Friday, August 15, 2008

            JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 15, 2008) - Though the August summer heat continues to pound ETSU's campus, the Buccaneer men's basketball team will be getting an early start on its 2008-09 season beginning this weekend.

            For the first time in program history, the ETSU men's basketball team will participate in a three-day, preseason exhibition tour in Toronto, Canada, from Aug. 30 thru Sept. 1. To begin preparing for the trip, the team's eight returning players will arrive on campus for physicals and meetings Saturday, and begin a 10-day practice schedule with a workout Sunday at 3 p.m. inside Memorial Center. The team's five incoming freshmen will join the workouts on Aug. 25, the first official day of the fall semester.

            "We're excited, we're looking forward to it, and we're eager to get it going," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team is coming off a 19-13 season a year ago. "This is obviously something different for us and we're starting much earlier than usual, but I think we'll be able to learn a lot about our team and get a head start on the season. It will allow our coaching staff to get a good look at our team, reassess our incoming players and learn a little about the roles each player will be able to handle during the year."

            The Bucs are scheduled to open play at the University of Guelph at 7 p.m. Saturday night, Aug. 29th. On Sunday, the Bucs will play two games at Sheridan University, with a noon matchup against Waterloo and a 7 p.m. meeting with host Sheridan. On Monday, the team will wrap up the trip with a noon contest at the University of Toronto.

            Other American teams to be participating in the weekend scrimmages include Charlotte and N.C. State. For updates on each game, visit ETSUBucs.com.