Archive for November, 2012

Ron Hunter enters his second season as Georgia State’s men’s basketball coach and isn’t doing so lightly. The Panthers, 22-12 last year, will open the season at Duke on Friday.

Aside from the fact that it’s at Cameron Indoor Stadium (Hello!), the Panthers feature seven players who didn’t see a minute of action last year. Many of those, such as Manny Atkins, Markus Crider and R.J. Hunter III, will be counted on this season.

Hunter say down for a Q&A to preview the season.

The first part focused mainly on the team.

The second part:

Q: What’s the key to the Duke game?

A: Not letting the logo beat us. If somebody beats us, the players beat us. Not the coach, not the building, not the image, not what they’ve created.

A lot of times what happens is you’ll go in there and become so consumed about what’s around you that after the first seven minutes you are out of it.

It’s important that we don’t get consumed about who we are playing. It’s just like playing AAU …

Continue reading Part II of Hunter Q&A: He breaks down Duke and who holds the key to Georgia State’s season »

Bill Curry has lived a life in sports, starting from his days as a player in youth baseball in College Park, dreaming of one day taking the mound for the Yankees, to a prolific football career at Georgia Tech and then in the NFL with the Packers and Colts, among others.

He continued as a coach at Georgia Tech, followed by stints at Alabama and Kentucky. He accepted the coaching job at Georgia State in 2008 and was charged with building the program.

Curry, who turned 70 last month, will coach his last game on Saturday when the Panthers play at Maine. He announced in August that he was retiring after the season so that he could spend more time with his wife, Carolyn, their children and grandchildren.

He has thousands of memories, but he said there are six that stand out. I’m going to share one a day with you, today through Saturday.

Esteemed Colleague Steve Hummer is also working on a couple of stories about Curry that will run later this week. I’ll share …

Continue reading Curry shares the third of six special moments in sports »

Ron Hunter enters his second season as Georgia State’s men’s basketball coach and isn’t doing so lightly. The Panthers, 22-12 last year, will open the season at Duke on Friday.

Aside from the fact that it’s at Cameron Indoor Stadium (Hello!), the Panthers feature seven players who didn’t see a minute of action last year. Many of those, such as Manny Atkins, Markus Crider and R.J. Hunter III, will be counted on this season.

Hunter say down for a Q&A to preview the season.

The first part focuses mainly on the team.

The second part, which will focus on Duke, will run Thursday.

Q: Are you still planning on an eight-man rotation?

A: Yes. You’ll never have to ask me that again. It’ll always be an eight-man rotation. It’s what I’m comfortable with. I thought about going a bit deeper but I’m not.

Q: Have you decided if it will be either T.J. Shipes or LaRon Smith who will redshirt?

A: T.J. is definitely playing. We’ll just wait and see what happens with LaRon. I’m not …

Continue reading Part I in a two-part Q&A with Georgia State’s Ron Hunter »

Georgia State wide receiver Albert Wilson reiterated that he will wait until after the season to decide if he will return for his senior year, but he also said that he hasn’t considered leaving early.

Wilson caused a stir before and after last week’s loss to Old Dominion when he sent out a series of tweets that he agrees could have been interpreted to mean that he was going to leave after the season.

He later tweeted that he hadn’t told anyone that he was leaving and would decide after the year.

He clarified a few of the tweets in an interview after today’s practice.

Regarding this tweet: “I enjoyed every second playing with these boys. #GSUFootball,” Wilson said he was referring to the “special relationship” he’s had with the12 seniors who were playing their last home game. Wilson said he is particularly close to running back Rosevelt Watson, whom he considers a “big brother.”

Regarding this tweet: “Thanks for all the home support Georgia State… …

Continue reading Albert Wilson reitirates he will wait until after Georgia State’s season to decide his next step »

Bill Curry has lived a life in sports, starting from his days as a player in youth baseball in College Park, dreaming of one day taking the mound for the Yankees, to a prolific football career at Georgia Tech and then in the NFL with the Packers and Colts, among others.

He continued as a coach at Georgia Tech, followed by stints at Alabama and Kentucky. He accepted the coaching job at Georgia State in 2008 and was charged with building the program.

Curry, who turned 70 last month, will coach his last game on Saturday when the Panthers play at Maine. He announced in August that he was retiring after the season so that he could spend more time with his wife, Carolyn, their children and grandchildren.

