Men's Basketball Preseason Report No. 4
11/1/2007 4:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- With the start of the season less than two weeks away, Georgia Southern head men’s basketball coach Jeff Price is searching for consistent intensity levels from his team.
"Right now we are focusing on getting our team to realize they have to keep their intensity," said Price. "Our intensity levels are not where they need to be right now."
The Eagles faced Georgia College and State Tuesday evening in a preseason scrimmage in Hanner Fieldhouse. Price used that as a measuring stick to see where the team currently stands. All 16 players saw game action.
Seeing that the team returns only one player who averaged double-figure points last season, Price is looking for different ways to score.
“Since we are not a great scoring team, we need to be the best offensive rebounding team in the league, so that's been something we've emphasized a lot.”
GETTING THEIR WINGS
The departure of Jimmy Tobias to graduation means the Eagles will feature a new face at the wing position. Tobias missed just one start in his two years in Statesboro, but replacing him are three upperclassmen.
Junior Julian Allen (Waterbury, Conn.) is a former Connecticut state player of the year and the first Price recruit to be named a junior college all-American. Allen averaged 20 points and five rebounds per game last season at Garden City Community College in Kansas.
Among the returning players is senior Matt Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.), who in his first season was fifth on the team in scoring at 6.0 ppg. Fields missed over a month last season with a foot injury immediately following a stretch where he averaged 10.7 points over three games. Also returning is senior Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.), a two-year letterwinner, who will look to improve on his 3.0 ppg average a season ago.
“I've been impressed with Anthony Marshall's play,” said Price. “He's done a great job. Julian Allen is coming along, but everything is new for him.”
