Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Men’s Basketball Signs Four for 2014-15
11/15/2013 3:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles add recruits from Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern men's basketball has signed four players to National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the class of 2014 in the early signing period. The class is the first full recruiting class for first-year head coach Mark Byington. These student-athletes will begin play in the 2014-15 season, Georgia Southern's first in the Sun Belt Conference.
"This is our first true recruiting class at Georgia Southern and I am very excited about this group and the impact they will make on our basketball program and university," said Coach Byington. "My staff worked very hard to find players that would fit our style, GSU's values, and help us reach a championship level as we enter the Sun Belt Conference next year."
Jake Allsmiller
SG – Nashville, Tenn.
6-4 – 190 – Christ Presbyterian Academy
A dangerous three-point shooter, Jake Allsmiller will continue his basketball career at Georgia Southern. Averaging 10.8 points per game last season, Allsmiller is one of the state's top three-point shooters with 328 career makes from downtown. As a junior, he helped Christ Presbyterian Academy to its second-straight Class AA Championship in 2013.
"Jake is as good of a shooter as I can ever remember recruiting and is one of the top shooters in the country," said Byington. "He has made over 100 3-pointers every year in high school and has a chance to make 500 3-pointers in his career. Because he is such a good shooter, people sometime fail to realize the other facets to his game that he does very well. He has great size for wing and comes from an athletic family. Jake plays for a very good high school and they have won back to back state championships. He has been well coached by former Vanderbilt standout Drew Maddox at CPA and he will adjust quickly to college. Jake is very good student and should excel in the classroom and on the basketball court."
The product of an athletic family, Jake's father was a standout post player from 1978-81 for Vanderbilt while his mother played Tennis at Tennessee. Allsmiller turned down offers from LSU, Miami of Ohio, Wright State, Mercer and Vanderbilt to come to Georgia Southern.
Devonte Boykins
PG – Forest City, N.C.
6-2 – 185 – East Rutherford High School
A point guard out of Forest City, N.C., Devonte Boykins is ranked as one of the top players out of the Tar Heel State this season. He averaged 12.2 points, four assists and four and a half rebounds per game last season, earning all-conference honors a year ago, coming back from injury. As a freshman, Devonte helped the Cavaliers to a state championship.
"The first two words I would use to describe Devonte are 'winner' and 'tough.' He is a very quick point guard that possesses great ability for the position," said Byington. "Devonte shoots the ball very well, and can make good decisions coming off ballscreens. He understands how to impact the game at the right time with scoring and assists. Like our other recruits, he comes from a great family with an athletic background. Devonte carries over a 4.0 GPA and will use his intelligence and leadership skills to make a big impact on our program next year."
Devonte's parents both played basketball at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte. His father, Robert, was a college roommate and teammate of Eagle Assistant Coach Larry Dixon. Devonte's brother, DeVince Boykins, is a starting guard at Marshall now in his sophomore season. Boykins chose to play at Georgia Southern over offers from UNC Wilmington, Furman, Western Carolina and Marshall.
Shawn O'Connell
SF – Alpharetta, Ga.
6-8 – 190 – Milton High School
A 6-8 forward, Shawn O'Connell will join Georgia Southern for the 2014-15 campaign. A long forward, O'Connell was ranked as one of the top players in Georgia for the Class of 2014. He averaged over 13 points a game and was a first team all-region selection as a junior. Despite his size, he has the ability to shoot the three-pointer and drive to the rim from the perimeter.
"It took me about 10 seconds of watching Shawn this summer before I called my assistant coach to let him know that Shawn is the player that we need," said Byington. "Shawn is a combo forward that will excel in our system because of his skill set. He is athletic, has range to the 3 point line, can drive the ball and can be trusted to make good decisions. Every time Shawn takes the court, he plays very hard and is extremely competitive. He plays for one of the best high school programs in country and is used to playing against high level competition."
Shawn's father, Dave O'Connell played three seasons at Duke, playing in 64 total games between 1973-76. O'Connell chose to join the Eagles after receiving offers from Kennesaw State, Miami of Ohio, Winthrop, Jacksonville, Campbell, Illinois State and Rice.
Jonathan Sanks
SG – Lilburn, Ga.
6-4 – 180 – Berkmar High School
Ranked as one of the top players in Georgia for the Class of 2014, Jonathan Sanks has signed his NLI to play for the Eagles next season. Sanks was an integral part of the 2013 Berkmar team which reached the Class 6-A Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons and posted 18 wins a year ago.
"When a coach talks about a player's upside and a bright future, often it is reference to a post player; but, that is how we would describe Jonathan at the guard position," said Byington. "He is young for his class and will not turn 17 until December of 2013. Jonathan has good size, is athletic, shoots the ball well, and can make plays off the dribble. Watching him this summer, he seemed to get better and better every game and has an unlimited ceiling. His mother is an alumnus of Ga Southern and his dad has done a great job of building a football program at Berkmar High School."
Sanks' father, Jonathan, played college baseball at Southern University (La.) and is in his fourth season as Head Football Coach at Berkmar High School. His mother, Shana Carter, is a 2001 graduate of Georgia Southern.
