Baseball Conference Play Kicks-Off with Towson

The Georgia State Panthers (10-4, 0-0 CAA) will face Towson (4-6-1, 0-0 CAA) in a 3-game CAA series matchup over tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. Game times are at 6 PM, 1PM and 12 PM respectively

Who: The Towson Tigers are fellow CAA members and are 4-6-1 (0-0 CAA) coming into this weekend's matchup. The Tigers returned 19 players from the 2010 season, 7 position players and 12 pitchers. They come with an experienced infield led by 3 seniors (1B, SS, 3B) which is reflected in their CAA best 12 errors and 2nd best fielding percentage. The Tiger's pitching staff is the opposite story. Two of their top 3 most used starting pitchers from the 2010 season were lost to graduation and their leader in saves was lost to the MLB 2010 Draft (Toronto). To make matters worse in the pitching staff only 1 of 4 of the top newcomers has been able to positively contribute to the pitching efforts to-date. The other 3 have been hit hard in their outings.

Towson at the Plate: Returning senior starters Chris Wychock (3B) and Nick Natoli (SS) are leading the Tigers on offense. Chris is hitting .366 with 8 RBI's and 2 HR's and has 5 doubles, all of which are team leading numbers. Nick is hitting .344 with 4 doubles, a triple and only 1 RBI. Nick also holds 3 of Towson's 9 stolen bases. As we've seen in previous opponents, Towson is missing power and speed. They have only 5 home runs and have been successful in only 10 of 20 stolen base attempts. If you don't have power or speed your offense needs to be hitting well above Towson's team average of .258 in order to produce runs. They have been scoring about 5 runs per game this season which places them almost in the bottom of the CAA. Overall, there's not too much to be afraid of in this Towson lineup.

Towson on the Mound: The Tigers pitching staff is allowing over 8 runs per game this season which places Towson at the bottom of the CAA. Their team ERA of 6.56 is good for 2nd worst as is their 10 home runs allowed.

Tiger Starters are as follows:

Sean Thompson (RH, So.) is 0-2 after 3 starts posting a 5.40 ERA. He has only lasted through 11.2 innings allowing 10 runs on 11 hits. He is walking 1 of 6 batters faced and has 9 strikeouts. Thompson throws a very good curve ball to keep hitters off-balance.

Charlie Cononie (RH, Sr.) is 6'7" and features a fastball with great movement. He has progressively moved into a starter role coming into this season. Through 3 starts he is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA after 15.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 8 runs on 14 hits and batters are hitting only .230 against him. Low offensive production has been his enemy this season. His strikeouts have been his best friend. Charlie has sent almost 40% of batters faced back to the dugout by way of strikeout with 23 K's on the season.

Michael Trionfo (RH, So.) started against Georgia State last season as a freshman and received a no-decision after pitching 4.2 innings in the Tigers win. Michael is 0-1 after 2 starts with a 7.82 ERA. He has been hit hard for 12 runs on 19 hits in 12.2 innings. Batters are hitting .352 against him. Michael has great command of his pitches and features a great curve ball with overall good control.

Once the starters give way to the bullpen batters really begin to light up the Towson pitching staff. Most of their relievers are being hit for well over .300 and in most cases .350-.400. Spencer Patton has been the most used and most successful reliever. Hitters are .343 against him, he has 9 strikeouts and has given up 5 runs through 8.1 innings.

GSU at the Plate: Watch out for infielder Brandon Williams as he's been on a tear lately. Named CAA Player of the Week, he has batted .478 in his last six games and five of them coming against power conference teams. He is now hitting .348 on the season with 5 RBI's and 4 for 5 in stolen bases. Outfielder Brett Maxwell is leading the Panthers with a .474 batting average and also leads the team with 5 doubles. The Panthers are batting .272 as a team and are still struggling to get, and keep, this number above .300. With that said they remain a top 3 offense in the CAA and are 3rd in the CAA with 6 runs per game. James Madison and George Mason remain a larger offensive producer than the Panthers but with CAA play starting, these numbers should normalize and we'll get a better picture of where we all stand.

GSU on the Mound: Pitching has been the Panthers strength in the 2011 season. GSU leads the CAA in team ERA at 2.82 and also in runs allowed per game at 4.5. The staff has the 2nd best opposing batting average at .224 with Old Dominion performing only .003 points better.

Starters as follows:

Justin Malone (RH, Jr.) takes the mound Friday with a 0.47 ERA after 3 starts and a 3-0 record. Justin has been just outstanding for the team in the 2011 season. He has thrown 19 innings and allowed 1 earned run, 4 runs total. His walks and hits per inning is 1.0 and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3:1. Batters are hitting only .235 against him.

