With the first full week of the season in the books I'd like to take a look at where the Panthers stand and compare to the rest of the CAA.
First off, the baseball Panthers are 7-1 through the first 8 games of the 2011 season. In comparison to last year that's 5 wins better, even if you remove the opening series against #7 ranked FSU it's 2 wins better. The top three teams in the CAA are currently GSU @ 7-1, James Madison @ 7-1 and George Mason @ 6-2.
I think the obvious statement of the season so far would be this: the new bat rule IS affecting offensive production. The Panthers scored 72 runs through the first 8 games in the 2010 season (9 RPG). The run total for this season so far is 55 or 6.9 RPG which is far below the 2010 total of 10.5 RPG. I have personally seen about 6-8 balls hit (by the Panthers) to the outfield and caught for outs that would have been a home run last year. Just for the Panthers to keep up with last year's production they will have to score 17.9 RPG over the next 8 games and I don't see this happening, especially considering the next 3 opponents are Georgia Tech, Iowa and Mississippi State. The point is, run production for the Panthers is down thus far however they are 3rd in the CAA for runs scored behind George Mason (72) and James Madison (132). Yes, you read that correctly. Allow me to expand on JMU for a minute.
Can someone check the bats the JMU baseball team is carrying around??? Here's some numbers for you. 132 runs scored (2nd best is GM at 72), batting .431 as a team (2nd best is GM at .327), 29 home runs (2nd best is GSU at 8) and slugging .869 (2nd best is GM at .472). Those are crazy numbers my friends. In addition they've stolen 29 of 31 bases and you're next best in that category would be GSU at 20 of 23. You may say to yourself, "well they probably strike out alot with those numbers." Nope, they're currently sitting on the lowest K/AB ratio in the CAA. Now that I may have frightened you about JMU's offensive production let's move on.
Back to the GSU offense for a quick look at individual performances. Brett Maxwell, Joey Wood and Bryan Condotta are the only three Panthers batting over .300. Maxwell leads the team at .444. There are 13 CAA batters with higher averages, 8 on the JMU squad. Joey Wood (leads in slugging on the Panthers), Rob Lind and Ryan Fleming both have 2 home runs each. Mark Micowski is repeating his early 2010 performance with a somewhat slow start. He's hitting .281 but does have (team leading) 7 RBIs.
It's undisputable that the early season MVP goes to the GSU pitching staff. After being a middle of the road crew last season, the Panthers are sporting the league's lowest team ERA at 2.34 (starters at 1.99). The next best is Old Dominion at 3.04 and VCU at 3.38. The Panthers also lead in shutouts with 3 (2nd best is UNCW with 1) and opposing hitters are batting only .214 against them which is also best in the CAA. A stat I like looking at is walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP). The Panthers lead here with a ratio of just over 1.0. Here's where I can give you some comfort if you're still scared about JMU. Their team WHIP is near 2.0 and team ERA is 7.94. The Panthers have proven to be a far superior pitching team thus far and typically pitching wins games. Good pitching will cool off hot hitting. James Madison has their record because of their offense. Our series against them will be an interesting one for sure.
This needs to stand out and be seen because these guys have worked their tails off for us so far. In the top 5 of CAA pitchers with an ERA of 0.00 who've gone the most innings you'll find 4 Panthers. Starters Justin Malone and Nick Squeglia as well as relievers Jake Dyer and Sam Agnew-Wieland. Jake (junior) and Sam (freshman) are both new additions to the pitching squad for the 2011 season. Good job guys.
The worst news for the season so far is the fielding effort. The Panthers find themselves dead in the middle for fielding percentage in the CAA. I'll be honest, I assumed we were bottom 3 so this is good news I guess. The defense has turned the most double plays at 10, some of which being highlight makers and ERA savers.
Well that's it for now. We'll look at the run production level in another couple weeks after we have more data. My early guess is that RPG will edge closer to 8/8.5 but I don't see it reaching last year's NCAA leading number of 10.5.
On to Tech!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Closing the Book on the Barnes Era
Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications
I ran some numbers to see what the Barnes Era looked like:
-44 wins and 79 losses overall
-24-48 in CAA play (8-10 was our best year in 2008-09)
-Team PPG was 61.6 in 4 seasons. That's one of the worst in the country over that stretch.
-Team FG% was 41.9% in 4 seasons.
-Team FT% was 63.5% in 4 seasons. This could easily be attributed to 3 losses this season.
-Team averaged 14.1 turnovers per game.
-Team fouls per game have risen each year and capped at 21.3 this past regular season.
So I've been asked: Why now? I truly believe it was time to move on and let the college basketball world know that we are not happy about finishing in the bottom 3rd of the CAA. The league may be at it's strongest season with 2 NCAA bids looking like a near lock. I believe that buying out his contract now also gives us an entire week to reach out to agents and coaches who are not currently working.
I also believe that the foundation is there for a coach to be hired and evaluate this roster which will potentially return 9 players in 2011-12. Also, this gives the new coach time to speak with Jervon Pressley and make sure he's still on board (which I believe he is, more on this later).
We will review my thoughts on possible coaching candidates this week and what our roster could look like in October when practice begins.
Georgia State Baseball Takes 3 of 4 From Leathernecks
The Panthers won 3 of 4 games in this weekend's matchup against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, moving their record to 7-1 heading into the mid-week game versus Georgia Tech. I can sum up the games with the following words: Great pitching, bullpen collapse, good hitting, errors.
Let's start with game 1. Despite plating only 3 runs on 4 hits, the Panthers win thanks to the new status quo from the pitching staff. Starter Justin Malone went 7 innings and gave up only 4 hits while striking out 5. Again, Malone was in control of his game and he attacked the strike zone hard. Jeremy Gazerro and Ben Marshall would come in to allow no hits to close out the game. Mark Micowski blasted a 2-run HR and Joey Wood would contribute the 3rd RBI for the offense.
Game 2 gave us more excellent starting pitching and would show us the bats coming around. Starter Nick Squeglia goes 6 innings allowing no runs on 2 hits. Ryan Flemming and Shane Hammond both had 2 hits for the Panthers and six other batters would contribute 1 hit each. The Panthers went into the 8th inning leading 7-0 and it was looking like yet another shutout for the pitching staff. Wrong. Relievers Tyler Claburn, Wes Grant and Ben Marshall would like to forget about their appearances in this game. Over the 8th and 9th inning the Leathernecks scored 7 earned runs tying the game at 7-7 forcing extra innings. Newcomer Jake Dyer would be the pitching staff's savior for the game as he stepped in to pitch 3.2 innings keeping the Leathernecks offense once again at-bay. Dyer has now thrown 5.2 innings of relief work allowing only 3 hits. He's been a great pickup thus far. Another newcomer would be the offensive hero of the game as in the bottom of the 12th, Drew Shields brought home Shane Hammond on a hit to left-center.
The bats would continue working well during game 3 (game 2 of the Saturday double header) and Will Campbell pitched well enough through 6 innings to earn the win. The top and bottom of the batting order proved to be potent in this game. The Panthers bats racked up 11 runs on 11 hits and 5 of the 11 hits were for extra bases including a home run for Joey Wood. Brandon Bast came in to relieve starter Will Campbell in the 7th and continued to give up hits. Brandon has been hit for .500 through his 2 innings worked however has allowed only 2 runs thanks to timely outs and great defense behind him.
Game 4. *Long Sigh* It was "one of those days" at the ballpark. There's not much to say about this game that's positive. The bats managed to squeeze out 8 hits yet non were very timely as the offense only plated 2 runs. Leathernecks starter Dan Russell does deserve credit here as the Panthers were just not able to do much off him. They were swinging under most of his pitches or flat out missing. He left the game after 6 innings and allowed 1 run on 5 hits. Georgia State starter Charley Olsen, and the rest of the pitching staff, had a different day thanks to 4 errors on defense. Out of the Leathernecks 8 runs only 2 were earned, both going to Olsen. Let's work on clean fielding and pick off moves and move on. Freshman Sam Agnew-Wieland does deserve a hand for stepping in for Olsen and going 3.1 innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 5 in the process. He's been nothing but solid through 5.1 innings of relief work in 2 games as he's allowed only 2 hits.
