After a season to remember, Georgia State will try to contribute another few seconds to its portion in “One Shining Moment” without many of the key pieces that contributed to the famous win over third-seeded Baylor in the NCAA tournament.
Gone are R.J. Hunter, Ryan Harrow, Curtis Washington and Ryann Green. Returning are Markus Crider, Kevin Ware, T.J. Shipes, Jalen Brown, Jordan Session and Isaiah Dennis.
After an exhibition against Oglethorpe on Monday, the Panthers will start the regular season hosting Middle Georgia State on Nov. 13.
Here are three things that could shape the season:
Finding shooters to replace the more than 40 points that left with all those departures.
Actually, this may not be a problem. Yes, Hunter left as the school’s all-time leading scorer. Yes, Harrow was one of the best, if not the best, in the Sun Belt Conference at getting to the basket and making a layup, drawing a foul, or both. Yes, Green could make the occasional 3-pointer and Washington the occasional basket in the post.
But this version of the Panthers will feature at least three players who can make 3-pointers with possibly the same success as Hunter or Harrow.
“I didn’t think we were very good last year offensively,” coach Ron Hunter said. “Offensively, we had Ryan Harrow and R.J., but that’s all we had. You can see four or five guys in double figures easily this year. Offensively this is the type of team I like to coach. I feel more confident coaching this group than I do where you have two guys getting most of the points.”
Jeff Thomas was predicted to be a starter last season because of his 3-point shooting, until an issue with his high school transcript led to him taking a redshirt season.
Indiana transfer Jeremy Hollowell is a big man who likes to step out and shoot 3-pointers, something Georgia State hasn’t had under Hunter.
Lastly, Samford transfer Isaiah Williams was named the Southern Conference freshman of the year two years ago after averaging 11.9 points. He can make 3-pointers. Freshman Malik Benlevi can also make the long shot.
So there are four new players who should be decent 3-point shooters.
Additionally, Crider is excellent in the high post, and Session and Dennis showed solid offensive progress in the season’s final few games. Once Hunter and Ware realized that his game doesn’t involve shooting 3-pointers, he flashed his ability to get to the basket almost as easily as Harrow.
So, the Panthers might actually score more and shoot better than they did last year in averaging 71.4 points on 48-percent shooting and 33.3 percent 3-point shooting.
Improving the 3-point defense and rebounding.
Georgia State lost 10 games last season. In those losses, Georgia State was either outrebounded or gave up 3-pointers too easily or both.
The Panthers were outrebounded in seven of those losses by margins from 2 to 18 points. In the 10 losses, the defense allowed averages of 45.7-percent shooting and 38.6 percent 3-point shooting.
Some of that is the production of the zone defenses that Hunter prefers. Some of it is a function of personnel, skills and understanding the system.
With the exception of one, maybe two freshmen who may play, every player Hunter will use will have at least one season of at least practicing or watching his various defenses.
Who will handle the ball for the first 38 minutes, and who will handle it in the final 2 minutes?
The Panthers won 25 games last season without a true point guard.
Harrow was very good with the ball, but was more of a shooting guard. Ware was good with the ball, but might be better off the ball where he can receive a pass as he’s flashing into the free-throw lane.
The two point-guard candidates are Williams and Dennis. Dennis was a very pleasant surprise as the end of last season, with 10 points in 18 minutes against Louisiana-Lafayette in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tournament and eight points in 21 minutes in the win against Baylor. He’s very quick and a very explosive jumper, but his forte will be defense.
Williams may also serve as point guard in the game’s first 38 minutes. But in the final two minutes, Williams may be the go-to guy because of his ability to make free throws and 3-pointers.
