JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 11, 2007) - ETSU men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Friday that the Buccaneers had received three letters of intent for the upcoming 2007-08 season.

With five scholarships to give in the recruiting class, this initial trio includes 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard/small forward Tommy Hubbard (Boston), 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward Isiah Brown (Miami, Fla.), and 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward Greg Hamlin (Flint, Mich.). With spots to fill both on the perimeter and inside, Bartow said he is encouraged by these first three signings.

"With the loss of Brad (Nuckles) and Eryk (Thomas) on the inside, we obviously needed some help and we're excited about bringing both Greg and Isiah to ETSU," Bartow said. "As for Tommy, he's a two-sport star much like Mike Smith who will only give our team another hard-nosed player who likes to win."

Hubbard, a standout at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Mass., averaged 15.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals a game as his team went 27-0 and won both the ISL and the NESPCA Championships. The ISL Defensive Player of the Year and the MVP of the state tournament, Hubbard played summer league basketball for Boston's prestigious BABC team. A highly-recruited player in both basketball and football, Hubbard was a standout running back and outside linebacker for St. Mark's.

"Tommy is just a very tough perimeter player," Bartow said. "He's got a chance to come here and immediately be one of our defensive stoppers. And even though he's a great defender, he can also score the basketball."

Brown, a star at South Miami High School, played in Florida's largest classification of 6A-5A, averaging 18.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. A first-team All-Dade selection, Brown played in the All-Dade Game, was a McDonald's All-America nominee, and was selected as his team MVP. Off the floor, Brown is an pianist and avid chess player.

"Without a doubt Isiah has a wealth of potential," Bartow said. "He's only 17, but we're really excited about the athleticism he brings and he reminds us of a young Andrew Reed. He's a great interior passer and has the ability to be an inside/outside player for us."

Hamlin, a key contributor to Mott Community College's NJCAA Division II National Championship, helped lead MCC to a perfect 18-0 conference record and impressive 35-3 overall mark. On a team that utilized a rotation of as many as 12 players and emphasized defense, Hamlin averaged 4.6 points and 3.0 rebounds a game, hitting on 55 percent of his shots from the field and 70 percent from the foul line.

"Greg's style of play and his athleticism fit into our system well," Bartow said. "He's played in a pressing/trapping style in junior college and he just knows how to defend and rebound. Playing on a national championship team and for a program that has been successful, Greg knows what to expect and what we will demand."

With two scholarships still to give and only six more days left in the national signing period for letters of intent, Bartow said he and his coaching staff are hard at work to fill the remaining two scholarships they have available. However, the Bucs are not in a hurry.

"Ideally, we would like to finalize everything now, but we're just not going to take someone if we don't think they are an overall good fit for our program," Bartow said. "If we don't sign anyone by the 16^th, we will continue to look throughout the summer and get the type of players we need in here for the fall semester."