Georgia State Panthers 2012-13 Preview

Georgia State Panthers (22-12 overall, 11-7 conference)

Projected starting five:

Jr. G Devonta White
So. G Cameron Solomon
Fr. G R.J. Hunter
Jr. F Manny Atkins
Sr. C James Vincent

Important departures:

Four starters from last season’s team have departed: G Jihad Ali (12.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.4 apg), C Eric Buckner (10.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.5 bpg), G James Fields (9.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.9 spg) and G Josh Micheaux (7.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.5 spg)

Returning:

31.8 percent of scoring and 24.7 percent of rebounding

Additions:

Jr. F Manny Atkins (transfer from Virginia Tech)
Jr. F Denny Burguillos (junior college transfer)
So. G Cameron Solomon (junior college transfer)
Fr. F Marcus Crider
Fr. G R.J. Hunter
Fr. F T.J. Shipes
Fr. F LaRon Smith
Fr. G David Travers

Schedule Highlights:

Georgia State opens the season with a bang as they head to Duke and Brigham Young, but it lightens up a bit after that. They have seven home games, including a visit from Southern Miss, and the toughest road game after the first two may be at Rhode Island just before Christmas. The Panthers will have a chance for a nice start in CAA play as four of the first five are at home before they play four of five on the road.

Projected finish and outlook:

The Panthers enter their final season in the CAA in a similar situation to Old Dominion, and not just because they’re leaving. Like the Monarchs, they don’t have much returning and thus have a lot unknown. What they have going for them is some good young talent, a solid holdover point guard in White, and a coach who knows how to install an edge to his team and showed that last season. The younger Hunter should contribute right away, as should Crider, while Atkins will play right away and help and the junior college transfers should be in the mix right away. There aren’t many expectations for this team, as few are picking them this high, but after what Hunter did last year there is some reason to believe he can get the max out of this team and wind up better than many think.

Next: Hofstra Pride

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2012 CAA Media Day Notes

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Colonial Athletic Association held its annual Media Day on Tuesday, and it was sure to be an interesting day. The conference is in some transition, and commissioner Tom Yeager admitted that they weren’t sure what to expect as far as turnout goes. But the turnout still looked to be up there with some prior years, and it was a busy morning with all of the activity.

Here are some notes from the day’s conversations.

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Ron Hunter a wonderful addition to the CAA coaching ranks

Ron Hunter is a terrific addition to the Colonial Athletic Association coaching ranks. That could have been said before the season given his track record and the positive energy he showed talking about his Georgia State team on Media Day in October, but after the CAA Tournament it bears repeating because it was so obvious.

Hunter was already well-known for the winning he did at IUPUI, and perhaps even more for the organization he partners with and serves on the board of advisors for, Samaritan’s Feet. Hunter has coached a game barefoot every year for several years, has taken a team at IUPUI and will take a team from Georgia State overseas to see the difference receiving a pair of shoes can make in someone’s life, and he can run off the important numbers about it quite easily as it helps him keep a lot in perspective.

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2012 CAA Tournament – First Round Notes

RICHMOND, Va. – The first round of the CAA Tournament is in the books.  The seeds held to form save for the first game of the day, although Towson had a chance to change that before Delaware was able to hold them off.  William & Mary also made a charge at Northeastern, but to no avail, and the best team performance of the day came in the last game as Georgia State dominated Hofstra, playing like a team on a mission as head coach Ron Hunter described after the game.

Here are some quick hitters on what happened Friday:

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Ron Hunter is already changing the culture at Georgia State

BOSTON – Ron Hunter knew what he inherited when he took the head coaching job at Georgia State. He knew he had a culture to change, and he knew he was in a different place. But thus far, he’s loving every minute of it, and the early results don’t hurt. Now he has a different issue on his hands with his team, which stands 5-2 in CAA play after a 60-57 loss at Northeastern on Wednesday night.

Hunter, who loved that he was able to walk to Fenway Park during the team’s trip to Boston, is full of energy and positive vibes. He’s pleasant to talk to and all along has felt good about this team, as well as the job itself. It would be easy to dismiss it as coach-speak, but he felt like a few players were ready to be better and liked the experience on the team, although it wasn’t winning experience. You can tell his confidence in the team is not misplaced by a long shot.

