Back From Beyond the Graaaaaave....

No, we're not coming to get Barbara, nor are we taking a chance on Barbara Ann, or even flying to Santa Barbara while watching some Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Where I was going with that, I have no idea, but we're back. A lot has gone down since Buc Bits went on hiatus. Let's break it down for you:

• Heather Henson resigned as the HC for women's soccer. This was made official on December 1, which might be surprising given her tenure with the program (twelve years as the skipper), but not the results. With the meteoric rise of the men's soccer program under Scott Calabrese, the pressure was on Henson and the Ladies to get some big results in-conference, or at least generate improvement on past seasons, but the team never fully recovered from a 3-2 overtime loss to Belmont at Summers-Taylor, and ended up losing six of their last nine games. The team made it back to the conference tourney, but lost on penalties to Kennesaw State, marking the program's fourth first-round exit since joining the A-Sun. Whoever takes the reigns next will have a challenge on their hands. The team has lots of young talent, including what should be a great partnership up front in Ramey Kerns and Kayla White, and a good, young defense anchored in the middle by Samantha Kron. Still, the team has holes to fill; the squad will likely be looking for at least one winger and another center back with the departure of Alex Meehan. I have no evidence to back this up, but I suspect we'll have an announcement on a new coach by the end of February; if not, 2011 could be a long year. Meanwhile...
  
• Calabrese's Crew clinched their first-ever conference championship. What an incredible run. After the heart-breaker against North Carolina, the Bucs came out flying against Lipscomb in the semifinals, and played a solid game against Stetson, capped off with a pair of goals that I will certainly remember forever, for Theo Yang against the Bisons, and the redirect by A-Sun Freshman of the Year Itode Fubara. That was just a brilliant finish, no two ways around it. The Bucs drew College of Charleston in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and despite a very strong second half, dug themselves too big a hole in the first 45 minutes, falling 3-2 in Charleston. Still, this marks a shot across the bow of Southern soccer, that Scott Calabrese and ETSU are going to give these schools a run. Can they become the Butler of the South? Time will tell, but I have to think the first focus will be on replacing the team's captain and star defender, Guilherme Reis.
  
• Men's basketball rattled off eight in a row. Murry Bartow has to be a happy camper after the way his team have dominated the Atlantic Sun. After the loss to USC Upstate (who, by the way, have since lost nine straight), and the ensuing blowout at Charleston, the squad could have easily packed it in. Instead, they dug in and beat Mississippi State on the road, and have come out guns blazing after Christmas, with the aforementioned eight game win streak that started on Christmas Eve. In conference, the Bucs have averaged an 11.5 point margin of victory in their seven wins. All five starters are averaging double figures in conference (Sollazzo is the only one that isn't overall), and Smith and Brown are averaging a combined 16 rebounds per game. Everyone is shooting well and this team is firing on all cylinders. That's good, because one Mr. Adnan Hodzic (pictured left looking at LOLCats) and the Lipscomb Bisons are in town this weekend. Oh, and there was another team, too. I can't remember the name of the school, though... oh, what was it called... oh, yeah: BELMONT. The Bucs are 3-9 against Belmont since joining the A-Sun and haven't beaten them since Courtney Pigram hung 30 on them in March of '09.
• Women's basketball can't get any traction. Despite an impressive freshman season from Destiny "No Escape" Mitchell and the insane productivity of "Touchdown Tara" Davis, the Lady Bucs sit at 5-3 in conference play. The main sore spot has been an inability to finish strong. They've gone to pieces in the second half of all three of their losses, most evident in the loss to still-undefeated Florida Gulf Coast. Averaging 20+ turnovers per game doesn't help matters, and the bench has brought little to the floor, averaging less than 20 points per game. The team is almost entirely dependent on Davis and Mitchell for offense, which could make the stretch run problematic. On the flip side, Gulf Coast and USC Upstate, two of the stronger programs in the conference, aren't eligible for the tournament, so they could still end up winning the conference title despite the issues they've been having.

Baseball and softball are also in camps, gearing up for the season, with Skole's squad opening on February 18 against Marist at Cardinal Park. I'm going to set the over-under on turnout for this game at 60, including the players, coaches and umpires. I love baseball as much as anyone else, but there's a reason most outdoor sports aren't played in February.

I'll have a full preview of the upcoming action later on this weekend, but now I have to get some sleep and prepare para hablar español.