Charley Olsen (RH, Sr.) makes his 3rd start on Saturday with a 3.29 ERA and a 1-2 record. Charley has been a victim of some messy defense. Of his 10 runs allowed through 13.2 innings (which includes a 4.2 inning relief effort) only 5 runs are earned. Batters are hitting .288 against him which is the team high for starters. However, Charley is striking out 1 batter per inning and has kept his walks down to 3 on the season. Saturday features the best pitching matchup with two Charley's going to the mound (spelling is different) so he'll need to have a good game which I think we can count on.

Aidan Francis (LH, Sr.) takes the mound for the last game of the series. Aidan is 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA after 3 starts. Aidan earned the win in a great pitching effort last week against Georgia Tech after pitching 7 innings. Aidan has allowed 6 runs in his 14.2 innings pitched but 4 of the runs came during the Mercer game where he allowed 3 HR's against the powerful lineup. That is his only blemish on the season thus far. His weapon has been strikeouts as he's fanned 17 and walked only 4. Aidan has been an authority on the mound this season, look for this to continue against Towson.

Even though the Panthers are 4-8 against Towson under Coach Frady, these are different teams and I expect a 3-game sweep this weekend. Saturday is my only question mark due to the pitching matchup but it's a small question mark. I think Charley (the good guy) will come out and pitch a good game and we'll get into the Towson bullpen to put up some runs.

Here are some keys against this Towson team. The Panthers offense needs to watch the strikeouts. The first two pitchers they face have good strikeout numbers. Don't let them give you only 2 outs to work with each inning. The Panther pitchers just need to keep doing what they've done all season. Sounds simple, but that's a large reason why the team is 10-4 with wins over Mercer, GT and Iowa. The offense needs to make the Tiger starting pitchers work hard. Get into the bullpen and rack up some runs. Don't let these guys have 8 and 10 pitch innings.

GO PANTHERS!!!

Addressing the Suspension: Short Term Pain, Long Term Gain

Yesterday, Coach Bill Curry announced the suspensions of 2010 Starting QB Drew Little and SS Fred Barnes for 4 games and 2 games, respectively.  Starting ILB Femi Opanubi was dismissed.  Starting WR Danny Williams and ILB Evan Bostic are suspended for the first week of Spring Practice which starts in 10 days.  Back up QB Star Jackson and CB Justin Hughes have left the team.  While this incited every reaction from disappointment to shock to worry, I'm here to calm the Panther Nation.

Both players were suspended for a violation of team rules and I will not begin to speculate the nature of the rules that they broke but I'll say this: For every current and future player, the line in the sand has been drawn.  Either you are pulling in the same direction or you let go of the rope. 

So why am I so calm?  We will be without our 2010 leader of the offense vs. Clark Atlanta, Old Dominion, at Jacksonville State and at Houston.  This is not good news for the anticipated results in those games.  We then face Murray State at home and then will have an Open date.  If Drew is prepared to resume his role as the Starting QB, he will have 2 weeks of practice time to regain that title.  If not, he'll likely serve as a back up as I believe the plan is to redshirt incoming Freshman Ben McLane, who will arrive in June.  After this 4 game stretch, I believe our schedule breaks slightly with five of the next seven games are very winnable games. 

Also, from a scholarship side of things, losing Star, Femi and Justin Hughes may look like very bad news but I believe that Star had checked out after a disappointing Fall and I wish him well.  Femi's loss hurts but we've added Qwontez Mallory who is likely to step right in and start once he arrives in May.  Hughes likely saw the writing on the wall as we added a very talented CB in D'Mario Gunn who I project as a starter in Spring.

Coach Curry has been described as "Old School." If that means that you set out expectations to your players and then you enforce discipline when those expectations are not met, then I hope our program stays "Old School" for a long, long time.

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments" - Jim Rohn.

Football Players Receive Disciplinary Actions

With spring practice less than 2 weeks away, Coach Bill Curry shows his tough hand by announcing disciplinary action for several Panther football players due to violations of team rules. Players and punishment as follows:

QB Drew Little - Suspended for spring practice and the first four games of the 2011 season.
Safety Fred Barnes - Suspended for spring practice and the first two games of the 2011 season.
WR Danny Williams - Suspended for the first week of spring practice.
LB Evan Bostic - Suspended for the first week of spring practice.
LB Olufemi Opanubi - Dismissed from the team.

It is important to note that none of the disciplinary actions were a result of criminal activity but specifics on why the actions are taking place cannot be disclosed due to student privacy laws.

