Wednesday, November 16, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 16, 2005) - ETSU men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Wednesday that 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward Petras Balocka and 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard/forward Micah Williams have signed letters of intent to play for the Buccaneers beginning with the 2006-07 season.

Balocka, a native of Vilnius, Lithuania, played 11 years at the Vilnius Basketball School before coming to the United States to play at Jones County High School in Georgia. Currently, he is playing his final season of high school basketball at Community Christian School in McDonough, Ga. A year ago at Jones County High School, Balocka averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assist on way to all-region honors. In Lithuania, he played for four years on the Junior National Lithuanian Team. 

"Petras is a big, strong, versatile player who is very physical, but still has a great sense for the game," Bartow said. "He has a lot of agility for his size, he's a good inside-out player and he's a great passer. We felt like we needed a strong, tough player next year with the loss of Dillion (Sneed) to graduation."

Meanwhile, Williams, a native of Manchester, Tenn., gives the Bucs another quality in-state player. An all-district, all-region and honorable mention all-state selection, Williams averaged 19.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, four assists and two steals as a junior, earning honors as the MVP of his Coffee County High School team.

"It's exciting to have another quality in-state player," Bartow said. "Micah's a wing-type player that can shoot the basketball. He's very skilled, very athletic and can pass the ball. He's a super kid from a great family and we think he'll be another quality student-athlete here at ETSU."

Balocka and Williams represent the Bucs' early signees for the 2006-07. The 2005-06 Bucs begin play this Friday at Tennessee. Tip time for the game is 7:30 p.m. and the contest will be aired live on FSN South.