He has thousands of memories, but he said there are six that stand out. I’m going to share one a day with you, today through Saturday.

Esteemed colleague Steve Hummer is also working on a couple of stories about Curry that will run later this week. I’ll share the links …

Continue reading Curry shares the second of six special moments in sports »

Georgia State’s Albert Wilson was named the special teams player of the week by the Colonial Athletic Association today.

Wilson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in last week’s 53-27 loss to Old Dominion in the Georgia Dome. It was the longest return in Georgia State history and was his second kickoff return for a touchdown. He also returned one against Alabama in 2010.

Wilson, a junior, finished with 156 yards on three returns. He also caught a 93-yard touchdown pass. to set a school record with 296 all-purpose yards, breaking the record of 290 he set two weeks ago against Villanova. The Panthers will play at Maine on Saturday in the season finale.

Wilson leads the CAA with 1,645 all-purpose yards this season.

“He’s an electrifying player,” Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said.

Tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi was honored by the College Football Performance Awards after catching three passes for 108 yards. It was the first time the Panthers had two 100-yard receivers in …

Continue reading Georgia State’s Albert Wilson honored; Bell suffers concussion; Curry and twitter »

Bill Curry has lived a life in sports, starting from his days as a player in Little League baseball in College Park, dreaming of one day taking the mound for the Yankees, to a prolific football career at Georgia Tech and then in the NFL with the Packers and Colts, among others.

He continued as a coach at Georgia Tech, followed by stints at Alabama and Kentucky. He accepted the coaching job at Georgia State in 2008 and was charged with building the program.

Curry, who turned 70 last month, will coach his last game on Saturday when the Panthers play at Maine. He announced in August that he was retiring after the season so that he could spend more time with his wife, Carolyn, their children and grandchildren.

He has thousands of memories, but he said there are six that stand out.

I’m going to share one a day with you, today through Saturday.

Esteemed Colleague Steve Hummer is also working on a couple of stories about Curry that will run later this week. I’ll share the links when …

Continue reading Curry shares the first of six special moments in sports »

Albert Wilson, one of Georgia State’s best football players, sent tweets on Saturday that seemed to indicate he was leaving school with a year of eligibility remaining, before later tweeting that he will decide his future after the season.

Wilson is a 5-9, 190-pound wide receiver and potentially the centerpiece on offense for whomever replaces Bill Curry next season.

From his handle, @MrKeepemFroze, he sent out a series of tweets before and after Georgia State’s 53-27  loss to Old Dominion on Saturday at the Georgia Dome, a game in which he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and also caught a 93-yard touchdown pass (from newest to oldest in batch):

• When asked if he had one more year, he replied: “yeah, but off to bigger & better things..”
• “Last Home Game!!! #BrokenRecords“
• “Thanks for all the home support Georgia State… #ItsBeenReal“
• “Last home game!”
• “I enjoyed every second playing with these boys. #GSUFootball“

Later asked twice on twitter if he is leaving after …

Continue reading Albert Wilson says he will decide his future at Georgia State after the season »

Georgia State coach Bill Curry was emotionally choked up before Saturday’s game against Old Dominion, but ultimately he left with the familiar feeling of disappointment.

Curry, who is retiring after the season, was coaching his last home game at the Georgia Dome. He was honored, along with the team’s 12 seniors, before the game when he learned that the locker room in the team’s practice facility will now bear his name.

But the players, who said they wanted to send him out with a win, couldn’t stop making the same types of mistakes in the first half that they’ve made most of the season in a 53-27 loss to the Monarchs.

“Even today with all of the honoring of the seniors and wonderful gestures that were made, which I deeply appreciate, we didn’t come anywhere close to playing to our potential,” he said. “Yes, we fought back and yes we always do but when you are down that far to a really good football team, you’ve made it so difficult that you have to be perfect …

Continue reading Georgia State falls to ODU in Curry’s final home game »

Georgia State will name the locker room at its practice facility after Bill Curry.

Curry, the architect and coach of the program, is retiring after the season.

The announcement was made before Saturday’s game against Old Dominion at the Georgia Dome. Athletic director Cheryl Levick unveiled a sign that said William “Bill” Curry locker room.

Curry was hired in 2008 and has guided the team to a 10-21 record.

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

Continue reading GSU naming locker room after Curry »