It has also been announced that Bo Schlechter will be returning to the QB position for the 2011 season. Star Jackson was not mentioned.

Thoughts on these actions will be posted soon.

Link to Georgia State Sports official release.

GSU Baseball Comes Home to Play UNC Asheville

Who: UNC Asheville Bulldogs (4-6), compete in the NCAA DI Big South Conference. The Bulldogs enter play with a 4-6 record and sitting on a 6-game losing streak. With only 8 of 34 roster players being seniors and 15 of 34 as freshman, the Bulldogs are a young team. The UNCA pitching staff has only 3 senior pitchers and only one, Grier Harrington has started a game this season.

Previous Season: UNCA finished the 2010 season with a 17-35 record and 7th (out of 10) in their conference. The Panthers are 7-4 against the Bulldogs and are riding a 3-game winning streak over the team. The Bulldogs most recent memory of the Panthers is a 17-2 loss from last March at Panthersville.

UNCA on the Mound: The starters are currently unknown. The Bulldogs pitching staff is sitting near the bottom of the Big South Conference in performance. The team ERA is 5.82, giving up a total of 77 runs (55 earned) through their 10 games (7.7 runs per game). They have two strikeout threats, reliever Grier Harrington who I think is a possible starter and Ryan Dull. Both Harrington and Dull throw near 1 K/IP. Of the starters with more than 1 game starts the ERA is much higher, near 8.00, and batters are hitting over .300 against 3 of the 4 pitchers. It's fair to say the Bulldogs relievers are performing better than the starters to this point.

UPDATE: Grier Harrington, Robert McIntosh and Elliot Criss are possible starters for the Bulldogs. Harrington is 1-1 after 5 appearances and 1 start with a 3.38 ERA. He has a walk-to-strikout ratio of over 3.0 and would be the toughest pitcher we face of the three. McIntosh is 0-0 after starting 2 games, ERA is 4.50 after being touched for 3 runs in 6 innings of work. Batters are hitting .263 against him. Elliot Criss is 0-1 after 2 game starts and pitching only 4.2 innings in the outings. Batters enjoyed his time on the mound as they hit .348 against him and brought in 14 runs. He leads the team in hit batters with 6. That's over 1 per innings guys, watch out.

UNCA at the Plate: The Bulldogs have player who's started all 10 games and three others who've started 9 of 10, catcher Ian Graham and infielders Danny Baatz, Jordan Lurie and Cody Buch. The four mentioned players are hitting at or above .300 on the season with a combined 24 RBI's. There is not much of a power threat on the team, only 1 HR to-date. Stealing only 8 bases and recording 2 triples shows they're not using much speed on the bases either. Starting pitcher Robert McIntosh (fr.) has played middle infield while not pitching and has hit .458 through 7 games with 24 at-bats. He holds the team's highest average as well as the highest slugging percentage at .542. The team is scoring 7 runs per game through the first 10.

GSU on the Mound: Aidan Francis will start Tuesday's game, the Wednesday starter is currently unknown. (I'm sure this is because this weekend the Panthers start conference play against Towson and the coaches are trying to properly align the starters to get the best guys out there for the 3-game home series.) Aidan (ERA 4.63) is coming off a great start where he earned the win against a ranked Georgia Tech team allowing only 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings pitched. He recorded 6 strikeouts while walking nobody. Aidan currently leads the team with 14 strikeouts through 11.2 innings pitched and a starter-low 2 walks on the season. Batters are hitting .260 against him and the only stumble encountered was when he allowed 3 HR's (4 runs) against a powerful Mercer team earlier in the season. I expect Aidan to continue dominating on the mound and attacking hitters hard early in the count. The team ERA still remains below 3.00 even after facing 5 straight games against power conference teams.

GSU at the Plate: Speaking of power conference teams, 3rd baseman Brandon Williams enjoyed the increased competition at the plate. He hit .474 during last week against Georgia Tech, Iowa and Mississippi State. There were some great pitchers faced in that stretch, good job Brandon. Brett Maxwell and Brandon Williams lead the way at the plate with a .474 and .333 batting average respectively. Mark Micowski has 12 RBI's on the season is hitting a touch below .300. The impressive part about Micowski's 12 RBI's is that the bottom of the lineup is getting on base for him consistently to allow him to drive in the runs. The Panthers continue to use speed on the bases as they are up to 24 steals on the season (29 attempts). I expect this lineup to find comfort at the plate as they return home and face favorable pitching through the week. I'll be surprised if they don't put up some big numbers.

