Men's Basketball | 3/9/2016 4:21:00 PM
School visit photo gallery |
Sun Belt Championship Central |
Practice photo galleryNEW ORLEANS – Members of the Georgia Southern men's basketball team and head coach
Mark Byington spent the morning of their first full day in New Orleans at Samuel J. Green Charter School Wednesday.
The Eagles visited a kindergarten class for about an hour. After each member of the team introduced himself, Byington and the Eagles spoke to the children and a handful of eighth graders about the importance of working hard on the court and in the classroom.
"I just want them to understand the value of education," said Byington. "I'm the son of a teacher and an elementary school principal, and I value education a lot. A lot of these kids have dreams of playing sports professionally, and I want them to understand that even if they have a career in professional sports, the ball stops bouncing for everybody at some point, and they need to be ready for what comes next. Our guys always come in and laugh and have a good time with the kids - I think they may even have more fun than the kids we're visiting."
After the school visit, Georgia Southern practiced for an hour and a half at the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans Practice Facility. Georgia Southern has a shootaround slated for Thursday morning in Lakefront Arena.
Georgia Southern has earned the fifth seed in this week's Sun Belt Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The Eagles will take on eighth-seeded South Alabama Thursday at 6 p.m. ET in the first round, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Students can get free admission to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by showing their valid school ID at the ticket window.
Ticket booklets are available for $99, and Eagle fans can purchase their tickets to follow the Eagles to New Orleans through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office online at GSEagles.com/Tickets, by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or visiting the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium. By purchasing through the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office, fans can guarantee a seat behind the team bench area. Tournament ticket booklet give fans a chance to see every game in the tournament, which runs from March 10-13.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
