Maria Urbina, the custodial worker who has watched a lot of Georgia State basketball, stepped out of Tuesday’s practice and confidently said, “Jeff looks good.”
Jeff would be Jeff Thomas, who was supposed to be a sharpshooter alongside R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow in the backcourt on last year’s NCAA tournament team. Instead, a high school transcript issue forced him to take a redshirt year.
Expectations were already high for Thomas. Ron Hunter, R.J.’s father, said last year he thought Thomas might be a better 3-point shooter than his son and pegged him as a starter before the season.
Hunter’s opinion hasn’t changed as Thomas and the new-look Panthers, minus Hunter, Harrow and a slew of other players, seek to impress Urbina and Georgia State’s fans starting with next Monday’s exhibition against Oglethorpe.
“R.J. can make shots with guys in his face, but that consistent shot, I think Jeff might have beaten R.J. out a little bit,” Ron Hunter said. “Jeff, defensively, is still a ways away. He’s so talented offensively.”
Oddly, Hunter’s belief that Thomas will start may not come true because he isn’t the only new bright spot on the team. Another freshman, Malik Benlevi, is pushing for playing time and while Hunter said one of them will start Monday, he’s not sure which one.
“My two freshmen have been absolutely outstanding,” he said. “You know I do not like playing freshmen. I have no choice right now.”
They are very different players.
Thomas, 6-foot-5, averaged 18 points as a senior at Norwalk High in Ohio. In Tuesday’s practice, he popped out on the wing and drained a 3-pointer with the flick of a wrist, leading to Urbina’s declaration. He is comfortable with the comparisons to R.J. and believes he will one day be able to score in the variety of ways that Hunter could.
“It’s tough when people expect things because I don’t want to let them down,” he said. “I’ve usually been good at (meeting expectations), but it’s a different competition this year.”
Though Thomas is one-inch taller, Benlevi looks bigger because he might be the most physically developed freshman to join Georgia State’s team in recent years.
During Tuesday’s practice, Benlevi played at the top of a 1-3-1 zone and anyone trying to dribble around him couldn’t penetrate because of Benlevi’s quickness, strength and length. Though he is 6-4, Benlevi said he has the wingspan of a player who is 6-11. He has also played on the wing and inside.
Though he said he is still learning Hunter’s preferred zone defenses after playing mostly man-to-man at Jenkins High in Savannah, Benlevi’s defense may earn him a starting spot. But Benlevi can also hit 3-pointers and drive to the basket.
Benlevi said his goal is to become the Sun Belt’s freshman of the year. If he doesn’t start, he wants to do well enough to earn playing time because, he said, who finishes the game is more important than who starts.
If Thomas is the new Hunter, Benlevi may be the new Harrow.
“Our future with those guys is really, really good,” Hunter said. “They are high-major (conference) players that were overlooked for whatever reason. We’ve got them here and they are very talented.”