The keys for the Panthers in this series are to enjoy being back at home, relax at the plate as they shouldn't see anything too intimidating and for the pitchers to continue doing what they've done this season. Sounds simple right? The Panthers success against UNCA continues this week and we should be sitting at 11-4 with the offensively anemic Towson coming into town for a weekend 3-game series. GO PANTHERS!!!

Men's Basketball: Evaluating the Roster

Imagine Buck at 220lbs and with range out to 10 feet

Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications

So, we've arrived at the end of our men's basketball season and we were actually the 3rd Division 1 team from the state of Georgia still playing because we made it to Saturday.  We aren't likely to get a banner for that. 

What We Do Know:
Seniors Marques Johnson and Dante Curry have exhausted their eligibility and will move on.  The two combined for 11.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  They also represented 59 3 point baskets made (Curry responsible for 53 of those).  While both players played significantly in their two year Panther careers, neither is what I'd qualify as an Impact Player.  Both struggled mightily in long stretches this season and I really thought I was dead wrong in classifying Curry as a bust prior to the season when he looked like a bonafide MVP candidate in January.  Johnson was his usual self, running the offensive sets, not scoring much and generally playing average to above average defense.

Returning Starters:
We used 15 different starting lineups this seasons adding the sometimes chaotic nature that Coach Rod Barnes was criticized for.  In 2011-12, we are slated to return 4 starters from the George Mason CAA Tournament game in James Fields, Jihad Ali, Josh Micheaux and Eric Buckner.  While each does contribute in different ways, I'd describe Micheaux and Buckner as Impact Players. 

C Eric Buckner - Was our best player from Game 1 to Game 31.  Averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.  Buck did deal with foul trouble almost every game this season and averaged 3.1 per game for the year (highest on the team).  Part of this, I believe was assimilating into the speed of Division 1 basketball vs. JUCO and part is he gained significant weight since his arrival that he had trouble adjusting (he arrived on campus around 190lbs and was playing at about 208lbs).  I look for another offseason packing on muscle and hope to see him at about 218-222 entering Fall practice.

SF Josh Micheaux - I believe he is an Impact Player based on his production as a Starter.  While he is very undersized playing as a PF, Josh played very well the last 1/3 of the year.  In 10 games as a starter, Micheaux averaged 9.5 points  (on 42% shooting), 5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2 steals per game.  That's effective and the kind of stats you need from a starter.  If Josh can improve his 15-18 foot jumpshot in the offseason, I truly believe he can be a force as a Senior in 2011-12.

SF Jihad Ali - Recovered from an awful start of the season to increase his overall production and become a contributor.  Averaged 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 assist per game this season.  Jihad has a shot of breaking the all time games played record if he can stay healthy.  I think he has a 50/50 shot to start as a Senior but will have to continue to improve his shooting to justify that spot.

SG James Fields - Our Bruce Bowen.  While some Panther fans don't value Boom, I do.  He is rarely out of position and you know exactly what you'll get on a nightly basis:  Good defense.  He increased his scoring this season to 5.5 points per contest and actually was our most effective ball handler with a 1.47/1 assist-to-turnover margin, which was second on the team behind Marques Johnson.  I expect Fields to increase his scoring, cross the 100 steal plateau and reach 120 games played next season.

Returning Bench Players:
PG Devonta White - The Spark Plug. Was playing at a very high level prior to an ankle injury at home vs. VCU.  He truly wasn't the same player but you could see the spark in the team's energy level when he was on the floor.  For those who have played the game of basketball, your PG is your general and when you have a great floor leader you tend to play better.  It works in every level.  Overall, White 5.2 points, 2.3 assists and was the team's 3rd best FT shooter at 68.6%.  I could absolutely see his scoring and assists numbers double in 2011-12 as he increases his strength and better understands the speed of the game.

PF Brandon McGee - Consistently inconsistent.  This was the knock on McGee coming in and he lived up to the billing.  10 double digit scoring efforts in 2010-11 topped by a 31 point explosion at home vs. Northeastern were balanced by 5 games with 0 points.  His minutes flunctuated nearly all year and Coach Barnes had an extremely quick hook if it looked like McGee was coasting.  He has the talent to be an All-CAA performer.  He has the effort that makes fans absolutely mad.  If our new coach can keep McGee motivated, I could see an improvement of his 7.7 point and 3.1 rebound per game averages.

SG Javonte Maynor - Huge growth potential.  Hidden in Maynor's decent Freshman campaign of 5.8 points (and a team leading 38.8% from 3 point range) and 1.1 rebounds per game, is the fact that he actually led our team in scoring 3 seperate times this year.  I believe he could be an outside shot to start, we provides our team with the outside range that we've lacked (and we're frankly looking for when Dante Curry arrived).  Maynor will continue to get better as moves into this offseason.

