Archive for November, 2012

By Stan Awtrey

For the AJC

With two seconds showing on the clock and the ball at the wrong end of the court, Georgia State coach Ron Hunter called an old familiar play. Only this time it worked.

Georgia State’s Rashaad Richardson launched a well-defended jumper from just over the half-court line that miraculously went in to give the Panthers a 59-57 win over Tennessee State on Tuesday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the GSU Sports Arena.

“I’ve probably run it 20 times, and we’ve never made it,” Hunter said.

He knows it works now, but only because he heard the crowd’s reaction. Hunter didn’t see the ball actually go in, but was pretty sure when he saw the court was flooded by GSU students and his players sprawled on top of each other in a dogpile. The next thing you now Richardson was being carried around on the shoulders of fans as Hunter pounded his fists in exultation on press row and howled with the fans.

Richardson, “That was pretty cool.”

Tennessee State took …

Continue reading Richardson’s buzzer-beater lifts GSU to victory »

Georgia State has expressed an interest in talking to Virginia Tech’s Shane Beamer about its football coaching job, his father Frank, told the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press earlier today. Beamer said that Georgia State hasn’t asked for permission to talk to Shane.

Shane Beamer is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Hokies, where he’s been the past two seasons working for Frank, the Hokies’ longtime coach.

He declined to say Monday if he was going to interview, saying he was focused on Saturday’s game against Virginia.

Georgia State declined to comment because it’s an ongoing coaching search. A call to Beamer’s agent hasn’t been returned.

Beamer, 35, has worked all over the South after playing and graduating from Virginia Tech in 1999. He started as a graduate assistant in Georgia Tech in 2000, before moving to Tennessee in 2001, where he earned a master’s in sport science in 2003. He spent three seasons at Mississippi State, first coaching …

Continue reading Georgia State interested in Shane Beamer, according to report »

Devonta White and James Vincent haven’t had the best starts to the season for Georgia State.

But Vincent tied a school record with nine blocks and White scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Panthers to a 62-49 victory in Monday’s home opener against Monmouth at the Sports Arena.

Afterward, coach Ron Hunter was more pleased with one than the other.

“We won for two reasons. No. 1, our defense carried us and the other was our big fella came to play,” Hunter said, slapping Vincent’s thigh.

The 6-10 Vincent, who has had issues with consistency, was too much for Monmouth’s front court, which didn’t feature a player taller than 6-9. He tied a record first set by Sylvester Morgan against Mercer in 2005. Georgia State finished with 13, one short of tying the school record set against Florida International last year. Partially because of Vincent, Georgia State’s defense limited the Hawks to 27.8 percent shooting.

Vincent, who finished with five points and eight …

Continue reading Vincent, White lead GSU to first victory »

Georgia State’s Albert Wilson was named the Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association earlier today by the conference’s coaches.

Wilson led the conference with a kickoff return average of 25.9 yards to make the all-conference first team in that category. Wilson shared player-of-the-year honor with William and Mary’s B.W. Webb.

Wilson, a junior from Port St. Lucie, Fla., was also named third-team all-conference as a wide receiver after catching 48 passes for 947 yards with seven touchdowns. He led the conference by averaging 164.5 all-purpose yards per game.

Matt Hubbard, a sophomore from Peachtree City, earned second-team all-conference honors after averaging 43.1 yards per punt.

Donald Russell was named third team after finishing with 747 rushing yards. He led the CAA before sustaining a season-ending knee injury against Villanova in the eighth game.

Former Collins Hill star Taylor Heinicke was named the CAA’s Offensive Player of the Year.

– …

Continue reading Albert Wilson shares CAA Special Teams Player of the Year Award »

Georgia State, 0-2 after opening with the two toughest games it will likely play this year, will play its first home game when it hosts Monmouth at 7 p.m. Monday at the Sports Arena.

The game is part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, which will also feature Tennessee State (0-3) and South Alabama (2-0), who will face off at 4 p.m. Monday.

The Panthers will host Tennessee State, coached by former Georgia State player Travis Williams, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, before hosting South Alabama at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Georgia State is coming off losses at Duke and at BYU in which the offense had difficulties during stretches. The team is shooting 36.2 percent, including a dismal 22.2 percent from the 3-point arc. Defensively,  opponents are hitting 51.4 percent of their shots, including 43.2 percent of their 3-pointers.

The Panthers feature three scorers who are averaging at least 13 points per game in Devonta White (16.5), Manny Atkins (13) and R.J. Hunter (13), but no other player is …

Continue reading Georgia State preparing for first home hoops game »

Georgia State held its football banquet Thursday and Donald Russell, Albert Wilson and Terrance Woodard were named the team’s most valuable players.

