NCAAbbs

visited ETSU last weekend. Any news?

No news, but I was curious to see how his visit went and whether we offered. We do not need another guard, but he's probably one of the best players available and he comes from a SEC program. Scout.com and Rivals had him as a 3-star recruit out of H.S.. I was also wondering if he could play right away, or whether he would have to sit out a year(assuming he signed with us)?

According to this article, it looks like he was going to get bumped from his scholarship which is why he is looking at transferring. Does this mean they were going to take his scholarship away so they could get someone else? That kinda sucks doesn't it, especially when the guy is a two time SEC All-academic athlete. You'd think Alabama would need as many of those in their program as possible.

Tubbs to Transfer

That does suck that Alabama would pull something like that. With Davis being a senior I guess we could use another PG. From what I read he seems to be a good guy, the fans like him and he won a hustle award last year for his play. They also say he likes to play defense so that would be a big plus.

Remember guys, he would not be eligible this season. His first year would be the year after this one, and we will only have Sollazzo after this year. Plus, we don't have to give him the scholarship for this season.

I'm reading between the lines, but the last sentence in this article in today's JC Press makes me think we're going to sign Tubbs. I know of no other player that's visited or that we're in talks with that's a transfer. Assuming it is Tubbs that we may potentially sign, it sounds like a great pickup, but I would have liked to get some size. This doesn't help us this season either.

Buccaneers to open season in Charleston

By Kelly Hodge
Press Managing Sports Editor
khodge@johnsoncitypress.com

Discuss This Article in Our Forums

Difficult start has eight of first nine on the road
A difficult stretch of road games will start in a familiar spot for the East Tennessee State basketball team this fall.

The Bucs open their schedule in Charleston, S.C., in a tournament at the College of Charleston, an old Southern Conference rival. Clemson, Temple and Texas Christian have also committed to the eight-team event, and ESPN will televise some of the games on Nov. 17-18.

“It’s an interesting way to start the year,” coach Murry Bartow said Tuesday. “It’s a new event with good exposure, and Charleston is a place our fans have enjoyed going over the years. I hope we have a big contingent go down for that tournament.”

Game dates and times for the season have yet to be released, but the Bucs know they’ll be tested early. Eight of their first nine games are away from home, with the exception being Wingate in Memorial Center on Nov. 22

Following that are stops at Tennessee Tech, Bradley, Marshall, Mercer and Appalachian State.

“We’re on the road pretty much through mid-December,” said Bartow. “It’s not ideal, but it just happened that way. It would look a little better if we didn’t have to play our first two conference games (Mercer and Kennesaw State) on the road.”

The Atlantic Sun Conference schedule will be a 20-game grind this season. Bartow has mixed emotions about that.

“I’m not sure how much I like it, but I’ll know after we play 20 league games,” he said. “The positive thing is you play everybody twice, and it’s easy based on that to determine who the best team is, who should get the No. 1 seed for the tournament. The negative is that it doesn’t give you much flexibility outside the league. I’m sure the schedule will be looked at over the next couple of years.”

The Bucs get an early jump on the season with a trip to Canada the last of August that includes four exhibition games in three days. Part of the deal is 10 extra days of practice.

“That will give us a great idea of where we are,” said Bartow. “We’ll start to see how quickly the newcomers can jump in.”

ETSU will have at least four newcomers on the roster. The last remaining scholarship may go to a player who won’t be in uniform this season.

“It could potentially be a transfer,” said Bartow, “and if that’s the case, they’ll be sitting for a year. We’ll know more on that in the next week or so.”

Sounds like a nice young man and a good student, but is 11th man off the bench and 3.1 points per game a great pick-up?

By SACS accrediting standards, a minimum of 25% of the hours required for a degree must be earned at the degree granting institution. Academically Tubbs is an upcoming Junior. The "sit out" year would certainly help him in that regard and he would still be on target to earn his degree in 4 years.

He is an engineering major and since ETSU doesn't have a true engineering major, that might be a difficult academic transfer to ETSU.

I wish him well and it looks like we may be welcoming him as a Buccaneer!

From what I have read on him, it sounds like he is more a shooting guard than a point. With Pigram a being a senior, we will need another shooter that can come in immediately. Some Alabama message boards seemed to suggest that he was good player and didn't really get a chance. I know we all want more big men, but I think we need to get the most talent we can get.