The Panther's starting pitching staff went 23.2 innings and allowed only 5 earned runs. Starting pitching continues to be the bright spot for this team in the 2011 season.
Georgia State marches into Russ Chandler on Wednesday with a 7-1 record. You can't be unhappy with that 8 games into the season. Georgia Tech is sitting on a 5-3 record with loses to Kent State, Georgia Southern, and #23 ranked St. John's.
I'll have a more high level analysis on how the team stands coming soon.
Let's start with game 1. Despite plating only 3 runs on 4 hits, the Panthers win thanks to the new status quo from the pitching staff. Starter Justin Malone went 7 innings and gave up only 4 hits while striking out 5. Again, Malone was in control of his game and he attacked the strike zone hard. Jeremy Gazerro and Ben Marshall would come in to allow no hits to close out the game. Mark Micowski blasted a 2-run HR and Joey Wood would contribute the 3rd RBI for the offense.
Game 2 gave us more excellent starting pitching and would show us the bats coming around. Starter Nick Squeglia goes 6 innings allowing no runs on 2 hits. Ryan Flemming and Shane Hammond both had 2 hits for the Panthers and six other batters would contribute 1 hit each. The Panthers went into the 8th inning leading 7-0 and it was looking like yet another shutout for the pitching staff. Wrong. Relievers Tyler Claburn, Wes Grant and Ben Marshall would like to forget about their appearances in this game. Over the 8th and 9th inning the Leathernecks scored 7 earned runs tying the game at 7-7 forcing extra innings. Newcomer Jake Dyer would be the pitching staff's savior for the game as he stepped in to pitch 3.2 innings keeping the Leathernecks offense once again at-bay. Dyer has now thrown 5.2 innings of relief work allowing only 3 hits. He's been a great pickup thus far. Another newcomer would be the offensive hero of the game as in the bottom of the 12th, Drew Shields brought home Shane Hammond on a hit to left-center.
The bats would continue working well during game 3 (game 2 of the Saturday double header) and Will Campbell pitched well enough through 6 innings to earn the win. The top and bottom of the batting order proved to be potent in this game. The Panthers bats racked up 11 runs on 11 hits and 5 of the 11 hits were for extra bases including a home run for Joey Wood. Brandon Bast came in to relieve starter Will Campbell in the 7th and continued to give up hits. Brandon has been hit for .500 through his 2 innings worked however has allowed only 2 runs thanks to timely outs and great defense behind him.
Game 4. *Long Sigh* It was "one of those days" at the ballpark. There's not much to say about this game that's positive. The bats managed to squeeze out 8 hits yet non were very timely as the offense only plated 2 runs. Leathernecks starter Dan Russell does deserve credit here as the Panthers were just not able to do much off him. They were swinging under most of his pitches or flat out missing. He left the game after 6 innings and allowed 1 run on 5 hits. Georgia State starter Charley Olsen, and the rest of the pitching staff, had a different day thanks to 4 errors on defense. Out of the Leathernecks 8 runs only 2 were earned, both going to Olsen. Let's work on clean fielding and pick off moves and move on. Freshman Sam Agnew-Wieland does deserve a hand for stepping in for Olsen and going 3.1 innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 5 in the process. He's been nothing but solid through 5.1 innings of relief work in 2 games as he's allowed only 2 hits.
The Panther's starting pitching staff went 23.2 innings and allowed only 5 earned runs. Starting pitching continues to be the bright spot for this team in the 2011 season.
Georgia State marches into Russ Chandler on Wednesday with a 7-1 record. You can't be unhappy with that 8 games into the season. Georgia Tech is sitting on a 5-3 record with loses to Kent State, Georgia Southern, and #23 ranked St. John's.
I'll have a more high level analysis on how the team stands coming soon.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Rod Barnes Fired, Will not coach in CAA Tourney
Georgia State Men's Basketball Coach Rod Barnes was fired today and will not coach the Panthers in the CAA Tournament beginning on Friday in Richmond. Assistant Coach Paul Graham will assume the helm and will lead our team vs. UNC-Wilmington and any further should we win.
This move has received national attention on ESPN and Fox Sports. At one point, yesterday afternoon Rod Barnes was a trending topic on Twitter.
Per our guy Ken at the AJC, we will buyout the last year of Barnes' contract which is estimated at $267,000.
What is truly amazing to me is both local and national writers who have not seen us play a single game are smashing us. It's time to get serious about basketball again.
SB Nation Atlanta Story
AJC Story
Ken's Blog
Examiner.com Link
This move has received national attention on ESPN and Fox Sports. At one point, yesterday afternoon Rod Barnes was a trending topic on Twitter.
Per our guy Ken at the AJC, we will buyout the last year of Barnes' contract which is estimated at $267,000.
What is truly amazing to me is both local and national writers who have not seen us play a single game are smashing us. It's time to get serious about basketball again.
SB Nation Atlanta Story
AJC Story
Ken's Blog
Examiner.com Link
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Georgia State Baseball (4-0) vs Western Illinois (0-3)
Who: Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks (we'll call them WIFL for short), compete in the NCAA D1 Summit League. The Leathernecks baseball team has not had much success in recent years due to Oral Roberts run of the conference. The team returns 7 of 9 starter position players and only 5 of 15 pitchers from last year and enters Friday's game with a record of 0-3 after being swept at Samford. This is the first matchup with Western Illinois.
Previous Season: WIFL finished the 2010 season with a 14-39 overall record finishing 8th (last) in the Summit League.
Western Illinois at the Plate: The Leathernecks are currently batting .204 as a team. They have not shown much offensive ability thus far as they've scored only 9 runs. The team has 7 extra base hits, 2 being HRs. They've walked 11 times and went down swinging 37 times through 103 at-bats. They do have a speed threat in outfielder Anthony Kaskadden who is 4 of 4 in stolen base attempts in his 3 games. Interesting note, all 4 stolen bases came in one game. I don't expect much luck for them against our pitching staff.
Western Illinois on the Mound: The starters are 0-3 and the team is enjoying an 8.62 ERA coming into Friday. I see this number being increased when the Leathernecks leave town Sunday. The starters (all rightys) are as follows:
Beau Below, Senior - Rough first outing for Beau. 0-1 with a 36.00 ERA after giving up 9 runs in his first and only inning of work. Batters hit .800 against him.
Ryan Wachholder, Junior - Ryan, also 0-1, gave up 5 runs on 8 hits in his 5 innings pitched. He does have 5 strikeouts and only 1 walk to go with it. Ryan is a new addition to the team and pitched well at his previous community college.
Alexander Zarate, Junior - 0-1. Gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings pitched. Zarate is another community college transfer and was an effective pitcher in 2010. He didn't see much action in 2009.
Dustin Hunter, Junior - Has appeared in 2 games, pitching 1.2 innings of relief work and has been touched for 7 runs. Yet another community college transfer posting a 10-4 record in his first two years.
The Leathernecks have only 1 relief pitcher who has thrown 1 or more innings without giving up a run. Chris Fuchs had 1 clean inning of work allowing no hits and striking out 1.
Georgia State at the Plate: After the offensive breakout at Mercer on Tuesday, the Panthers are now batting .295 as a team. Improved but there's still room to grow especially considering Micowski is still trying to get going. Nothing wrong with a slow start (Mark Texeira anyone?) as long as you get going before the conference play, or preferably the GT game. Senior Brett Maxwell (OF) is currently leading the CAA in batting average at .727 and he's 3 for 4 in stolen bases. Rob Lind will look to continue his blasting efforts after hitting 2 out of the park at Mercer. The lineup should look the same as it did on opening day.
