Smith will try to break out of slump tonight against Golden Eagles
Dec 10, 4:00 AM EST
JOHNSON CITY ? One win probably won?t solve all East Tennessee State?s problems, but it could get the ship steered in the right direction.
With Tuesday night?s loss to Central Michigan, the Buccaneers (2-5) equaled their regular-season loss total from last year and remained without a victory over a NCAA Division I opponent so far this season.
ETSU?s two wins have come against the Appalachian Athletic Conference?s UVa.-Wise and King College.
"We?ve gotten off to bad starts, but we?ve been right there with four or five minutes to go in each loss, with the exception of the Alabama game, having a chance to win," said ETSU coach Murry Bartow before Thursday?s practice. "We just haven?t been able to make the shots or get the stops defensively when we have needed to."
An ambitious early-season schedule, which has included the No. 18 Crimson Tide, Fresno State and Southern Conference powerhouse College of Charleston, is just part of the reason for the Bucs? struggles.
The other part is two-fold: inexperience in the post and the Bucs? perimeter players not playing up to expectations.
"We knew we?d be inexperienced inside, but we didn?t count on Brad (Nuckles) getting hurt and we didn?t count on our perimeter guys getting off to a slow start," Bartow said. "We have also not played as well as we have needed to play."
While a win today against Tennessee Tech (3-3) at the Mini-Dome would give the Bucs their first win over a non-AAC team, it still would not be a cure-all, Bartow said.
"A win would be big, but we have to think deeper than just win that one game," he said. "We have deeper problems. We have issues with our defense and Tim (Smith) is not playing the way Tim plays."
Smith, one of the ETSU?s three captains, is the team?s high scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game. But the 5-foot-9 point guard is connecting on just 34 percent of his field goals and is attempting more than 19 shots per game.
Despite Smith?s shooting struggles, Bartow said he knows his floor leader is just trying to help the Bucs win.
"He?s a very unselfish kid. He?s not trying to get his (points), he?s trying to win," Bartow said. "I have no issues with him taking 15-20 shots a game, but his shooting percentage has to get better."
Smith connected on just 4-of-18 shots in Tuesday?s 88-77 loss at Central Michigan.
The junior point guard?s slow start, however, is nothing new. In both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Smith?s scoring average and shooting percentages improved as the season progressed. In fact, he averaged over 27 points in ETSU?s final seven games last season.
So Smith will not be asked to give up the ball any time soon.
"Tim has earned the right and the privilege to take the shots he does. I?ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he?ll make the right decisions," Bartow said. "He?s had slow starts before and he?ll come around. We hope it?s sooner than later."
Smith will try again to break out of his slump tonight against the Golden Eagles, a team the Buccaneers defeated 77-70 last season in Cookeville, Tenn.
"We just have to get a win and hopefully it?ll help us come together and get us going," Smith said. "It?s frustrating losing. We just have to come out and fight."
Dec 10, 4:00 AM EST
JOHNSON CITY ? One win probably won?t solve all East Tennessee State?s problems, but it could get the ship steered in the right direction.
With Tuesday night?s loss to Central Michigan, the Buccaneers (2-5) equaled their regular-season loss total from last year and remained without a victory over a NCAA Division I opponent so far this season.
ETSU?s two wins have come against the Appalachian Athletic Conference?s UVa.-Wise and King College.
"We?ve gotten off to bad starts, but we?ve been right there with four or five minutes to go in each loss, with the exception of the Alabama game, having a chance to win," said ETSU coach Murry Bartow before Thursday?s practice. "We just haven?t been able to make the shots or get the stops defensively when we have needed to."
An ambitious early-season schedule, which has included the No. 18 Crimson Tide, Fresno State and Southern Conference powerhouse College of Charleston, is just part of the reason for the Bucs? struggles.
The other part is two-fold: inexperience in the post and the Bucs? perimeter players not playing up to expectations.
"We knew we?d be inexperienced inside, but we didn?t count on Brad (Nuckles) getting hurt and we didn?t count on our perimeter guys getting off to a slow start," Bartow said. "We have also not played as well as we have needed to play."
While a win today against Tennessee Tech (3-3) at the Mini-Dome would give the Bucs their first win over a non-AAC team, it still would not be a cure-all, Bartow said.
"A win would be big, but we have to think deeper than just win that one game," he said. "We have deeper problems. We have issues with our defense and Tim (Smith) is not playing the way Tim plays."
Smith, one of the ETSU?s three captains, is the team?s high scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game. But the 5-foot-9 point guard is connecting on just 34 percent of his field goals and is attempting more than 19 shots per game.
Despite Smith?s shooting struggles, Bartow said he knows his floor leader is just trying to help the Bucs win.
"He?s a very unselfish kid. He?s not trying to get his (points), he?s trying to win," Bartow said. "I have no issues with him taking 15-20 shots a game, but his shooting percentage has to get better."
Smith connected on just 4-of-18 shots in Tuesday?s 88-77 loss at Central Michigan.
The junior point guard?s slow start, however, is nothing new. In both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Smith?s scoring average and shooting percentages improved as the season progressed. In fact, he averaged over 27 points in ETSU?s final seven games last season.
So Smith will not be asked to give up the ball any time soon.
"Tim has earned the right and the privilege to take the shots he does. I?ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he?ll make the right decisions," Bartow said. "He?s had slow starts before and he?ll come around. We hope it?s sooner than later."
Smith will try again to break out of his slump tonight against the Golden Eagles, a team the Buccaneers defeated 77-70 last season in Cookeville, Tenn.
"We just have to get a win and hopefully it?ll help us come together and get us going," Smith said. "It?s frustrating losing. We just have to come out and fight."
