Expectations are high for loaded Georgia State basketball team

Things appear nearly back to normal after last season’s COVID interruptions. The Panthers had eight games postponed, another cancelled and somehow won their last six regular-season games to earn the top seed in the East Division. GSU reached the final of the conference tournament, but lost to Appalachian State and missed a chance to reach the NCAA playoffs.

The two super seniors who return from last season’s 16-6 team are guards Kane Williams and Corey Allen. Williams was second-team all-conference in 2019-20 and averaged 12.9 points last season. Allen was second-team all-conference last season when he led the team with 15 points per games and added 4.2 rebounds.

Lanier was especially effusive in his praise of Allen, who shed 25 pounds and has emerged as one of the team’s leaders.

“Corey Allen has assumed the role inside our team as the hardest worker,” Lanier said. “... (Transfer) Jordan Rawls is new, and he’s savvy enough to say, ‘OK, I’m going to follow Corey’s example.’ Now Evan Johnson is in that group, and Kane has taken it to another level.

“Corey has entered into a space that distinguishes him from the rest of the group. There’s other guys who say, ‘I see the kind of feedback he’s getting from coach, and I want a slice of that, too.’ It starts to create a culture inside the team. When individuals are obsessed with trying to become great, that can become contagious.”

Other returning seniors are center Eliel Nsoseme, who last season became the seventh player in program history to average a double-double (11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 27 blocks), and guard Justin Roberts, one of the elite defenders in the conference, averaged 13.2 points and 4.6 assists.

The other returning starter is Jalen Thomas, a 6-foot-10 junior who developed an effective hook shot and enjoyed a breakthrough season. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds against Sun Belt competition and was second in the league in blocks.

Also back are Evan Johnson (7.3 points), Collin Moore (4.5 point), Kaleb Scott and Kalik Brooks, who were regulars in the rotation.

The Panthers get sixth-man Nelson Phillips back after missing last season with a knee injury; he averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds as a sophomore and is a matchup problem with his quickness and jumping ability. They added Rawls, a Western Kentucky transfer who was on the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2019-20. Rawls averaged 8.1 points in 58 games (21 starts) in two seasons with the Hilltoppers.

The group of incoming freshmen is headlined by Chien-Hao Ma, a 6-foot-7 import from Chinese Taipei who brings extensive international experience, and Ja’Heim Hudson, who played on back-to-back state championship teams at Wheeler High School.

“Ma is immensely talented,” Lanier said. “If you’re watching him shoot, even when he misses it, it just looks good coming out of his hands. … And he likes it when it comes out of his hands. He’s still adapting to the American game, the American college game in a lot of ways. He has some moments, but he is a tremendous offensive talent who has a bright future in our program.”

Georgia State will play Clayton State in an exhibition game Nov. 5 and open the regular season Nov. 9 against Brewton-Parker.