Georgia State on the Mound: Justin Malone, Nick Squeglia, Will Campbell and Charley Olsen will take the mound for the Panthers. All of these starters are 1-0 on the season and Campbell is the only one with an ERA above 0.00, at a cool 1.29. Justin gave up 7 hits in his 6 inning effort on opening day but kept the runs from crossing. Nick gave up only 3 hit in 5 innings with 3 K's. Will Campbell had a great first outing giving the bullpen some relief by going 7 innings and giving up only 1 run. Charley gave relief to Aidan Francis at Mercer and earned the win while going 4 innings giving up only 3 hits and 1 run. Charley sent away 7 batters by strikeout in his outing.
The Panthers outmatch the Fighting Leathernecks in all phases of the game. Georgia State will be looking to carry an 8-0 record into Russ Chandler Stadium for in-state showdown with Georgia Tech next Wednesday. Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and what's sure to be an offensive attack on the Leathernecks pitching staff at Panthersville! GO PANTHERS!!!
Previous Season: WIFL finished the 2010 season with a 14-39 overall record finishing 8th (last) in the Summit League.
Western Illinois at the Plate: The Leathernecks are currently batting .204 as a team. They have not shown much offensive ability thus far as they've scored only 9 runs. The team has 7 extra base hits, 2 being HRs. They've walked 11 times and went down swinging 37 times through 103 at-bats. They do have a speed threat in outfielder Anthony Kaskadden who is 4 of 4 in stolen base attempts in his 3 games. Interesting note, all 4 stolen bases came in one game. I don't expect much luck for them against our pitching staff.
Western Illinois on the Mound: The starters are 0-3 and the team is enjoying an 8.62 ERA coming into Friday. I see this number being increased when the Leathernecks leave town Sunday. The starters (all rightys) are as follows:
Beau Below, Senior - Rough first outing for Beau. 0-1 with a 36.00 ERA after giving up 9 runs in his first and only inning of work. Batters hit .800 against him.
Ryan Wachholder, Junior - Ryan, also 0-1, gave up 5 runs on 8 hits in his 5 innings pitched. He does have 5 strikeouts and only 1 walk to go with it. Ryan is a new addition to the team and pitched well at his previous community college.
Alexander Zarate, Junior - 0-1. Gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings pitched. Zarate is another community college transfer and was an effective pitcher in 2010. He didn't see much action in 2009.
Dustin Hunter, Junior - Has appeared in 2 games, pitching 1.2 innings of relief work and has been touched for 7 runs. Yet another community college transfer posting a 10-4 record in his first two years.
The Leathernecks have only 1 relief pitcher who has thrown 1 or more innings without giving up a run. Chris Fuchs had 1 clean inning of work allowing no hits and striking out 1.
Georgia State at the Plate: After the offensive breakout at Mercer on Tuesday, the Panthers are now batting .295 as a team. Improved but there's still room to grow especially considering Micowski is still trying to get going. Nothing wrong with a slow start (Mark Texeira anyone?) as long as you get going before the conference play, or preferably the GT game. Senior Brett Maxwell (OF) is currently leading the CAA in batting average at .727 and he's 3 for 4 in stolen bases. Rob Lind will look to continue his blasting efforts after hitting 2 out of the park at Mercer. The lineup should look the same as it did on opening day.
Georgia State on the Mound: Justin Malone, Nick Squeglia, Will Campbell and Charley Olsen will take the mound for the Panthers. All of these starters are 1-0 on the season and Campbell is the only one with an ERA above 0.00, at a cool 1.29. Justin gave up 7 hits in his 6 inning effort on opening day but kept the runs from crossing. Nick gave up only 3 hit in 5 innings with 3 K's. Will Campbell had a great first outing giving the bullpen some relief by going 7 innings and giving up only 1 run. Charley gave relief to Aidan Francis at Mercer and earned the win while going 4 innings giving up only 3 hits and 1 run. Charley sent away 7 batters by strikeout in his outing.
The Panthers outmatch the Fighting Leathernecks in all phases of the game. Georgia State will be looking to carry an 8-0 record into Russ Chandler Stadium for in-state showdown with Georgia Tech next Wednesday. Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and what's sure to be an offensive attack on the Leathernecks pitching staff at Panthersville! GO PANTHERS!!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Panthers Offer 2012 WR Bernard Davis
Another Lake Worth to Atlanta connection?
According to the Palm Beach Post's Jeff Greer, Georgia State has extended an offer to Lake Worth HS WR Bernard Davis. He is 6'2, 175lbs and looks to have very strong hands and has excellent ball skills. With starting X WR Senior Sidney Haynes moving on after this season, Davis looks like a capable replacement.
Junior Stats:
38 catches, 635 yards 13 TDs
Junior Highlights
Panthers Fall on the Road Again, Lose at W&M 69-65
The hits just keep on coming. The Tribe entered the game with the 2nd worst record in the CAA. We followed our pattern, get down by double digits, fight back making it a close game before falling. The Panthers wrap up their regular season road record at 2-12. As the great Lefty Driesell once said, "Good teams win on the road."
The Panthers were in foul trouble all night and the Tribe shot 37 free throws to 9 for the Panthers. Those are the staggering stats that lead to defeat. Javonte Maynor was a bright spot hitting 7 threes on the night and finishing with his first ever 20+ point performance.
Next: Senior Night vs. George Mason on Saturday at 6pm at the Sports Arena. Seniors Dante Curry and Marques Johnson will be honored before the game.
The Panthers were in foul trouble all night and the Tribe shot 37 free throws to 9 for the Panthers. Those are the staggering stats that lead to defeat. Javonte Maynor was a bright spot hitting 7 threes on the night and finishing with his first ever 20+ point performance.
Next: Senior Night vs. George Mason on Saturday at 6pm at the Sports Arena. Seniors Dante Curry and Marques Johnson will be honored before the game.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Diamond Panthers Play Long Ball to Down Mercer
The trend of the away team taking the victory continued today as the Panthers win at Mercer, 14-5. This game featured another great pitching effort by the Panthers and the offensive breakout we hoped for.
Starting pitcher Aidan Francis gave up 4 earned runs off 3 home runs. Because of the power in the Mercer lineup, keeping people off base was a key to this game. Francis fanned 8 and walked only 2 batters in his 4.2 innings. Charley Olsen saw his first action of the season as he came in relief. Olsen went 4 innings giving up 1 run (unearned) and striking out 7 while only walking 1. Josh Chesler came in to get a pop fly to right field for the final out of the game. In total, the pitchers gave up 4 earned runs, striking out 15 and walking only 3.
Have a day Rob Lind! Rob went 2 for 6, both hits for home runs in the 6th and 7th inning, picking up 5 RBIs. Ryan Fleming and Carter Sackett also went deep collecting 3 RBIs each. It's good to see the power come around. The Panthers batted .400 with runners in scoring position.
The one area of the game that went wrong today was with fielding. The Panthers recorded 5 errors on defense, luckily this didn't hand the game over to Mercer. I have a feeling there's going to be some major fielding drills going on in the next few practices.
The Panthers are now 4-0 on the season. Western Illinois comes into town Friday for a 3 game series. Game times are at 4 PM, 1 PM and 12 PM. Western Illinois plays in NCAA D1 The Summit (league) and will come in 0-3 after being swept at Samford to open the season.
Starting pitcher Aidan Francis gave up 4 earned runs off 3 home runs. Because of the power in the Mercer lineup, keeping people off base was a key to this game. Francis fanned 8 and walked only 2 batters in his 4.2 innings. Charley Olsen saw his first action of the season as he came in relief. Olsen went 4 innings giving up 1 run (unearned) and striking out 7 while only walking 1. Josh Chesler came in to get a pop fly to right field for the final out of the game. In total, the pitchers gave up 4 earned runs, striking out 15 and walking only 3.
Have a day Rob Lind! Rob went 2 for 6, both hits for home runs in the 6th and 7th inning, picking up 5 RBIs. Ryan Fleming and Carter Sackett also went deep collecting 3 RBIs each. It's good to see the power come around. The Panthers batted .400 with runners in scoring position.
