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ETSU Men’s Basketbal – Interviews with Courtney Pigram and Mike Smith
Oct 02, 2007Firing Up the Hardwood
Scroll down to find interviews with East Tennessee State University’s Courtney Pigram and Mike Smith.
And check back over the next two weeks to find fully-transcribed, exclusive interviews with Buccaneers coach Murry Bartow and the rest of the 2007-08 ETSU Bucs.
What follows is the first glance into what should be a big season for the ETSU men’s basketball program.
The Bucs – currently taking part in loose shootarounds and pick-up games at the Memorial Center – finished 2006-07 with an impressive 24-10 (16-2 Atlantic Sun) record, but fell short of their main goal: a berth in the NCAA tournament. After dominating the Atlantic Sun Conference during regular-season play, the Bucs fell hard to Belmont, 94-67, in the tournament championship game. The loss then pushed ETSU into the NIT, where the Bucs were knocked out in the first round by Clemson, 64-57.
Courtney Pigram
Pigram, a 6-foot-1, 197-pound junior guard, was named the 2006-07 Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year. The Memphis, Tenn. native posted big numbers (18.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.6 assists) last season, started all 34 of the Bucs’ games, and said he spent the summer “playing hard, working on defense and getting ready.” Factor in Pigram’s hefty 06-07 numbers, and that he still has two full years of eligibility left while in a Bucs uniform, and 07-08 could – and should – be Pigram’s year.
Here’s a quick Q & A with the young star.
BTS: How’s the offseason been going?
Courtney Pigram: (Enthused) It’s been going real well. I’ve been focusing on the things I can do, real well. Tryin’ to get better on the defensive end. And, you know, just bettering my game on the offensive end.
BTS: What have you been focusing on?
CP: Just, uh, cutting down on a lot of turnovers, and, you know, getting my team … more involved in the game. I’m a team player. I like playing together. And I love winning.
BTS: You guys had a great record last year, but maybe didn’t finish like you wanted. Did you think about that during the break?
CP: I mean, it was a great season, and the record was nice and all that. But we had, you know, a tough loss at the end, like you said. We gave up a lot of points on the defensive end. And that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now. We’re just starting, and we’re trying to get around the corner, right now.
BTS: What about your game? What do you still need to improve?
CP: Just being a better all-around guard, and helping my teammates out.
BTS: How excited are you for the season to begin?
CP: Oh, man, I cannot wait for the season to get started. (Laughing). Just being around all the guys is great, and we’re really goin’ at it.
BTS: Do you feel like you still have unfinished business?
CP: Yeah, yeah. All of that. All of us do. This is a new start.
Mike Smith
Smith, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound sophomore forward, was a major role player in 06-07. While he only started seven of the Bucs’ 34 games, you’d never know it from Smith’s numbers. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 25.7 minutes per game. He was also second on the Bucs in made 3-pointers (48), shot 79.6 percent (78 of 98) from the free throw line, and 43.1 (124 of 288) from the field. This year, expect Smith to blossom.
BTS: What are you thinking about coming into this season.
MS: Well, we still have a bad taste in our mouth after last year, you know. We’re hoping to win more games this year, you know, and when it comes tournament time, to win the tournament and go to the NCAA tournament. Every day, we just come to practice and we think about that. It makes us want it a little bit harder each day in practice. And hopefully we just come out, play each game, and do our best.
BTS: What do you think are going to be the team’s strengths this year?
MS: We’re tall, we’re long, we’re quick … we should be pretty good. We should be able to run the floor well. We’ve got a bunch of great kids who just want to work.
BTS: What has coach been stressing in the early workouts?
MS: Our coach is always preaching defense, and that’s a big thing. He wants us to keep our opponents under 69 points and 39 percent field-goal shooting. Those are the numbers he’s always preaching: 39, 69. He always says if we play good defense, that’ll get us going in transition, for offense.
BTS: What about your own game?
MS: I spent the offseason working in the gym, just doing everything I could to make myself better, and to make the team better. And I’ve just been working here, doing the small things to get better.
BTS: Specifically?
MS: Everything. All around. I don’t want to be one dimensional. I want to be able to do everything. I’ve been trying to get quicker. I’ve been working on my foot speed this summer a lot. Just coming off the dribble and being able to shoot – different things like that. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at ball handling, too. So, I’ll be ready to go when it comes time to play.
