ETSU Seeks More Noise From Quiet Bench

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Courtney Pigram, Kevin Tiggs and Mike Smith continue to carry East Tennessee State University’s men’s basketball team.

The Buccaneers have won eight of their last 10 contests, and ETSU sits one game behind Jacksonville in the win column in the battle for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Pigram (19.1 points per game), Tiggs (20.3) and Smith (13.4) have combined to score 69.2 percent of the Bucs’ 76.2-point average per game. Meanwhile, Tiggs leads the Atlantic Sun in scoring per game and is ranked No. 26 among NCAA Division I men’s players, while Pigram is tied for 43rd.

But Buccaneers coach Murry Bartow knows his high-scoring trio can’t always be counted on to carry the load for ETSU (11-5, 5-1 Atlantic Sun). And with no other player on the Bucs averaging more than 5.5 points per game, Bartow is seeking more from ETSU’s role players.

“We’re still searching for that fourth, fifth scorer – that guy that can get us 10-12 points,” Bartow said. “Certainly, we know who Kevin is, we know who Courtney is; Mike’s kind of right there behind them.”

Bartow attributed the hole that surrounds ETSU’s strong core of Pigram-Tiggs-Smith to youth. Seven players on the Bucs’ roster are either freshmen or sophomores, while freshmen Isiah Brown, Seth Coy and Adam Sollazzo have all been asked to play key early-season roles for the Bucs.

“We’ve just got a lot of youth, a lot of inexperience,” Bartow said. “Long story short, you’ve got to greatly depend certainly on your big three. And they’ve got to play well. And then those other six, whatever role they have, they need to complement certainly those top three guys.”

Brown, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman, has embraced his complementary role.

Strong, quick and athletic, Brown is averaging 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds. He ranks first on the Bucs in field-goal percentage (73.1 on 38-of-52 shooting), fourth in minutes (22.3) and second in blocked shots (0.8).

Brown was viewed as a project player last season. This year, he’s thrived. Paired with Coy, a 6-foot-11 freshman averaging 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds, Brown has provided ETSU with an impressive youth movement in the post.

Brown still considers himself a work in progress. Sometimes he sees openings in a defense and immediately realizes he can dominate a possession with his agility and power. Other times, Brown is forced to defer as he watches a play unfold.

“I still have a lot of inconsistencies. I have a good game and then I fall back into a shell and won’t perform so well,” said Brown, a native of Miami, Fla. “I just have to be more consistent. That’s how you really judge great players.”

The aspiration to greatness is a key to Brown’s still-developing talent. As a self-aware, multi-dimensional athlete, Brown’s leaping ability and long arms have helped give the Bucs an overall defensive and rebounding advantage this season. ETSU has held opponents to 40.1 percent shooting from the field, outrebounded opposing teams 590-588, and limited opponents to 69.1 points per game.

Brown believes in team before self. And he understands his role on the Bucs is just as important and essential to ETSU’s success as the Pigram-Tiggs-Smith trifecta.

“In order for a good team to work, everybody who’s in uniform or everybody who’s eligible has to play a role and has to live up to a certain expectation,” Brown said. “As long as we all just communicate, play well and play together, then it’s always a team effort. When you win, it’s always a team effort. When you lose, it’s a team effort. If we lose, then we all look bad.”

Notes: Bartow said ETSU senior guard Jocolby Davis will not play in today’s 4 p.m. game against Lipscomb at the Memorial Center. Davis has not played this season as he recovers from a wrist injury he suffered during a carjacking attempt in the preseason. “He and I haven’t made a firm decision in terms of the whole year,” Bartow said. “But he definitely will not play in tomorrow’s game. I don’t think he really feels like he’s ready physically to get out there.”

btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569

If you go
Who: Lipscomb Bisons (6-9, 2-4) at East Tennessee State University Buccaneers (11-5, 5-1)
What: Atlantic Sun Conference basketball game
When: 4 p.m., today
Where: Johnson City, Tenn., at Memorial Center