The one area of the game that went wrong today was with fielding. The Panthers recorded 5 errors on defense, luckily this didn't hand the game over to Mercer. I have a feeling there's going to be some major fielding drills going on in the next few practices.
The Panthers are now 4-0 on the season. Western Illinois comes into town Friday for a 3 game series. Game times are at 4 PM, 1 PM and 12 PM. Western Illinois plays in NCAA D1 The Summit (league) and will come in 0-3 after being swept at Samford to open the season.
On the Diamond: GSU @ Mercer
Who: Mercer University Bears (3-1), competes in the NCAA D-1 Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun). Georgia State fans should be familiar with this conference as this was GSU's previous conference before joining the CAA. Mercer is located in Macon, GA.Previous Season: After earning the A-Sun 2010 Championship title with a 37-22 record, Mercer advanced to the NCAA Atlanta Regionals for the first time in school history. Mercer was eliminated by Alabama after an opening loss to Georgia Tech and a win over Elon.
Mercer at the Plate: After the first four games of the season, Mercer is batting .319 with 11 home runs. Senior outfielder Joe Winker led the way at the plate with a .500 BA, 3 HR's and 7 RBI's. A big key to the game for our pitchers will be to keep guys off base in front of Winker.
Mercer on the Mound: Starting pitcher will be lefty David Randall. This will be his first start, Randall is 0-1 through 2 appearances. Only lasting 1.2 innings, hitters are 4 for 9 against him, he's thrown 1 walk and 1 strikeout. With that said, watchout Panther baserunners. This guy will pick you off if you're not quick to the bag. Hopefully Randall will be what the Panthers lineup needs to get going. If so, it's likely that we'll see middle relief pitcher David Teasley which will prove difficult to our right hand batters. Teasley is a "submarine" style pitcher which is unique and rare to find. His fastball has a forward rotation causing it to sink rather than a typical back spin from an overhand thrower. Right handed hitters will receive many inside pitches if he's on the mound.
GSU at the Plate: The Panthers are batting only .258 as a team with 1 HR. The batters appeared to be very selective at the plate during the opening series. The opposing pitcher wants to go out and throw a first pitch strike, they may have to jump on a few more of these against Mercer. Micowski is off to a slow start with only 2 hits in 11 at-bats. He needs to get on base and collect those steals in this game. This brings up something the Panthers have done very well so far, stealing bases. The runners are 11 for 12 in stolen base attempts. While this may sound like a demeaning summary of the offense so far, the team is 3-0 and has scored 17 runs while batting below their abilities and this is because of efficiency with base runners.
GSU on the Mound: Pitching, the shining star of the opening series. Senior lefty Aidan Francis will get his first start of the season today. He went 6-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 2010. Francis has great control, owning the lowest walks per inning number (.28/IP) from the 2010 pitching staff. His 2010 walks and hits per inning averaged 1.5 and almost 1 strikeout per inning. Francis will need to 1) throw first pitch strikes, 2) maintain his low walk numbers and 3) keep Winker from having RBI opportunities. He'll be successful if he can do this. When Francis hands the ball over to the relief guys, it will be going to good hands. Mercer may have had a great showing by their relievers, but GSU had an outstanding showing by theirs. Zero earned runs off 3 hits through 9 innings of work for the relievers.
Mercer has proven to be a great matchup during the Coach Frady years thus far. Since 2007 season, GSU is 4-5 against Mercer but 3-1 on the road. This is game 1 of 3 Tuesday matchups for the 2011 season. I think the Panthers can pull out a win here if they can push 6 runs across the plate. Get 'em boys!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Bob Heck Retires
Photo Courtesy of Scott Lowry/Sports Action Pix
Long time softball coach and the founder of our softball program resigned yesterday. If you don't know about Coach Heck, please take some time to read his bio here.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Baseball TSU Series Wrap-Up and Early Observations
The GSU Panthers outscored the Tigers 17-1 in a 3-game series sweep to kick off the 2011season. I had the chance to attend Saturday's and Sunday's game, I wanted to get a good look at the team during the first series. Fellow blog contributor Chris Hillyard attended the opener and I'll wrap his thoughts into this to give a whole look at the series.
First off, our pitching staff and coaches deserve the top mention from the weekend. The starters went 3-0 and posted a combined 0.50 ERA in the series. During 18 innings pitched they allowed only 1 earned run, 13 hits, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. Our relievers were lights out when they were called upon. Over 9 innings they allowed only 3 hits and no runs scored. Chris's thoughts on Justin Malone's performance in the opener, "Malone scattered 7 hits over 6 innings and hit one batter but was clutch throughout the afternoon when he needed an out." Two of the hits were surrendered by newcomer (Georgia Perimeter transfer) Brandon Bast. After striking out the first batter he worked himself into some trouble with the bases loaded. Thanks to an outstanding double play by 2B Rob Lind and SS Bryan Condotta, Bast escaped the inning un-harmed. This was Brandon's first appearance on the mound for GSU and he maintained composure throughout his outing. Brandon's fastballs were topping out at 88 mph on the radar gun.
Newcomer freshman Sam Agnew-Wieland enjoyed a perfect first outing at GSU. Sam retired all 6 batters faced in the 7th and 8th innings of Saturday's game. He recorded one strikeout and no walks. Sam's fastball was also topping out at 88 mph on the gun. I'm anxious to see Sam and Brandon perform against tougher conference play. They both appear to be good pickups for out pitching staff.
For the most part, the team played solid defense. The infielders turned key double plays when needed yet there were some must-make plays that were missed. I don't want to go into dogging on anyone after the first series as several factors were likely present and I'm confident the guys who had a little trouble will turn it around in a quick time frame. Three errors in three games cannot happen against teams such as James Madison.
Chris made an excellent observation about our offense after game 1 and his observation was true for game 3 as well. Chris said, "What was great to see was our guys bringing in people on base. To have 9 runs on 10 hits is incredibly efficient and something I am sure Coach Frady would love to see more of." During today's game, our offense produced 5 runs on 5 hits. Granted, they had help from the TSU pitchers as they gave up 7 walks in both games, yet when you win you win. Walks, hits, hbp's, or home runs can get it done and we used all methods. DH Joey Wood hit the 1st home run of the season. Wood blasted a shot over the left field wall on Saturday scoring 2 runs.
Now for the few areas I noticed room for improvement. Bunts and on-base awareness. Successfully laying down bunts seemed to be a challenge. The batters were lucky in that none of the popped-up bunts were caught for outs. If I recall correctly, GSU base runners were picked off on one occasion. During Saturday's and Sunday's game there were many close calls. The TSU pitchers pick-off moves were not that outstanding. It appeared the base runners were a little slow in picking up the pick-off moves. This is just my observation from the stands, I did notice others sitting around me sharing the same opinion. Like the defensive snafus, I expect these minor issues to be quickly resolved and I don't have any concern for this causing greater problems (increased pick-offs) in the future.
Overall, Chris and I both believe we have a very good team this year. We haven't even seen our weekend conference pitching rotation and I already feel much better about the group. I'll close with a comment from Chris, "for our team to be as good as they are with the facilities we have speaks volumes about Coach Frady. He has done so much with so little. Our stadium is not a D-1 caliber stadium. But hopefully the team will get the recognition they deserve after what looks to be a promising road ahead this season."
More to come about the stadium situation and the already prevalent effects of the new NCAA bat rule.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Panthers Manage Only 45 points, Fall to Louisana Tech
This one was brutal. Louisana Tech is the worst team in the WAC and was without their leading scorer Deandre Brown who was suspended indefinitely prior to the game. Holding a team without a FG for nearly 9 minutes is awesome. Scoring 8 points during that stretch is not.
The second half wasn't much better as both team combined for only 47 points on 15-46 shooting (32.6%) from the field.
Ruston Daily Leader Link
Next: At William & Mary on Wednesday at 7pm.
The second half wasn't much better as both team combined for only 47 points on 15-46 shooting (32.6%) from the field.
