Georgia Southern Men's Basketball Anticipates 2009-10 Season
11/10/2009 9:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. -- The Georgia Southern men's basketball team has only two full practices left before opening the 2009-2010 season on Friday, Nov. 13th against Reinhardt College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and is part of the 2009 Homecoming Week activities. Leading the program is Eagle alumnus and first-year head coach Charlton "C.Y." Young, class of 1994. Young was a four-year letterwinner from 1989-93 and started 97 consecutive games at point guard. He took leadership of the program in April 2009.
"We have gotten a lot accomplished in the last six months," said Coach Young. "We have had success in several different aspects of our program: building our staff, recruiting, and getting our team acclimated to our system, and hopefully all the while attracting more interest in Eagle basketball."
Over the last several months, Young has certainly gained the attention of his players on matters both on the court and in the classroom. "The guys in the program, they have recommitted, and they have been working," Young said. "I tell them if they keep working, the score is going to take care of itself."
While Young has promised a fast pace on offense, the premium will still be on defense and rebounding.
"We plan to play fast, but organized, we want the easy baskets, we're going to push the ball, but our biggest emphasis will be our defense," said Young. "We want to defend, we want to rebound, but I think if you are going to win a championship in the Southern Conference, you have to be a team that holds the opponent under 40 percent field goal percentage."
Basketball Coaches to Speak at Homecoming Eagle Rally
Georgia Southern basketball coaches Rusty Cram and Charlton "C.Y." Young will be featured speakers at the Homecoming Eagle Rally Thursday, Nov. 12, the night before the season opener. The annual rally includes the basketball coaches as this weekend's homecoming marks the first combining both football and basketball. The rally begins at 7 p.m. at Erk Russell Athletic Park near the Soccer/Track Stadium.
Mini Team Posters to First 500 Fans
The first 500 fans in attendance at the season opener on Friday, Nov. 13th will receive a special four-color mini team poster courtesy of the local Statesboro McDonald's restaurants, the game sponsor. Featuring a photo of the 2009-2010 Eagles, the mini team poster is an exclusive item and is suitable for framing. The Hanner Fieldhouse doors open one hour prior to the tipoff of the 5 p.m. women's game. The men's game follows 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Lady Eagles' game.
Southern Conference Media Poll Announced
The Southern Conference media members reflected the predicted champions selected by the head coaches last week, tabbing College of Charleston and Western Carolina as the favorites to capture the conference's divisional men's basketball titles in 2009-10.
Georgia Southern was selected fifth in South Division by the media with 49 points, one spot up from the coaches' predictions. College of Charleston picked up 21 of 24 first-place votes and was the clear choice to win the South Division with 140 points. Davidson, last year's division champ, came in second with 107 points. Wofford was tabbed third with 87 points, while The Citadel was close behind with 84 points, including two first-place votes. Furman (35) was picked sixth.
Western Carolina earned 16 first-place votes and earned a total of 129 points. The Catamounts were followed by Appalachian State (109) which received five first-place votes. Samford (88) was tabbed third, narrowly edging Chattanooga (84), which picked up two first-place votes. Elon (51) was slotted fifth while UNC Greensboro (43) earned the final first-place vote in the division.
The regular season opens Friday, November 13 when nine teams hit the court. Eleven of the 12 SoCon teams will begin play over that weekend.
Louis Graham Selected in Fourth Round of NBA-D Draft by Reno
Former Georgia Southern forward Louis Graham was selected in the fourth round of the NBA-D Draft by the Reno Bighorns last Thursday, Nov. 5. Graham was one of 200 players in the draft pool and was the 58th player taken overall. Opening-day 10-man rosters must be set by Nov. 25 in anticipation of the Nov. 27 tip off of the NBA D-League's ninth season. The Bighorns play a preseason game at Bakersfield on Nov. 24th and open the season on Nov. 28th against the Idaho Stampede.
Assistant Coach Kreider featured on CollegeChalkTalk.com
One of a select group of coaches nationwide participating in College Chalktalk's National Diary Series, Assistant Coach Chris Kreider will be writing a monthly article on the state of Georgia Southern basketball and other topics. Kreider will provide Eagle fans with information only available from the sidelines for the series. The National Diary Series is collaboration of 50 head and assistant coaches from over 20 conferences across the country sharing their insight with basketball fans. To read Coach Kreider's entry for November, visit www.CollegeChalktalk.com.
Channel Surfing
Georgia Southern's first televised game of the year will be Monday, Nov. 16th when the Eagles travel to South Carolina for a 7 p.m. contest. The 15th meeting between the two institutions will be broadcast on SportSouth. Two nights later, Fox Sports Network Florida will air the Eagles-Gators matchup with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, Georgia Southern will play host to Davidson at 2 p.m. on SportSouth for one of the 10 games selected for SoCon Saturday.
All Georgia Southern home men's and women's games and several away games will be available by subscription on the Athletics Department website. A monthly subscription is $9.95 for web broadcasts of available Eagle games. For a full schedule, visit the "Live Events" link at the bottom of the Eagle Vision graphic on www. GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Season Tickets for 2009-2010 on Sale Now
Season tickets for the 2009-2010 campaign are still available with packages to suit every schedule and budget. Fans would need to act quickly to obtain the last few lower-level season tickets, selling for $100 per seat. Upper-level season ticket seats are $50 per season ticket. This year, a flex plan, offering five tickets for $25, allows a fan to attend five single games or bring along four friends to a single game. For fans with commitment issues, single-game tickets for adults are $8 with youth single-game tickets (ages 3-12) set at $4.
Tickets may be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office at (912) GSU-WINS (478-9467) or online at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/tickets.
GSU-GSU Rivalry Renewed
On Tuesday, December 22, the Eagles will head to Atlanta to play Georgia State at the Georgia State Sports Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and the Office of Alumni Relations has organized a pre-game event for Georgia Southern alumni and friends at Six Feet Under Atlanta, adjacent to the arena.
"We are ecstatic about renewing our rivalry with Georgia State," Young said. "We felt it was important to play in Atlanta and create a "home" atmosphere with our alumni and students from the metro area."
The pre-game event at Six Feet Under Atlanta is free and open to all Georgia Southern fans. Even though the event is free, alumni should RSVP so the Alumni Relations Office can provide the caterer with an accurate head count. Tickets for the GSU-GSU basketball game must be purchased no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 through the Alumni Relations Office.
The last time the two teams met was in December 1996. In a home-and-home agreement, Georgia State will return the game in December 2010.
