Friday, May 14, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 14, 2004) - East Tennessee State University head coach Murry Bartow announced on Friday that Oak Park, Ill., native Dillion Sneed has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the Buccaneers beginning with the upcoming 2004-05 season. Sneed, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward, played the last two seasons at Colby Community College and had originally planned to continue his college basketball career at Nebraska. However, Sneed - who averaged 6.7 points and 6.0 rebounds as a sophomore - will now complete the Bucs' four-player recruiting class for the 2004-05 season. "We're excited to have Dillion join our program," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. "He's a strong defender and rebounder, and he also has some ability to score." Sneed, who primarily played football before his junior year of high school, joins a recruiting class that is completely comprised of inside players. According to Bartow, this is no accident. "Going in we knew the primary need for our team was going to be inside, because all our perimeter players were coming back," Bartow said. "We feel like we did what we needed to do. We signed players - both high school and junior college guys - that can step in and contribute immediately. I think we met our needs." ETSU is coming off a memorable 2003-04 season in which the Bucs posted a 27-6 overall record, finished with a program-best 15-1 Southern Conference mark, won the SoCon Tournament for the sixth time in school history, and made their second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.