I agree BucDoc, his stats aren't too impressive on paper; however, he was playing behind an insanely deep Alabama squad. The guy that started at the 2G, Alonzo Gee, is a 6'6" 220 and 2nd team all SEC. Next year, Ronald Steele, a future NBA player, is coming back from an injury. I think Tubbs understodd that he was not going to get any playing time.

For what it's worth, Tubbs was a 3-star recruit out of H.S. by both Rivals and Scout:

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospe...72&sport=2

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8...id=2103707

I understand but...

Alabama's RPI was only 114 they were just above .500 at 17-16 and 6-12 in the SEC. They lost to Belmont and were only 7 points better than Mercer. They finished next to last in the Western Division of their conference. Bama didn't make the NCAA nor the NIT. Since basketball's RPI is tied more to the conference you play in rather than the quality of the individual team, he was playing on a mediocre/bad team.

Would ETSU fans be as excited if the 11th man off the bench at Virginia Commonwealth or Austin Peay were transferring to ETSU?

As I've said, I wish him well. Time will tell if Alabama made a bad decision by not renewing his scholarship. I hope they did and ETSU benefits from their poor judgement.

According to our board, Tubbs has indeed transferred to ETSU! Good pick-up for ya'll!
Happy 4th, btw.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.p...S&ID=63759

Updated July 03, 2008 03:58:27 PM
Alabama guard makes leap to ETSU Bucs

By Joe Avento
Press Sports Writer
javento@johnsoncitypress.com

Discuss This Article in Our Forums

Justin Tubbs, who played the past two seasons at Alabama, has announced he’ll transfer to East Tennessee State University to play basketball.

Tubbs, a 6-foot-3 guard from Trussville, Ala., averaged 3.1 points and 12.3 minutes a game at Alabama.

Tubbs was originally rumored to be considering Wake Forest and Vanderbilt. He was on the Southeastern Conference’s academic honor roll. He’ll have to sit out the coming season and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Thats good for next season. I just wish we could have gotten a big guy.

Question. Anyone know our last transfer pickup?

This is great news. From the Rivals vids he seems to have a smooth shot...that's assuming things have not changed since he was in HS.

I was thinking that Michael Toliver had initially signed with Vermont, but did not play before transferring. But our last big impact transfer would be (in my opinion) Greg Stevens from Navy.

We also had a guy transfer from Xavier, can anyone remember his name?

You are thinking of Leo Murray.

players I can think of all contiibuted

Chad Keller - George Mason?
Marty Story- Clemson (football)
Greg Stephens- Navy
Leo Murray Xavier

I think you are right about Micheal Tolliver

Chad Keller was from James Madison. There was a guy Avery Marshall, who I believe was from Louisville that played with Misters crew. Also, Robert Dogget was from Wake Forest.

I like this pickup: Good kid, good student, and hopefully will be a good player. We'll need him next year in a big way...

MB, would you send me the link to that board. Thanks!

There was talk he would walk on at UAB since his mom works for UAB. He has worked out with our guys in pick up ball.

Tubbs will be a fine addition to ETSU. Descent defender and a very good shooter. He was underutilized at UAT and should have received allot more PT IMHO. The UAT coach is a flippin moron, that being said I hope he stays there forever. Tubbs is leaving because of lack of PT and I don't blame him. rico Pickett also left and is going to a CC in Florida. Dade Co. I believe.

Tubbs will make a fine Buc.

From Alabama's website:

COLLEGIATE HIGHLIGHTS:
2007 (SOPHOMORE): Got his first collegiate career start vs. Belmont ... Academic All-SEC in 2007-08, making him a 2-time winner ... Averaged 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds in 2007-08 ... Played in 19 games, averaging 7.3 minutes a game

2006 (FRESHMAN): 2007 Freshman Academic All-SEC ... Played in 28 of Alabama's 32 games as a freshman ... Averaged 3.2 points ... Played an average of 9.6 minutes a game ... Scored UA career best 13 points in 11 minutes against Alabama State on December 9, 2007, shooting a perfect 5 of 5 from the field including 3 of 3 from 3-point range ... Scored 10 points against both Southern Mississippi and at Mississippi State ... Had season-best four steals at home against Arkansas ... Shared the team's 2007 "Hustle Award" for daily effort with Mikhail Torrance
PREP HIGHLIGHTS: Averaged 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds as a senior ... Averaged 16.9 points and 4.0 rebounds as a junior ... Scored 46 points in the area tournament against Carver ... Made 78.4% of hits shots at the free throw line and 46.4% from 3-point range as a junior ... All-County, All-Area and All-Region in 2003 and 2004 ... Coached by Bo Coln at Trussville ... National Honor Society at Hewitt Trussville

