. ?We knew that when we recruited him. He just needs time. He?s a smart player. He knows how to play.
?He?s just got to keep playing better in practice. The better he plays in practice, the more minutes he?ll get.?
ETSU is now the top free throw shooting team in the SoCon at 73.7 percent. A big part of that came against VMI when it went 32 of 36.
?We?ve got really good free throw shooters,? Bartow said. ?And we spend a lot of time shooting free throws in practice and just getting reps.?
