Gordon Ball Court, ETSU
0
0 After a week of camp last week, ETSU Men’s Basketball is back. Lots of movement in the off season though. From graduating seniors, to portal additions and subtractions, and some staff changes to boot. Some key players from last season remained with The Bucs. Maki Johnson, Jordan McCullum, Maddox Huff, and Brayden Crump are veteran Bucs that played for Savage last season.
Players that left ETSU were Isaiah Sutherland, Jaylen Smith, Blake Barkley, Henry Sisemore, and Gabe Sisk.
Major Pickups for ETSU
Out of the portal, The Bucs brought in quite the talent to fill in the gaps.
- BJ Ward, a Senior from St. Louis, had 122 assists last season, finishing 5th in the OVC, and 6th in Assists per Game. This is a major win for Coach Savage, as ETSU was a leader in assists for the SoCon last season.
- Jayden Cooper, a Senior from South Alabama, who was averaging 11.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Cooper is an all over court player, while also sharing ball control which has also been a focus of ETSU.
- Kendall Campbell, another Senior, from Wingate. This Forward shot 55.8% from the field, 36.7% from three-point range, and 78.2% at the free throw line. A solid shooter with a solid rebound average of almost 5 per game.
- Trevor Hennig, Senior from Weber State, is a veteran shooter with an average of 10 PPG, and almost 50% shooting percent.
- Marqus Marion, a Redshirt Junior picked up from Wake Forest. This Forward is 6-9 and appeared in 20 games last season. This included 7 ACC contests which included almost 20 minutes against Clemson.
- Tyran Mason, a Junior Guard from UT Arlington. Mason averaged 18.5 minutes per game, shot 47.7% from the field, 31.7% from three-point range, and 68.6% on free throws last season.
In addition to portal pickups, Coach Savage managed to bring some freshman talent as well.
- Elton Smith, from Dynamic Prep in Columbia, South Carolina.
- Ben Maller, from Mountain View, CA and went to Prolific Prep.
- Colt Busse, graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School, and from Baltimore, MD.
Coaching Adjustments for The Bucs
In addition to roster changes, Coach Savage brought in some talent from a SoCon competitor on the coaching staff. Dwight Perry, former Wofford Head Coach, and Furman University Head Coach. With winning seasons at both universities, Coach Perry has a wealth of knowledge and brings an alternative philosophy to Johnson City, as someone that has scouted against ETSU for years.
First Day of Practice, and what The Bucs had to say
BJ Ward was interviewed first, and could not state how excited he was about being at ETSU and how he fits well onto this team. He stated “..ETSU is a most connected, and most convicted team..” Ward stated he felt like he could be a leader on the team, and the desire to be a standout and the first guy out the door. When asked about sharing the wealth, BJ Ward stated “That’s one of the things Coach Savage talks about in the recruiting process..” and that it’s about shot creation for not just himself as the Point Guard, but also making the shot happen for fellow teammates.
Senior Maki Johnson stated ” ..this is a really good group.. really good at communicating.” He stated his focus now that he is a leader on the team is to “take more shots than last year, and handle the ball a little bit more.” When asked about addition Coach Perry, Maki stated he is “..really intelligent when it comes to offense.. really excited about that, and he complements our defense..”
Senior Jordan McCullum described his expectations this season for himself as “play a bigger role..do a lot more rebounding, play harder defense and executing on offense..” McCullum has gained not only a bigger role, but has also gained muscle during last season and the offseason. He noted that this current team is “a lot bigger than we were last year… better at rebounds, blocking shots and things like that we weren’t always able to win last year.”
And finally, Coach Brooks Savage:
When asked about Johnson and McCullum, he responded “..yeah it’s a big summer for them, we’ve called it the Million-Dollar Summer… since that is what’s at stake for next year.” In regard to bringing on Dwight Perry, Coach stated “It’s just shared philosophy.. They led the league in offensive rebounding and we were right behind them.. So shared philosophy of what it takes to win, and to win big. He’s very accomplished in this league, so having someone like on your team, is huge for us.”
When talking about retention and the portal, he stated “This is a place guys wanna come play again. Connecting is a big identity about who we are..”
Outlook into the 2026 Season
It’s safe to say that optimism and determination have come back to ETSU with the start of practices for the team, and the coaching staff seems reenergized and ready to tackle and win the SoCon again.
About the Author