PERSONAL INFORMATION: Majoring in business at Alabama ... Lived in Birmingham until he was in 8th grade and family moved to Trussville ... Played tailback on the football team until his cousin (Justin Lee) talked him into playing basketball when he was about 12 ... Parents are Terry Parker and Sharon Tubbs, a nurse who graduated from UAB ... Born November 19, 1987

That's interesting. The webpage I found said he was an engineering major.

after CP leaves and we won't have many guards in 09/10....
and one of our guards on the roster just can't shoot/score.


Happy with the transfer. Nice job Bartow.

I`m guess Tubbs will count against the 08 scholarships??????

Yes.

That's a good pickup for us. Alabama wasn't as bad as all those stats indicated. They spent most of the year battling injury issues. Tubbs will DEFINITELY help us out.

Official Release:
Former Crimson Tide guard Tubbs transferring to ETSU
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (July 14, 2008) – ETSU men’s basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Monday that former Alabama Crimson Tide guard Justin Tubbs (Trussville, Ala.) has decided to transfer and join the Buccaneer program.
Tubbs, a 6-3, 188-pound guard, will sit out the 2008-09 season by NCAA rule and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
“We’re excited that Justin has decided to join our program,” Bartow said. “Our coaching staff thinks he has a bright future and can really help us. He’s a very well-rounded student-athlete that has excelled in the classroom, and he’s played at a very high level having spent two years playing in the SEC.”
An Academic All-SEC selection in 2007-08, Tubbs averaged 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds a game for Alabama a year ago, playing in 19 games and averaging 7.3 minutes a contest. Ironically, Tubbs first collegiate start came against ETSU’s Atlantic Sun Conference rival Belmont last season.
“I’m really happy to be coming to ETSU,” Tubbs. “The thing for me was the way I connected with the coaching staff. They did a good job of getting to know me and I felt like they had a plan for my future. Because I’ll be a fourth year junior when I’m eligible next year, my goal is to just get more experience during practice and get better. Hopefully the fans will see an athletic player who really plays defense and can knocked down shots.”
An accounting major, Tubbs was also All-Academic during his freshman season for the Crimson Tide and earned the team’s 2007 “Hustle Award” for daily effort. He played in 28 of 32 games as a freshman, averaging 9.6 minutes and 3.2 points a game. He scored a career best 13 points against Alabama State by going 5-of-5 from the field, including a 3-of-3 clip from 3-point range. Other highlights of his first season in Tuscaloosa included a four-steal effort against Arkansas.
In high school, Tubbs averaged more than 16 points and four rebounds during both his junior and senior campaigns, shooting better than 78 percent from the foul line and 45 percent from 3-point range.
Tubbs said academics are extremely important to him.
“I take my academics seriously,” Tubbs said. “Anything can happen on any day, and I don’t want to fall short in the classroom because unexpected things happen. I take care of that first and then play ball.”
Tubbs will round out ETSU’s 2008-09 recruiting class, joining center Seth Coy (Montgomery, Ind.), shooting guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis), forward J.C. Ward (Marietta, Ga.) and point guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa, Fla.). Tubbs is the only player of the group that is not a true freshman.

Again this is a good get. I assume he can practice and do everything the others can do except of course play in actual games? Can he participate in scrimmages (e.g., Blue/Gold game) and exhibition games?

He can practice with the team..but I don't think he can play in exhibition games.. saw him interviewed on TV last night.. seems like a really fine young man.. smart.. seems to have his head on straight..
I see him being a good addition to the Bucs!!!

Was that on local television?

It was on WJHL.. Ch 11.. they showed him signing and had a short interview

Clips of Tubbs in H.S.--great shooter and athlete:

Rivals.com:


http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/video.asp?...idid=54156

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/video.asp?...idid=54157

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/video.asp?...idid=54158

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/video.asp?...idid=54159