Coach Jonas Hayes took a new approach to creating a family aspect for the Georgia State basketball team during the summer.
Each morning at 7 a.m., a 15-passenger van would pull up to the student housing area and each of the players would pile in and scrunch up in those uncomfortable rows for the day’s workout. No one was excluded – including the staff — and no one complained about the inconvenience, even the players who had cars and easily could have driven themselves to practice.
“We try to get our guys around each other as much as we can,” Hayes said. “We get our guys up at 7, and we ride over here together. So, it’s a shared sacrifice. Nobody wants to get in a 15-passenger van … and we’re jamming some big ol’ fellas in there. But you know what? There’s been no pushback on that.”
The team eats breakfast together, another lesson that Hayes learned while growing up in a family that ate meals and talked things out at the kitchen table. He has used mealtimes with the players to help build a more cohesive atmosphere.
“We’re from the South, and the biggest time you fellowship with one another is over a meal,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing. And when you take an interest in someone’s life, that has nothing to do with basketball.”
The strategy seems to have worked, and the 2024-25 team already is looking like the most united group that Hayes has assembled in his three seasons. Togetherness certainly is necessary since there are 10 new scholarship players on the roster, which includes only one returning starter from last season’s team.
Toneari Lane, one of the top 3-point shooters in the Sun Belt, is the only starter to come back. Malik Ferguson, who played limited minutes, and 7-footer D.K. Dut, who was injured all season, also return.
“We were able to keep Toneari,” Hayes said. “He had people coming at him from every nook and cranny across America. He saw what we were trying to build here, and he believed in it.”
Lane averaged 13.3 points and made 86 3-pointers
Key pieces gone from last season include floor leader Dwon Odom, who transferred to Tulsa, leading scorer Lucas Taylor (Syracuse) and Ed Nnamoko (New Mexico State).
“We’re still trying to build it, and that’s sort of unnerving a little bit,” Hayes said. “It’s taken a couple of years to sort of put it together, but my faith and confidence in the program has never wavered, and I’m excited.”
Hayes signed seven transfers and added some bulk, an area where last season’s team especially was lacking a year ago. Justin Archer (6-7, senior) played two seasons at Radford and ranked third in the Big South Conference in rebounding. Cesare Edwards (6-10, senior) transferred from Missouri State; he was with Hayes the two previous seasons at Xavier. Nick McMullen (6-8, senior) started the past two seasons at North Carolina-Asheville and helped the team win the Big South Conference as a freshman. Zarique Nutter (6-7, senior) was the second-leading scorer at Northern Illinois and put up 22 against Georgia State last season.
“What I thought we missed the boat on last year was we lost the blocks,” Hayes said. “We lost it in the trenches, and that’s nothing against the guys last year because we were undersized and didn’t have a lot of depth. We started identifying areas where we need to have massive improvements and getting better in the trenches was No. 1. Well, we checked that box.”
Backcourt transfers are Buford product Malachi Brown, who transferred from Seton Hall, Wheeler graduate Jelani Hamilton, who transferred from Iowa State, and Darnell Evans, who transferred from Caldwell (N.J.) University after averaging 23.5 points, fifth-best in NCAA Division II.
Incoming freshmen are Trey Scott, the 6-foot-11 son of Georgia Tech great Dennis Scott, guard Jason Jackson of Sarasota, Florida, who played for Atlanta’s Overtime Elite, and Clash Peters, a 6-10 forward from Raleigh, North Carolina, who is the nephew of former Duke star Cherokee Parks.
“They have been exactly who we thought they were,” Hayes said. “We do have guys that are more vocal leaders instead of guys that are concerned about leading themselves. When you are concerned with somebody else’s success as much as yours, that’s the definition of camaraderie.”
While the schedule has not been released, the team announced it would be playing at Kentucky on Nov. 29. It will be their third visit to Rupp Arena.
The Panthers have shut down summer workouts and are off until Aug. 23, when limited workouts are allowed. The first day of practice will come Sept. 23.