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 and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
"This is our first true recruiting class at Georgia Southern and I am very excited about this group and the impact they will make on our basketball program and university," said Coach Byington. "My staff worked very hard to find players that would fit our style, GSU's values, and help us reach a championship level as we enter the Sun Belt Conference next year."
Jake Allsmiller
SG – Nashville, Tenn.
6-4 – 190 – Christ Presbyterian Academy
A dangerous three-point shooter, Jake Allsmiller will continue his basketball career at Georgia Southern. Averaging 10.8 points per game last season, Allsmiller is one of the state's top three-point shooters with 328 career makes from downtown. As a junior, he helped Christ Presbyterian Academy to its second-straight Class AA Championship in 2013.
"Jake is as good of a shooter as I can ever remember recruiting and is one of the top shooters in the country," said Byington. "He has made over 100 3-pointers every year in high school and has a chance to make 500 3-pointers in his career. Because he is such a good shooter, people sometime fail to realize the other facets to his game that he does very well. He has great size for wing and comes from an athletic family. Jake plays for a very good high school and they have won back to back state championships. He has been well coached by former Vanderbilt standout Drew Maddox at CPA and he will adjust quickly to college. Jake is very good student and should excel in the classroom and on the basketball court."
The product of an athletic family, Jake's father was a standout post player from 1978-81 for Vanderbilt while his mother played Tennis at Tennessee. Allsmiller turned down offers from LSU, Miami of Ohio, Wright State, Mercer and Vanderbilt to come to Georgia Southern.
Devonte Boykins
PG – Forest City, N.C.
6-2 – 185 – East Rutherford High School
A point guard out of Forest City, N.C., Devonte Boykins is ranked as one of the top players out of the Tar Heel State this season. He averaged 12.2 points, four assists and four and a half rebounds per game last season, earning all-conference honors a year ago, coming back from injury. As a freshman, Devonte helped the Cavaliers to a state championship.
"The first two words I would use to describe Devonte are 'winner' and 'tough.' He is a very quick point guard that possesses great ability for the position," said Byington. "Devonte shoots the ball very well, and can make good decisions coming off ballscreens. He understands how to impact the game at the right time with scoring and assists. Like our other recruits, he comes from a great family with an athletic background. Devonte carries over a 4.0 GPA and will use his intelligence and leadership skills to make a big impact on our program next year."
Devonte's parents both played basketball at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte. His father, Robert, was a college roommate and teammate of Eagle Assistant Coach Larry Dixon. Devonte's brother, DeVince Boykins, is a starting guard at Marshall now in his sophomore season. Boykins chose to play at Georgia Southern over offers from UNC Wilmington, Furman, Western Carolina and Marshall.
Shawn O'Connell
SF – Alpharetta, Ga.
6-8 – 190 – Milton High School
A 6-8 forward, Shawn O'Connell will join Georgia Southern for the 2014-15 campaign. A long forward, O'Connell was ranked as one of the top players in Georgia for the Class of 2014. He averaged over 13 points a game and was a first team all-region selection as a junior. Despite his size, he has the ability to shoot the three-pointer and drive to the rim from the perimeter.
"It took me about 10 seconds of watching Shawn this summer before I called my assistant coach to let him know that Shawn is the player that we need," said Byington. "Shawn is a combo forward that will excel in our system because of his skill set. He is athletic, has range to the 3 point line, can drive the ball and can be trusted to make good decisions. Every time Shawn takes the court, he plays very hard and is extremely competitive. He plays for one of the best high school programs in country and is used to playing against high level competition."
Shawn's father, Dave O'Connell played three seasons at Duke, playing in 64 total games between 1973-76. O'Connell chose to join the Eagles after receiving offers from Kennesaw State, Miami of Ohio, Winthrop, Jacksonville, Campbell, Illinois State and Rice.
Jonathan Sanks
SG – Lilburn, Ga.
6-4 – 180 – Berkmar High School
Ranked as one of the top players in Georgia for the Class of 2014, Jonathan Sanks has signed his NLI to play for the Eagles next season. Sanks was an integral part of the 2013 Berkmar team which reached the Class 6-A Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons and posted 18 wins a year ago.
"When a coach talks about a player's upside and a bright future, often it is reference to a post player; but, that is how we would describe Jonathan at the guard position," said Byington. "He is young for his class and will not turn 17 until December of 2013. Jonathan has good size, is athletic, shoots the ball well, and can make plays off the dribble. Watching him this summer, he seemed to get better and better every game and has an unlimited ceiling. His mother is an alumnus of Ga Southern and his dad has done a great job of building a football program at Berkmar High School."
Sanks' father, Jonathan, played college baseball at Southern University (La.) and is in his fourth season as Head Football Coach at Berkmar High School. His mother, Shana Carter, is a 2001 graduate of Georgia Southern.
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 and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
Declare your Major Day 2026
Tuesday, March 31
The GATA ZONE - Spring Volleyball
Thursday, March 26
Georgia Southern Football Media Availability (3/24/26)
Wednesday, March 25
Walk & Talk, Schenkel Style: Part 2
Thursday, March 12