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Georgia State Panthers 2011-12 Preview

Georgia State Panthers (12-19, 6-12)

Projected starting five:

So. G Devonta White
Sr. G James Fields
Sr. G Jihad Ali
Sr. F Eric Buckner
Sr. F Brandon McGee

Important departures:

G Marques Johnson (5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg) is the only starter to depart, while Dante Curry (6.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg) and Javonte Maynor (5.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg) also graduated.

Returning:

69.6 percent of scoring and 81.7 percent of rebounding

Additions:

Ron Hunter takes over as the head coach, replacing Rod Barnes, who was fired just before the CAA Tournament last season.

Schedule highlights:

The Panthers open with their toughest game, as they play Washington in Seattle in the first of three in the Basketball Travelers Invitational. They also play Portland and Florida Atlantic out there, and later host Rhode Island in what is not the toughest nonconference slate. In CAA play, they take on Drexel, VCU and James Madison twice and have George Mason only on the road.

Projected finish and outlook:

Hunter might be known more for his work off the court as the proprietor of Samaritan’s Feet, but he’s a good coach and is full of energy. He is ready to make this team run, saying that the Panthers will play “a lot faster” this year. They will surely have some growing pains because the Panther guards didn’t take good care of the ball last season, although Hunter is very high on White and will likely hand him the ball to run the team. He feels Ali could be primed for a big year, and likes that he has a veteran team with a lot of seniors, which means this team could finish higher than people expect in a year where not many teams in the conference have as much experience as the Panthers.

There’s good talent with Buckner, McGee and Josh Micheaux, and Hunter also feels Rashaad Richardson could make a big leap this year as well. The Panthers aren’t lacking talent or experience, but as Hunter acknowledged, the experience they have isn’t that of winning, so success won’t come easily. They will need to take better care of the ball first and foremost, and if they do that, they have a chance to surprise some people. Hunter has had a lot of success in his prior stops, and there’s reason to believe he will have more here. The only question is if some of it will come this season.

Next: Hofstra Pride

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Rod Barnes Never Had a Chance at Georgia State

When you hear the term “Southern gentleman,” Rod Barnes should come to mind right away. He’s warm, engaging, easy to get along with and easy to like. That’s just one reason it’s unfortunate that he never really got a chance at Georgia State.

Barnes was let go as the team’s head coach less than a week before the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. There are plenty of reasons why this was bad news. There’s the practical side, for one. There’s the part of you that remembers his character, which is relatively immaterial since the first things he is supposed to do are win games and graduate players, but still weighs on anyone evaluating the situation. And there’s the part where the facts of the situation come into play as well. … Continue Reading

CAA Tournament Quick Hitters – Quarterfinals

RICHMOND, Va. – Some quick hitters from Saturday’s quarterfinal games at the CAA Tournament:

• A common theme thus far has revolved around the teams with byes into the quarterfinals starting slowly because they aren’t in the same rhythm as the teams who had to win on Friday to get to this point. It happened in every game on Saturday, and even the coaches felt it made a difference at first. Clearly, though, each team found their footing after a while as all four top seeds advanced to the semifinals.
• A little related to that, all eight games thus far have either been tied or had a two-point margin at halftime. … Continue Reading

CAA Tournament Quick Hitters – First Round

RICHMOND, Va. – A few more quick hitters from the first round of the CAA Tournament:

• Georgia State big man James Vincent didn’t have big numbers, but you couldn’t help but notice him. He scored six points on 3-3 shooting, but all came on nice post moves to get close shots. UNC Wilmington doesn’t have much size, but Vincent could have scored on a lot of post players with what he showed. It’s enough to make you wonder why he didn’t do it more often. … Continue Reading

Colonial Notebook – February 1, 2011

The CAA’s annual four-in-eight stretch has concluded, and as always there is plenty to look back on. It’s a challenging stretch that begins with three games in five days, and every team had to go on the road at least once in the stretch.

Here is a look at how the teams fared in this stretch and their overall CAA records:

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