Ruston Daily Leader Link
Next: At William & Mary on Wednesday at 7pm.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Final Update: GSU vs. Texas Southern
Sorry everyone, decisions were still being made until late yesterday since this is the first game of the season. As the dust settles, there will be less movement on information moving forward.
Changes to the lineup posted yesterday: I was only off by one player and have a couple positions mixed because of it. Here is the starting lineup for today's game at 4PM. This is listed in offensive batting order.
Micowski - LF
Maxwell - CF
Lind - 2B
Wood - DH
Williams - 3B
Fleming - RF
Sackett - C
Asher - 1B
Condotta - SS
Senior Theo Asher being inserted into the lineup threw off my previous lineup posting. Interesting note about Asher, he was the winning pitcher in the 2009 CAA Championship game. Daniel Blaustein is the player I was projecting to be in the lineup who is not listed as a starter. I am sure we will still see the junior infielder receive playing time at the least.
This is the first ever meeting between these two teams. Let's make the Tigers wish this is the last! GO PANTHERS!!! See you at Panthersville!
Changes to the lineup posted yesterday: I was only off by one player and have a couple positions mixed because of it. Here is the starting lineup for today's game at 4PM. This is listed in offensive batting order.
Micowski - LF
Maxwell - CF
Lind - 2B
Wood - DH
Williams - 3B
Fleming - RF
Sackett - C
Asher - 1B
Condotta - SS
Senior Theo Asher being inserted into the lineup threw off my previous lineup posting. Interesting note about Asher, he was the winning pitcher in the 2009 CAA Championship game. Daniel Blaustein is the player I was projecting to be in the lineup who is not listed as a starter. I am sure we will still see the junior infielder receive playing time at the least.
This is the first ever meeting between these two teams. Let's make the Tigers wish this is the last! GO PANTHERS!!! See you at Panthersville!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
GSU vs. Texas Southern Update
Ok folks, we are less than 24 hours away from first pitch on the 2011 season so I'll go ahead and give you what I have.
Projected Rotation for TSU Series:
Friday - Justin Malone, RH (4-1, 5.81 ERA, .97K/IP, .42BB/IP in 2010)
Saturday - Nick Squeglia, RH (3-3, 5.40 ERA, .99K/IP, .93BB/IP in 2010)
Sunday - Will Campbell, RH (1-1, 8.62 ERA, 1.13K/IP, .29BB/IP in 2010)
Our likely weekend rotation appears to be Francis, Olson and Squeglia so we'll see a different set on the mound for this series.
Projected Defensive Lineup:
C - Shane Hammond / Carter Sackett *See Notes
1B - Brandon Williams
2B - Daniel Blaustein / Bryan Condotta *See Notes
3B - Rob Lind *See Notes
SS - Bryan Condotta / Daniel Blaustein * See Notes
LF - Mark Micowski
CF - Brett Maxwell
RF - Ryan Fleming
Notes:
Hammond and Sackett are likely to share the starting role at catcher throughout the season. Not sure which one will get the nod on which day but we should see both of them throughout this series.
2B, 3B and SS are an unknown right now. Rob Lind was our 2nd baseman last season but with Logan's departure 3rd needs to be filled and Lind seems the likely candidate for now. SS will typically be played by Justin Malone but he's scheduled to start Friday. This probably leaves Condotta and Blaustein as your middle infielders at least on Friday. Saturday and Sunday I would guess we see Malone, Condotta and Blaustein at those positions and I won't be shocked to see Aaron Schmitz and newcomer Drew Shields get in the mix. This will work itself out early in the season as the hot bats show themselves. It's also worth noting that the new guys may shake up some of these positions after the coaches see them play in real games.
Because this is the first series and we should have comfortable leads, we will likely see most everyone get involved in the action at some point.
You can read the GSU Athletics release on the opening series here.
GO PANTHERS!!!
Projected Rotation for TSU Series:
Friday - Justin Malone, RH (4-1, 5.81 ERA, .97K/IP, .42BB/IP in 2010)
Saturday - Nick Squeglia, RH (3-3, 5.40 ERA, .99K/IP, .93BB/IP in 2010)
Sunday - Will Campbell, RH (1-1, 8.62 ERA, 1.13K/IP, .29BB/IP in 2010)
Our likely weekend rotation appears to be Francis, Olson and Squeglia so we'll see a different set on the mound for this series.
Projected Defensive Lineup:
C - Shane Hammond / Carter Sackett *See Notes
1B - Brandon Williams
2B - Daniel Blaustein / Bryan Condotta *See Notes
3B - Rob Lind *See Notes
SS - Bryan Condotta / Daniel Blaustein * See Notes
LF - Mark Micowski
CF - Brett Maxwell
RF - Ryan Fleming
Notes:
Hammond and Sackett are likely to share the starting role at catcher throughout the season. Not sure which one will get the nod on which day but we should see both of them throughout this series.
2B, 3B and SS are an unknown right now. Rob Lind was our 2nd baseman last season but with Logan's departure 3rd needs to be filled and Lind seems the likely candidate for now. SS will typically be played by Justin Malone but he's scheduled to start Friday. This probably leaves Condotta and Blaustein as your middle infielders at least on Friday. Saturday and Sunday I would guess we see Malone, Condotta and Blaustein at those positions and I won't be shocked to see Aaron Schmitz and newcomer Drew Shields get in the mix. This will work itself out early in the season as the hot bats show themselves. It's also worth noting that the new guys may shake up some of these positions after the coaches see them play in real games.
Because this is the first series and we should have comfortable leads, we will likely see most everyone get involved in the action at some point.
You can read the GSU Athletics release on the opening series here.
GO PANTHERS!!!
Mat Drills Day 2
Day 2 went well according to reports.
The Offseason: Where the Average Become Good and the Good Become Great
Photo Courtesy of DMac
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Panthers Rally Late, Can't Sustain It Fall at ODU 60-43
You can't score 43 points and expect to win. Brutal shooting from the field and from 3 point range. With that being said, we had a chance: Josh Micheaux's rebound and stick back cut the lead to 5 points. He also was fouled but missed the FT with 3:58 remaining in the ball game. With the score 47-42, the Monarchs do exactly what great teams do, they close the deal. From that point forward, ODU went on a 13-1 run to end it 60-43. The loss drops GSU to 11-15 overall and 6-10 in conference play. This loss assures another .500 or worse regular season extending that streak to 7 straight non-winning regular seasons.
Eric Buckner again was a non factor with 0 points in 17 minutes. James Fields was aggressive but couldn't buy a bucket and finished 0-8 from the field in 27 minutes.
James Vincent was a bright spot with 11 points and 11 boards. That's excellent work off the bench but not when your starting 5 has scored a total 24 points. Jihad Ali had a good game with 14 points on 6 shots in 31 minutes.
ODU is a better team and is the best team in the CAA this season. They will get an at large bid to the NCAA Tourney even if they somehow slip in the conference tournament. That being said, they were absolutely primed for an upset and we found a way to give this one away again.
Highlights (begin at 3:25)
Next: The Panthers step out of CAA play to participate in the ESPN Bracketbuster game at Louisiana Tech on Saturday at 4pm.
Eric Buckner again was a non factor with 0 points in 17 minutes. James Fields was aggressive but couldn't buy a bucket and finished 0-8 from the field in 27 minutes.
James Vincent was a bright spot with 11 points and 11 boards. That's excellent work off the bench but not when your starting 5 has scored a total 24 points. Jihad Ali had a good game with 14 points on 6 shots in 31 minutes.
ODU is a better team and is the best team in the CAA this season. They will get an at large bid to the NCAA Tourney even if they somehow slip in the conference tournament. That being said, they were absolutely primed for an upset and we found a way to give this one away again.
Highlights (begin at 3:25)
Next: The Panthers step out of CAA play to participate in the ESPN Bracketbuster game at Louisiana Tech on Saturday at 4pm.
Baseball Preview: GSU vs. Texas Southern
Who: Texas Southern University Tigers, competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The TSU baseball team is a veteran squad as they return all three of their weekend starting pitchers (with a caveat) and eight position player starters.Previous Season: After a 28-24 (.538) regular season record, TSU lost in the SWAC quarter-finals round to Grambling 7-2.
