Wednesday, April 13, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 13, 2005) - East Tennessee State University men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Wednesday that 6-foot-2 guard Dante Williams of Romulus, Mich., and 6-foot-1 guard Shaun Keaton of Albany, Ga., have both signed to play basketball for the Buccaneers beginning with the 2005-06 season.

The two high school seniors are expected to help fill the void left by the graduation of senior guards James Anthony, Sam Oatman and Michael Tolliver.

"By adding Shaun and Dante we really think we've got two players who can really shoot the basketball," Bartow said. "Both are quality student-athletes and both come from very good high school programs that have been highly successful. We felt with the graduation of three senior guards, this was an area we needed to take care of."

Williams, who averaged 12.3 points per game last season, was captain of his Romulus High School squad, which finished runner-up in the Michigan Class A Championships. A first-team all-conference selection, Williams won the squad's "Best Shooter" honor in both 2004 and 2005.

            Keaton, who averaged 17 points, five assists and four rebounds last season, was a first-team all-region, all-metro and all-area selection playing for Westover High School. A three-year starter, Keaton was an 85 percent free-throw shooter and hit on 67 career 3-pointers, helping lead his high school team to three-straight 20-win seasons, three-straight region championships, and two trips to the Georgia Final Four.

            With the signings of Williams and Keaton, the Bucs have four scholarships left to offer. One of those scholarships will go to Courtney Pigram, a guard out of Memphis who is currently attending classes at ETSU, which means the final three scholarships are still left to be granted.