BTS: You’re feeling pretty confident?
MS: Yeah. I am.
Posted by Brian T. Smith 1-AAA Golf Tournament at Johnson City Country Club
Oct 01, 2007Check Tuesday’s Bristol Herald Courier for a full write-up on Monday’s 1-AAA golf tournament at the Johnson City Country Club.
Here are the overall team and individual scores (top-three teams and top-five golfers move on to regional play):
BOYS
Par-72 at Johnson City Country Club
Team Scores – Science Hill 318, Dobyns-Bennett 320, Sullivan South 329, Tennessee High 330, Volunteer 338, Sullivan East 342, Sullivan Central 363, Daniel Boone 364, David Crockett 415.
Individual winner – Dane Voss (SH) 69.
Science Hill – Jared Songster 83, Michael Hembre 87, Matt Love 80, Bobby Treadway 86.
Dobyns-Bennett – Alex Ratliff 72, Justin Harvey 86, Taylor Pate 85, Drew Daniels 83, Ross Ramsdale 80.
Daniel Boone – Zac Breedlove 81, Dylan Compton 97, Forrest Salts 92, Jake Gray 94, Danny Arnold 97.
Sullivan South – Nick York 80, Nic Willis 83, Matt Washburn 83, Matt Bowers 83, Brandon Worley 90.
David Crockett – Travis Campbell 91, Justin Eldridge 96, Cody Smith 113, Robert Cloyd 148, John Sammons 115.
Sullivan Central – Tyler Barnett 91, Zack Davidson 93, Jamie Balis 87, Cody Hyden 97, Matt Millard 92.
Tennessee High – Jave DeVault 80, Curtis Vann 76, Tyler Place 85, Greg Hanson disqualification, Webster Gilley 89.
Sullivan East – David Tedder 86, Kyle Warden 84, Willie Nichols 78, Collin McCord 96, Ryan Harrington 94.
Volunteer – Carlson Cox 77, Lucas Armstrong 79, Jason Christian 86, Thomas Morrison 96, Justin Wright 100.
GIRLS
Par-72 at Johnson City Country Club
Team Scores – Sullivan South 207, Science Hill 207, Sullivan Central 224, Dobyns-Bennett 229, David Crockett 231, Tennessee High 235, Daniel Boone incomplete, Sullivan East incomplete.
Note: Sullivan South won the team title in a playoff.
Individual winner – Madison Alexander (SH) 91.
Sullivan South – Makensey Campbell 100, Samantha Williams 107.
Science Hill – Maci Whitson 116, Sopia Linville 157,
Sullivan Central – Chelsea Gammon 110, Brittany Rogers 114.
Dobyns-Bennett – Aubrey Baker 102, Lindsey Bridwell 127.
David Crockett – Heather Saults 98, Macey Sams 133.
Tennessee High – Mary Avirett 128, Brittany Salyer 114, Courtney Conley 121.
Daniel Boone – Chelsae Dye withdrew.
Sullivan East – Cassidy Rutlidge 151.
End of an Era: Braves on TBS
Oct 01, 2007Growing up in Southwest Virginia, there were two options for Major League Baseball when I was a youngster. You had the Chicago Cubs on WGN and the Atlanta Braves on TBS. The Cubs usually came on after I got home from school and interfered with the cartoons I watched, so I only caught their games occasionally.
Then there were the Braves. My dad was a huge Braves fan, so I naturally followed them as well. I have fond memories of listening to Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray wax poetic about “America’s Team,” while growing up.
Sunday marked the end of an era as TBS officially ended its run as the Braves main network. TBS will go to national coverage of MLB games this year and Atlanta will be relegated to regional networks.
I actually watched most of Sunday’s game and at times it was emotional and it sounded as if Caray was on the verge of tears. I also realized that I had been watching the Braves on TBS for a long time, from the bleak days of Rick Mahler, Claudell Washington and Glenn Hubbard in the 1980s to the glory days of Otis Nixon, Steve Avery and Ron Gant in the 1990s.
I am sure many of the folks in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee share these memories as well and were sad to see Atlanta’s run on the SuperStation come to an end.
Posted by Tim Hayes 