TSU at the Plate: Their .302 BA was good for 4th in the conference and the team leader was sophomore IF Ray Hernandez with a .362 BA. The speedy Hernandez was the team leader in hits, doubles, triples, RBIs and was 18-for-23 in steals. While GSU doesn’t have to be concerned with top pitching coming from TSU, they do have to worry about the top three offensive producers returning this season. Infielders Ray Hernandez and Terrell Jones and outfielder Brandon Mikell should all be in the lineup.
TSU on the Mound: Junior Bryan Smith was TSU’s ace pitcher on the mound with a 7-2 record and 5.07 ERA for the regular season. Fortunately for Georgia State, Smith and fellow starters Mathias Meinte and Adrian Losoya are all out with elbow problems and will not take the mound in the GSU series. We will likely see relievers Dakota Laufenberg (7-3, 3.10) and Able Flores (3-3, 6.91) take the starting roles in games 1 and 2.
GSU at the Plate: Here is the easy part. GSU scored 608 runs last year, 173 higher than the 2nd best team James Madison. In addition, GSU led in every positive offensive category except for triples. With the majority of our starters returning this year and the addition of one of the nation's top recruiting classes, we can expect the offensive onslaught to continue this season beginning with this series against the teams middle-to-bottom of the crop of pitching.
GSU on the Mound: GSU returns starters Aidan Francis (6-3, 4.96) and Charley Olson (5-4, 5.09) this season. If GSU can improve in one area, pitching is it. The 2010 pitching group was in the bottom half of the CAA in ERA, hits allowed, hits/inning and runs allowed. Our bright spot was in strikeouts.
I expect GSU to sweep the Tigers out of Atlanta to start off the season. The Panthers offense will be far too much for the Tiger pitchers that will be taking the mound in this series. I’ll be shocked if we don’t head to Mercer with a 3-0 record.
When more detail comes available on this series I will update with any news or changes to this. Information should become more readily available as the season gets underway.
Panther Notes - 2.15.11
Good Morning Panther Nation!
Wanted to empty some of my notes of the last few days.
-Football Update: Our team is going through the first day of Mat Drills on campus and the players are eager to get better. We have a very good S&C program and the team will have 6 more days of these before continuing off season conditioning. Spring Practice begins on March 21st and will culminate with the spring game at Georgia Dome on Thursday, April 14th. I've also heard good things about our recruits and how they've been preparing for their arrival on our campus in the next 4 months. See Walton HS RB Kyle Vorster below.
-Men's Basketball: I hope many of you got a chance to be in the Sport Arena on Saturday (and welcome to this space's newester writer Chris Hillyard and his write up here). For those who say we have no tradition, you witnessed two teams of our past this weekend. It was great to catch up with guys like Kevin Morris, Donnie Davis, DJ Wootson, Shenard Long and, of course, Coach Lefty Driesell, for whom our home court bears his name. These were our greatest teams and, to date, our only NCAA teams.
-Women's Basketball: The women are starting to roll right now. They won their 3rd in a row and new coach Sheryl Baldwin-Tener seems to really have a great feel of what buttons to press with this team. I encourage you to take in a women's game if you never have and support this team, they are worth it. They will return all 5 starters for the 2011-12 season and will continue to get better the rest of this season.
-Baseball: The season begins this weekend vs. Texas Southern. Our baseball program has continued to rise under Coach Greg Frady and is receving love from all over the place including Baseball America. We are preseason #1 pick in the CAA and Bruce will be getting you ready for the season this week.
Wanted to empty some of my notes of the last few days.
-Football Update: Our team is going through the first day of Mat Drills on campus and the players are eager to get better. We have a very good S&C program and the team will have 6 more days of these before continuing off season conditioning. Spring Practice begins on March 21st and will culminate with the spring game at Georgia Dome on Thursday, April 14th. I've also heard good things about our recruits and how they've been preparing for their arrival on our campus in the next 4 months. See Walton HS RB Kyle Vorster below.
-Men's Basketball: I hope many of you got a chance to be in the Sport Arena on Saturday (and welcome to this space's newester writer Chris Hillyard and his write up here). For those who say we have no tradition, you witnessed two teams of our past this weekend. It was great to catch up with guys like Kevin Morris, Donnie Davis, DJ Wootson, Shenard Long and, of course, Coach Lefty Driesell, for whom our home court bears his name. These were our greatest teams and, to date, our only NCAA teams.
Yes, that's yours truly standing behind Coach Barnes along with my sister, daughter and mother
Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications
-Baseball: The season begins this weekend vs. Texas Southern. Our baseball program has continued to rise under Coach Greg Frady and is receving love from all over the place including Baseball America. We are preseason #1 pick in the CAA and Bruce will be getting you ready for the season this week.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Baseball America Favors Georgia State
A recent 2011 preview by Baseball America predicts Georgia State to capture the CAA title in this coming 2011 season. I know, starting to sound like a broken record at this point. James Madison and VCU are the predicted 2nd and 3rd place finishers.
Are you ready for another shocker? Mark Micowski was picked to be the CAA player of the year by Baseball America (BA). BA is a trusted MLB prospect evaluation source and has placed Micowski in the top 5 for talent able to play at the MLB level.
I hope GSU fans realize the special talent we have right now. There is a real chance Micowski has an opportunity to have a shot at "the Bigs". At 6'2" 190 lbs he's in the ballpark and especially so if he was able to bulk up another 5-10. I would be willing to bet that he's on the radar right now and I'm going to do more digging into this as the season gets underway.
Ok Panther fans, I cannot give you anymore reasons to get out and support the team, unless of course I broke news that we are getting a new on-campus baseball stadium but that's a topic for another day. GSU vs Texas Southern Friday @ 4PM, Saturday and Sunday @ 1PM.
Panthers Fight Back To Win in OT, 74-71
Photo courtesy of Paul Abell/Abell Images Yesterday, I attended my first Georgia State Mens Basketball game. The Panthers fought back from a large deficit once again but this time were able to pull out the win in overtime over Northeastern 74-71. I have a few observations that I have pooled together here:
-Brandon McGee had the best game of his career. He put the team on his back yesterday and carried them. His 31 points were the most for any Panther in a decade and his 13 rebounds gave him his third double-double of the year. One of the best collegiate performances I have ever seen in person.
- Eric Buckner was absent for most of the second half in this game. He had no fouls called on him in regulation, but for whatever reason was not on the court for the majority of the half. He came out strong scoring 6 points very quickly. If we could ever get him into a rhythm and playing well at the same time as McGee, we would have one of the better frontcourts in the CAA.
- I enjoyed the game atmosphere. The officially listed attendance was 1140, which made it one of our bigger crowds of the year. The student section was absent for most of the game. There was a large group of what I think were fraternities and sororities up in the upper sections that were good about doing cheers and being active in the game, but half of them left at halftime.
- Count me in as a fan of the Sports Arena. Is it outdated and ill suited for basketball? Sure. But I personally enjoyed the setup. I would like to see more baseline bleachers, but ultimately I think minor changes can be made to the arena to make it a better venue. The most important thing in creating a better atmosphere is just getting people in the seats, and that's not going to happen with a team 3 or 4 games below .500.
- Why does it happen every game that GSU is so slow out of the gates and has to claw its way back? I think this is a reflection on poor game preparation by Coach Barnes. It is just too coincidental to think this just keeps happening. Coach Barnes is great at making adjustments during the game. Northeastern changed their defensive scheme to a zone about halfway through the first half and it was very effective. But he made the necessary adjustments and we were able to come back before the half. It's just ridiculous that this continues to keep happening.
-Winning 2 out of the last 4 games and at least one win in the conference tournament would probably save Barnes' job. Signature wins in conference against JMU and VCU and a great showing at two regular season tournaments are accomplishments and signs the program is moving forward, but at what pace? Will be interesting to see how these last few weeks play out.