Russell, a senior, rushed for 747 yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Villanova.

Wilson, a junior, led the team in receiving with 947 yards, punt returns with 94 yards, and kick returns with 751 yards.

Woodard, a junior, was third on the team with 59 tackles despite playing most of the season with an injured ankle.

Russell, safety Kail Singleton and long-snapper Scott McQueen were named permanent team captains. Linebackers Akeen Felder and Mark Hogan were given scholar-athlete awards.

Jan-Mai Davidson and Nermin Delic were named the top scout players.

Running back Rosevelt Watson received the Magnanimitas Award. Magnanimitas is a Latin word meaning “greatness of spirit.”

– Doug Roberson, AJC. Please follow me on twitter @ajcgsu

Continue reading Georgia State holds football banquet »

Things have been mostly quiet regarding Georgia State’s search for a football coach to replace Bill Curry.

Curry announced in August that he would retire from coaching after the season. The Panthers’ season ended last week.

Cheryl Levick hired Parker Executive Search to assist in the targeting and vetting of candidates (which also circumvents Open Records Requests laws).

Georgia State’s bye week came at the end of the season, meaning most FCS schools and FBS schools are still playing.

If Georgia State is searching for a coach who is currently employed, and my take is that’s a safe bet, then it’s doubtful that Levick and/or Parker have made contact with potential clients. Though I’m sure it happens, it’s not a good practice to contact coaches whose seasons aren’t finished.

Levick has said she hopes to make the hire sooner rather than later because the next coach has a lot of recruiting to do with the move to the Sun Belt happening next year. The team has nine …

Continue reading Georgia State’s coaching search continues … and who is on my list? »

There were many reasons Georgia State’s football team slumped to a 1-10 record in 2012, according to Bill Curry, who retired from coaching after last week’s loss at Maine.

• Injuries wiped out the defensive line.

• Inexperienced quarterbacks.

• A spiritual disconnect.

All three combined to take what could have been a happy send-off for Curry and from the Colonial Athletic Association, instead turning it into a “what are we in for” dread with the team next year moving to the Sun Belt Conference, where the competition will be tougher.

Curry took the blame for the failures.

“Each of us can share responsibility but the head coach is primary,” he said.

The good news is just 12 players used up their eligibility, meaning the next coach, whom athletic director Cheryl Levick hopes to hire sooner rather than later, will inherit a roster that has gained a lot of experience. The bad news is the team’s record has gotten progressively worse, leading to questions of how …

Continue reading Wrapping up Georgia State’s football season and looking ahead to 2013 »

Georgia State (0-2) was blitzed by BYU 80-62 last night in Provo, Utah.

The Panthers fell behind by 29 points midway through the first half because they couldn’t make a shot and the Cougars couldn’t miss.

The good news, if you are a fan and were listening to Dave Cohen last night, was assistant coach Claude Pardue noted that the Panthers actually outscored BYU in the game’s last 30 minutes.

1. Don’t worry that the team is 0-2. First, last year’s squad started 0-3 and won 22 games. Second, Georgia State won’t play a team with a big man as good as the two they just faced in Duke’s Mason Plumlee and BYU’s Brandon Davies. Davies finished with 28 points and no one on State’s team sounded like they could handle him. Having said that …

2. Do worry about the offense. The team is supposed to be much better at shooting than last year’s team, but that’s not evident so far. The Panthers missed 19 of their 22 3-pointers, including a miserable 2-of-12 in the first half when the game got out …

Continue reading Three thoughts after Georgia State’s loss at BYU »

Georgia State’s men’s basketball team (0-1) will take on BYU (1-0) in Provo at 9 p.m. tonight.

Panthers coach Ron Hunter has seemed almost as excited about playing this game as he was about playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where his team was beaten by Duke in the season-opener.

“There will be 19,000 people there,” he said.

“I wanted to throw my kids into two of the hardest places to play in the country, at Duke and at BYU. After we get through with this, there’s not going to be anything my kids can’t fight through.”

Here are three things the Panthers need to do to beat the Cougars:

1. Find ways to get Hunter open. R.J. Hunter scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Blue Devils. But he had a difficult time getting open for shots. While not a surprise that Duke focused on stopped him in the half-court and Devonta White in the open court, it was surprising that they were so effective. The Panthers will likely keep seeing the same types of defenses …

Continue reading 3 quick takes on Georgia State vs. BYU »