C James Vincent - The Oak Tree.  I've been tough on Big James because I've expected more from a 6'10 post player with 54 games played.  Running the numbers, when James has played more than 18 minutes in a game, he averages 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.  It's imperative that he gets these kinds of minutes in 2011-12.  I can actually see him playing along side Eric Buckner at points with the proper vision by our next coach.
SF Harold Doby - Untapped talent.  Doby had a frustrating freshman season with inconsistent minutes.  Fans wondered aloud if he got himself into Coach Barnes' dog house or if he was injured as he took 5 DNP-Coach's Decision in 2010-11.  I think Doby could increase his strength and improve his ball handling in the offseason to be a valuable bench contributor in 2011-12.

SG Rashaad Richardson - The question mark.  He was a late addition to the signing class in 2010 and arrived on campus last summer with academic questions. He did not accompany the team to the Bahamas and 5 DNP-CDs in 2010-11.  Should he be on this roster?  I'm not sure as he averaged less than 5 minutes per game in 25 games.  That's amazing to me.  Either play him and see what you have or move him on.  He is a scholarship athlete, not a walk on.  I could argue that he's the most mismanaged player in the Rod Barnes Era.  Richardson could be a candidate to move on this offseason.

Players Who Should Not Return:
PF Jamar Taylor - Taylor is not a Division 1 caliber player.  He should not be on this roster and was an absolute miss in last season's recruiting cycle.  He has to be moved on by the new coach and his scholarship needs to be given to a HS Senior or impact JUCO transfer. 

SF Jordan Demercy - From what I've been told, took a gray shirt in 2010-11 as he sat out his mandatory one year following his transfer from Florida State.  He is not an Impact Player and needs to be cut loose.  Coach Barnes and his staff were high on what Demercy could bring but new coaches are under no obligation to honor previous coaches promises.  Nothing personal but he has proven that he cannot play at a high level after being buried on the Florida State bench. 

Incoming Recruits/Scholarship Situation
Scholarships Available: 2*
Current Signee: PF Jervon Pressley - He was set to be the highest ranked recruit to step foot on campus in the Rod Barnes Era.  Except, he may not step foot on campus.  Yes, he has signed a letter of intent.  Yes, we can hold him to that.  From what I've been told, he has a ton of work to do in the classroom to have a shot to meet eligibility requirements.  If he does, great, he can be an immediate contributor in the post as an athletic rebounder and shot blocker who's offensive game is still developing.  If not*, we can use his scholarship for a player in the late signing period.

My take: I believe the 2010-11 roster was built to win 13-15 games and finish at or near .500 overall and in the CAA.  We did not meet those expectations and our coaching staff will be replaced.  I believe we have the talent on the roster to meet .500 or possibly better if we can hire a coach and a staff that will maximize the strengths of our returning players.  We could have a very large Senior class that has gone through the rigors of the best mid-major conference in America.  I believe we will make the right hire and that they will bring an exciting brand of basketball to the Sports Arena that we have not had since Charles "Lefty" Driesell retired suddenly that late December day.  With the momentum shift in our athletic department, I have high hopes for the future of our basketball program and I believe we have the resources to build a product that competes with VCU, George Mason and Old Dominion in 2011-12.  We are not Senior heavy as many of the top tier teams in our league were this season.  I do not believe that this is the reclamation project that some have said it is. 

Onward and upward!

Georgia State Routed by George Mason 68-45

Photo Courtesy of George Mason Sports Communications

The Panthers competed well enough in the first half to build an 11 point lead, then the roof caved in.  Going 15 minutes without a made basket, turning the ball over 21 times and basically missing an opportunity to shake the CAA Tournament up a little more all slipped away tonight.

Eric Buckner played very well in the first half and trailed off due in large part to foul trouble in the second stanza and finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Senior Marques Johnson played well in his last game in Panther uniform with 9 points, 5 rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.  The reigns now get turned over to Devonta White and he had a rough go vs. the #25 ranked Patriots scoring 4 points on 1-5 shooting and turning the ball over 3 times.

Dante Curry, who also played his last game, proved to be his enigmatic self again putting another 0 in the scoring column for the 7th time this season.

Josh Michaeux played well on the defensive end with 6 rebounds and 3 steal but had a team high 4 turnovers that were key in Mason's run.

The Coach Paul Graham Era at Georgia State ends at 1-1. 

Coming next week: My thoughts on the Roster Moving Forward into the offseason and into 2011-12.