About the Author
Chris Hillyard is a senior at Georgia State University set to graduate in August 2011 with a degree in History. He has experience writing sports blogs and was the play-by-play announcer for Duluth High School Basketball for three years. His current occupation is with the Atlanta Braves as part of the gameday staff, but hopes to one day be a History teacher and high school basketball coach.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Recruiting Hits and Misses Under Coach Barnes
*For the sake of argument, I'm not going to include walk ons.
Today, we take a look at the recruiting under Barnes by taking a look at the hits and misses:
2007-08 Season
HS Recruits
SF Jihad Ali - HIT - Now a 4th Year Junior after taking a RS in 2009-10, Ali has seen improvement in points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game each season. He's played 85 career games and has been a solid role player.
PG D.J. Jones - MISS - After a lackluster freshman year, he was asked to leave the program and has not resurfaced in college basketball.
Division 1 Transfers
SG Dante Curry - HIT - I may get some funny looks here but his Senior Year alone makes him a hit, IMO. He came into his Junior year out of shape and essentially was lost. I was outspoken that he should not be on this roster if we were to expect the same conditioning and mental state as 2009-10. He's turned it around 180 degrees and is absolutely a key reserve and the best 3 point threat on this roster.
PG Joe Dukes - HIT - The best transfer of the bunch and arguably our best since Kevin Morris at the PG position.
PF - Trey Hampton - HIT - Very solid piece and continued to get better in his 2 years on campus.
PF - Xavier Hansbro - MISS - Possibly the most frustrating player in the Barnes Era.
SF - Bernard Rimmer - MISS - Transferred with former walk on Michael Moynihan to North Georgia and played well at the Division II level. Was definitely not a Division I player.
2008-09 Season
HS Recruits
SG James Fields - HIT - Fields has developed into a dominant defender and an above average ball handler. He's selective in his shooting and will not be a 10+ ppg scorer at this level but does all the little things well.
Division 1 Transfers
PG Marques Johnson - MISS - 3rd team in 3 seasons and Johnson has done very little. Barnes trusts him to run his offense but I do not. Career averages of 3.6 points and 2.2 assists per game. Not acceptable for a starting PG in Division 1 basketball with 37 starts and 55 career games played.
2009-10 Season
HS Recruits
C James Vincent - MISS - Truly not sure why Vincent was brought here. After gaining a tremendous amount of weight after the season in HS, Vincent had a hairline fracture in his foot and essentially lost his entire Freshman season. His Sophomore season has shown some promise but he does not fit the athletic run up and down mold. 2.1 points and 2.3 rebounds for a 6'10, 250lbs big man is not good.
JUCO Transfers
SG Mi'kyel Nero - MISS - Shockingly was redshirted after coming in from Brunswick CC. Transferred following the season. Players at the Division 1 level who do not suffer an injury should not be redshirted. Either you can play or you can't.
PF Jamar Taylor - MISS - Came in with Nero from Brunswick CC and continues to prove he's not a Division 1 player. Redshirted in 2009-10 and is taking a scholarship again for 2010-11.
2010-11 Season
HS Recruits
PG Devonta White - HIT - It's obvious he can play and he's truly one of our difference maker as a freshman. We are 4-1 with White guiding the ship and he's the best freshman PG we've had on our roster since Herman Favors.
SG - Javonte Maynor - HIT - Continues to get better and has emerged as a 10+ ppg scorer when given significant playing time. Will continue to get better and I could see him as a 14-16 ppg scorer by the time he's a Junior.
SF - Harold Doby - INC. - Has so far been hard to figure out. He has the potential to be a good role player but has seen his playing time go wildly up and down this season. Could be a candidate for a transfer if a coaching change is made as expected.
SG - Rashaad Richardson - MISS - Not sure that he belongs on this team. Has not shot well as a freshman and unless he puts major work to his body and on his game will not succeed here.
JUCO Transfers
C Eric Buckner - HIT - Impact player. Has gained significant weight and strength since arriving and has played very well. Some have called him one of the best Panthers centers ever. I believe he's top 3.
PF Brandon McGee - HIT - Is wildly inconsistent but can be a force on the boards. Still believes that he can be a 10+ point scorer and 7+ rebound player per game.
SF Josh Micheaux - HIT - Has really come into his own since being inserted into the starting lineup. Averaging 11.3 points, 7 rebounds, 4.3 assists in the last 3 games. Stat stuffer when he plays significant minutes. I believe he will continue to get better and cement his spot at the SF position.
My take: While there have been some notable misses among the Division 1 transfers, Barnes had upgraded this roster significantly in the last recruiting cycle. 6 out of the 7 newcomers have had an immediate impact at times this season. I believe Barnes deserves another year based on the talent on this roster. Will his recruiting mistakes plague him and contribute to his dismissal? Only 5 regular season games and 1 CAA Tourney game until we likely find out.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Panthers Can't Stop Jenkins, Pride
Charles Jenkins is a great player. Seriously. 10-15 shooting for 28 points. He's scored more than 2300 career points and is the odds on favorite to win back-to-back CAA Player of the Year awards. Yes, he's that good.
We had no answer for him and fell at home in front of the largest crowd of the season (1115). SF Jihad Ali had a career high 19 points and SF Josh Micheaux continues to play strong in a starting role. Maybe the best news of the night was PG Devonta White looks ready to assume his starting role as he plays 26 minutes, scores 4 points and dishes out 6 assists.
Next: Home at Noon vs. Northeastern.
We had no answer for him and fell at home in front of the largest crowd of the season (1115). SF Jihad Ali had a career high 19 points and SF Josh Micheaux continues to play strong in a starting role. Maybe the best news of the night was PG Devonta White looks ready to assume his starting role as he plays 26 minutes, scores 4 points and dishes out 6 assists.
Next: Home at Noon vs. Northeastern.
My thoughts on the schedule
The 2011 Football Schedule is out and here are my initial thoughts:
-Thursday Night is becoming Georgia State Night at the Dome. I actually love the idea and am thrilled that we can make it ours. Opening vs. an AUC team will boost attendance significantly as Georgia Tech and Georgia will not play an AUC school in football. We are an FCS Independent in 2011 and this was the year to capitalize on playing a local Atlanta school.
-It's actually tougher than the 2010 schedule. How so? In 2010, our opponents combined for a winning percentage of .520 (63-58). In 2011, our opponents have a combined winning percentage of .590 (65-45). Throwing out the non FCS/FBS teams and the percentages jump again from .534 in 2010 to .632 in 2011.
-6 Wins is an Attainable Goal Again. It's not the best exercise to go down the schedule and mark a W or an L next to a name because of varying factors but I believe 6 wins is a worthy expectation. Clark Atlanta, Murray State, UTSA, Lambuth, West Alabama and Campbell are all games that we should equal or better talent. The toss up games begin with ODU, Jacksonville State, South Alabama and SC State. All four will be very difficult and 2 played in the FCS Playoffs last year. While Houston did not come off a National Championship season like Alabama in 2009, they will be extremely formidable and we will be heavy underdogs in this game.
-Thursday Night is becoming Georgia State Night at the Dome. I actually love the idea and am thrilled that we can make it ours. Opening vs. an AUC team will boost attendance significantly as Georgia Tech and Georgia will not play an AUC school in football. We are an FCS Independent in 2011 and this was the year to capitalize on playing a local Atlanta school.
-It's actually tougher than the 2010 schedule. How so? In 2010, our opponents combined for a winning percentage of .520 (63-58). In 2011, our opponents have a combined winning percentage of .590 (65-45). Throwing out the non FCS/FBS teams and the percentages jump again from .534 in 2010 to .632 in 2011.
-6 Wins is an Attainable Goal Again. It's not the best exercise to go down the schedule and mark a W or an L next to a name because of varying factors but I believe 6 wins is a worthy expectation. Clark Atlanta, Murray State, UTSA, Lambuth, West Alabama and Campbell are all games that we should equal or better talent. The toss up games begin with ODU, Jacksonville State, South Alabama and SC State. All four will be very difficult and 2 played in the FCS Playoffs last year. While Houston did not come off a National Championship season like Alabama in 2009, they will be extremely formidable and we will be heavy underdogs in this game.
