Western Michigan WR Trey Smith enrolls at JSU

Trey Smith of Perry HS has enrolled at Jacksonville State.  He was likely not offered a scholarship at Georgia State for the spring semester and wanted to go somewhere where he could get a scholly for spring and summer.

This is not bad news for us.  We return all of our WR corps for 2011 and will only lose Sidney Haynes to graduation after the season.

Georgia State Falls 61-59, Squanders 10 point 2nd half lead

Junior PF Brandon McGee was a bright spot vs. WMU

Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications

The AJC called it a collapse and it's hard to disagree.  Maybe it was just the way things bounce after the victory vs. James Madison with the Ali tip in winner.

You're at home and you have a 10 point lead with 8:49 to play in the ball game.  From that point, Western Michigan outscored the Panthers 19-7 and stole a game that they never should have won.

It's extremely frustrating to watch but as I've said over and over, this is going to happen with so many key players who are new to this team and new to college basketball on the Division 1 level.  My expectations were, and still are, to stay around .500 overall and continue to get better as the season goes on.  Our freshman struggled mightily vs. the Broncos, as Harold Doby and Devonta White shot 1-8 from the field and had 5 turnovers between them. 

Brandon McGee played very well and I wouldn't be suprised if he earned the start vs. Florida A&M this Saturday.  Last week was a little harder as new players (see how I keep emphasizing that), took final exams all week and were practicing while their peers left for Christmas break.  This cannot be understated.  If this is your first time doing this at a Division 1 level (many JUCO players have no organization and can pretty much go and come as they please to class and many HS players have never taken 5 exams in a semester before) then it becomes a culture shock.

This week should be a more focused week of practice and I expect a good effort vs. the Rattlers of FAMU on Saturday night at the Sports Arena.  I'm hoping to see you there.

Examiner Link

Western Michigan's WR Trey Smith Transfers to Georgia State

Welcome to GSU Trey Smith!

Photo Courtesy of Kalamazoo Gazette file

From MLive.com

Trey Smith's 6-foot-4, 222-pound frame made him an intriguing prospect as a wide receiver. It wasn't enough for consistent playing time within Western Michigan University's football program.

Broncos coach Bill Cubit said Thursday that Smith is transferring to Division I-AA Georgia State.

MLive.com Link
 

Notes: Smith was the #189 rated WR by ESPN's Scouts, Inc and was a Top 10 WR in the State of Georgia in 2008.  He had offers from Akron, Marshall, East Carolina, Akron, Ball State before signing with Western Michigan.

From ESPN Scouts, Inc.

Smith is a huge target that does not get many opportunities to catch the football in this scheme. His size and long arms are his best assets as he is purely a possession guy that is best utilized on underneath routes and in the [Red Zone] area on jump balls.

My Take: This is a tremendous grab as he will be a true Junior this fall.  This looks to be very much a family related decision as his quote from someone I talked to was:

"Transferring back home after this semester. I'm gone miss my Western Michigan Fam but I gotta do whats best for me and my family."

His size will give us another powerful Red Zone weapon in 2011 and 2012.  Great work by Coach Pugh, Coach Curry and the rest of the staff.

Wednesday's Quick Hitters - 12.8.10

Good Morning Panther Nation!  I hope you are enjoying the winter sports season and I hope to see you out at a men's or women's basketball game very soon.  We are counting down the days until signing day (56 for HS prospects and 7 for JUCO prospects) and I will be updating you with information as I hear it. 

Onto the links...

Coach Bond Helps GSU: Always interesting to hear perspective from outside our Metro area.  Northwest Arkansas Online Link

Got this tip from the Godfather of Football.  For any of you that watch Antique Roadshow, they stumbled upon a Green Bay Packers team signed football.  Of course, Coach Curry had signed it.  Pretty cool.  PBS Link

Comparing CBC to FBS Coaching Salaries.  Based on what Coach Curry's reported salary (he is the highest paid coach in FCS) he would make more than 5 FBS coaches.  USA Today Coaches Contracts for 2010 

Did you know? In 1989, GSU's band was rented by eventual Men's Basketball National Champion Michigan?  USA Today Story on Steve Fisher

Men's Basketball Called 'Low Major'

Forget "Mid-Major", MLive.com calls us a 'low major' and calls us one of the low lights as it pertains to Western Michigan (a team from the MAC, mind you) men's basketball schedule in 2010-11.  Some of the quotes:

The lowlights: The Broncos also have to take flights for road games at lowmajors Towson in Baltimore (Dec. 1) and Georgia State in Atlanta (Dec. 11).

Road games at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Nov. 23), Towson and Georgia State are the beginnings of home-and-home series for WMU, with all three programs playing in Kalamazoo next season.


Hawkins said he and his staff would have preferred to find closer opponents than Towson and Georgia State, but couldn’t secure willing partners in the Missouri Valley, Horizon or Summit leagues.

MLive.com Link