2011 GSU Football Schedule is Announced!
The wait is over. The 2011 Georgia State football schedule has been announced by Georgia State Sports Communications.
2011 GEORGIA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 1st vs. CLARK ATLANTA
Saturday, Sept. 10th vs. OLD DOMINION
Saturday, Sept. 17th at Jacksonville State
Saturday, Sept. 24th at Houston
Saturday, Oct. 8th vs. MURRAY STATE
Saturday, Oct. 15th at South Carolina State
Saturday, Oct. 22nd vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (Homecoming)
Saturday, Oct. 29th at UTSA
Saturday, Nov. 5th vs. LAMBUTH
Saturday, Nov. 12th at West Alabama
Saturday, Nov. 19th vs. CAMPBELL
*Home Games in Bold
Here is a statement from Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick - "We're pleased with the quality and variety of opponents, and the structure of the schedule sets up well for our team and our fans. After such an overwhelmingly positive response to our inaugural season, we can't wait to kick off year two. Our attendance and fan support have been tremendous, the Georgia Dome has been a wonderful partner, and we look for continued growth in 2011."
The full story from Georgia State can be found here.
The home schedule should be much appreciated by fans planning to attend the games. After seeing six home games in a seven week period to kick-off the 2010 schedule, the 2011 schedule of 2 home games in each month of September, October and November is a much welcomed change. The only consecutive home games are in the first two weeks. Job well done to Levick and company for giving us a balance schedule!
Stay tuned for Ben's initial thoughts on the strength of schedule for the 2011 season!
2011 GEORGIA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 1st vs. CLARK ATLANTA
Saturday, Sept. 10th vs. OLD DOMINION
Saturday, Sept. 17th at Jacksonville State
Saturday, Sept. 24th at Houston
Saturday, Oct. 8th vs. MURRAY STATE
Saturday, Oct. 15th at South Carolina State
Saturday, Oct. 22nd vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (Homecoming)
Saturday, Oct. 29th at UTSA
Saturday, Nov. 5th vs. LAMBUTH
Saturday, Nov. 12th at West Alabama
Saturday, Nov. 19th vs. CAMPBELL
*Home Games in Bold
Here is a statement from Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick - "We're pleased with the quality and variety of opponents, and the structure of the schedule sets up well for our team and our fans. After such an overwhelmingly positive response to our inaugural season, we can't wait to kick off year two. Our attendance and fan support have been tremendous, the Georgia Dome has been a wonderful partner, and we look for continued growth in 2011."
The full story from Georgia State can be found here.
The home schedule should be much appreciated by fans planning to attend the games. After seeing six home games in a seven week period to kick-off the 2010 schedule, the 2011 schedule of 2 home games in each month of September, October and November is a much welcomed change. The only consecutive home games are in the first two weeks. Job well done to Levick and company for giving us a balance schedule!
Stay tuned for Ben's initial thoughts on the strength of schedule for the 2011 season!
Preferred Walk On Profile: Kicker Prospect Matt Ehasz
Pretty good looking Kicker out of Camden County. Glad he's a part of the Panther family now!
Check out his Profile and Highlights HERE.
Check out his Profile and Highlights HERE.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
GSU Baseball's Micowski Earns More Praise
Photo courtesy of: Georgia State Sports Communications"Big Expectations" for $800, Alex...
Earned titles of CAA baseball's "best defensive outfielder", one of "three best pure hitters", "toughest hitter to strike out" and "best base-runner".
If you answered "Who is Mark Micowski of Georgia State" you are correct.
According to a recent survey of CAA coaches by College Baseball Insider, GSU outfielder Mark Micowski earned top spot for each of the above mentioned superlatives for the upcoming 2011 baseball season. This is yet another nod towards Mark and his performance abilities as well as the Georgia State baseball team.
It's also worth nothing that Jr. infielder Brandon Williams was also one of "three best pure hitters" (making 2 of 3 from GSU) and "three biggest power threats". Sr. outfielder Ryan Flemming joined Williams as a biggest power threat as well (2 of 3 from GSU here as well).
If you haven't had enough, Mark Micowski was also noted in the "Others to Watch" list from Top College Baseball Outfielders to Watch in 2011 on CollegeBaseball360.com.
The Panthers will open the season against Texas Southern in 10 days at Panthersville.
Earned titles of CAA baseball's "best defensive outfielder", one of "three best pure hitters", "toughest hitter to strike out" and "best base-runner".
If you answered "Who is Mark Micowski of Georgia State" you are correct.
According to a recent survey of CAA coaches by College Baseball Insider, GSU outfielder Mark Micowski earned top spot for each of the above mentioned superlatives for the upcoming 2011 baseball season. This is yet another nod towards Mark and his performance abilities as well as the Georgia State baseball team.
It's also worth nothing that Jr. infielder Brandon Williams was also one of "three best pure hitters" (making 2 of 3 from GSU) and "three biggest power threats". Sr. outfielder Ryan Flemming joined Williams as a biggest power threat as well (2 of 3 from GSU here as well).
If you haven't had enough, Mark Micowski was also noted in the "Others to Watch" list from Top College Baseball Outfielders to Watch in 2011 on CollegeBaseball360.com.
The Panthers will open the season against Texas Southern in 10 days at Panthersville.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Panthers Escape Towson, Win 2nd in a Row
"Oak" was big time on the Road.
Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications
The great Lefty Driesell used to say, "Good teams win on the road."
James "Oak" Vincent was a beast today and scored 12 points, grabbed 7 boards and turned away 5 Tiger shots. This was a strategic move in the previous matchup vs. Towson and it worked again as the Panthers swept Towson for the first time ever.
Towson was winless in CAA play and a loss to them could have been devastating. Instead, the Panthers got a W and started a little momentum headed into a 2 game homestand. Georgia State is now 10-13 and 5-8 in CAA play currently sitting in a tie for 8th place with UNC-Wilmington. This week could be extremely fruitful as wins over Hofstra and Northeastern could launch the Panthers into the 5th or 6th range as the conference tourney is less than a month away.
Next: Home vs. Hofstra on Wednesday at 7pm from the Sports Arena.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Panthers Put Away UNCW in OT, Win 63-58
Good to get a win. After the NSD Ceremony, it was good to have some momentum on campus. Big games by Eric Buckner and Josh Micheaux (who got his first start). Devonta White also returned for a few minutes as he tries to get back on the floor.
Next: Road Trip to Towson on Saturday.
Next: Road Trip to Towson on Saturday.
National Signing Day: Defensive Talent Infusion
8 players in total signed today. 1 is currently enrolled. 3 DBs, 1 LB, 2 DE, 1 QB, 1 K and 1 OG. While not sexy, we should very happy with what we received.
AJC Link
AJC Ben McLane Quotes Link
Examiner.com Link
AJC Link
AJC Ben McLane Quotes Link
Examiner.com Link
Signing Day Pictures
We will be updating these as we get them...
Matanzas HS Kicker Christian Benvenuto
Brookwood HS QB Ben McClane
Photo Courtesy of Brant Sanderlin of the AJC
Roswell HS Nick Henderson
Whitewater HS DE McLain Head
Photo Courtesy of The Citizen Newspapers
Social Media & Recruiting - GSU Style
Coach Bill Curry has a nice write up about GSU Recruiting in this Gainesville Times article.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Panthers Add 3, Lose One
According to Chip Towers of the AJC, we've lost Fatu Ulale (and I've confirmed with Cerritos CC) to New Mexico. That's the bad news....
The Great News is we have 3 new commits: QB Imonni Carswell, OG David Huey and NG Jakari Kinnie.
Profiles and Highlights found HERE.
The Great News is we have 3 new commits: QB Imonni Carswell, OG David Huey and NG Jakari Kinnie.
Profiles and Highlights found HERE.
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