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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
The Eagles were 8-1 at home in Sun Belt games.
Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Men's Basketball: Season in Review
3/27/2017 11:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles return all 11 scholarship players in 2017-18.
The Georgia Southern men's basketball program continued its upward arc in 2016-17. The Eagles improved their overall record (18-15) and Sun Belt record (11-7) and played in the postseason for the first time since 2006 and just the seventh time in the Division I era.
GS posted an eight-game win streak from Dec. 2-Jan. 23, its longest since the 2005-06 season, and Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI of 122 is the second-highest in the last 27 seasons, just behind the ranking of 111 in 2015, head coach Mark Byington's second season.
The best news is that all 11 scholarship student-athletes return to the 2017-18 roster and will be joined by transfer Jared Hamilton and redshirt freshman Quan Jackson, both of whom sat out last season. Below is a look back at the 2016-17 campaign.
Postseason Honors
Tookie Brown and Ike Smith earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors and were named first-team all-district by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The duo ranked first and second in the Sun Belt in scoring.
Smith ranked first in the Sun Belt in scoring (19.6 ppg) and field goals made (230), second in free throws made (127) and fifth in field goal percentage (.498). The sophomore led the Eagles in scoring in 17 games and scored over 20 points 19 times. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Week Jan. 24 and finished the campaign just two points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
Brown earned both honors for the second straight season. The sophomore currently ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring (17.1 ppg), first in free throws made (148), sixth in steals (1.4/gm) and fourth in assists (4.0/gm). He scored 20-plus points in six straight games from Dec. 15-Jan. 9 and scored 20-plus points 14 times this season and 30-plus twice. Brown led the Eagles in scoring 12 times and was named Sun Belt Player of the Week Jan. 3. He became the first sophomore in school history to go over 1,000 points for his career after netting 32 at Appalachian State Feb. 13.
Brown (Jan. 3), Smith (Jan. 24) and Mike Hughes (Feb. 7) were all named Sun Belt Player of the Week during the season.
Sun Belt Success
The Eagles finished third in the Sun Belt league standings and have finished in the top-three in two of their three seasons in the league. GS joins UTA and Louisiana as the only three teams to reach double digit wins in conference play in each of the last three seasons and has the third most league victories (36) during that time. The Eagles started 7-0 in league play for the first time since the 1991-92 campaign, when GS won its first nine games in the Trans America Athletic Conference.
Talking 1K
Sophomore Tookie Brown scored his 1,000th career point at Appalachian State Feb. 13. He is the first Eagle in the program's modern era to reach the mark as a sophomore. Two Eagles did it in their second seasons at Georgia Southern (Elton Nesbitt and Johnny Mills).
Junior Mike Hughes reached the 1,000-point mark against Utah Valley in the final game of the season, and Ike Smith needs just two points to reach the mark.
The last time GS had three 1,000-point scorers on the roster was in 2014-15, when Jelani Hewitt, Eric Ferguson and Trent Wiedeman led the Eagles to the Sun Belt championship game (Wiedeman scored 886 points at College of Charleston before transferring to GS).
3 > 2
Georgia Southern's top-3 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Byington's tenure. GS ranked first in the SBC in threes per game (9.2) and 32nd in the country this season, and the Eagles made 10 or more threes in a game 15 times. GS's .362 percentage from long distance is the eighth-highest in school history.
High-Flying Eagles
GS averaged 75.5 points a game, the second-most in the last 11 years. The Eagles scored over 80 12 times, including six straight games from 12/20-1/14, and scored over 90 five times, including two in a row Jan. 21 and 23. It was the first time the Eagles scored 90-plus points in back-to-back Division I games since Feb. 11 and Feb. 13, 2006.
GS shot 50 percent or better in a half in 21 games, including 60 percent or better three times. The Eagles shot 50 percent or better in both halves of a game twice (GSU, 12/31 and CCU, 1/23) and shot 50 percent or better in six games.
Taking care of the rock
Georgia Southern ranked second in the Sun Belt in fewest turnovers, turnovers per game and turnover margin. The Eagles logged single-digit turnovers in 10 games and posted a season-low six vs. Troy (1/7).
Protecting Hanner
Georgia Southern posted double-digit wins in Hanner Fieldhouse for the third straight season, finishing with a 10-3 record. Georgia Southern is 33-9 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 42 contests there and 40-15 under Byington.
Boarding the Mothership
The Eagles had 16 live broadcasts on television and streaming platforms in the regular season. Fourteen Eagle games aired on ESPN3, three aired locally on WSAV and two were on the American Sports Network (also available on WatchESPN and WatchESPN app) as part of the Sun Belt package. Non-conference Games at NC State (ACC Extra), at Mercer (ESPN3), at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) and at Florida Gulf Coast (ESPN3) were also carried.
Tough Schedule
Georgia Southern played five non-conference games against five teams that are currently in the top-100 in the NCAA RPI (Akron - 58, FGCU - 85 (twice), Minn - 20, Winthrop - 70). FGCU and Winthrop won their league tournaments and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament, while Minnesota earned an at-large bid. Sun Belt regular-season champ UTA owns an RPI of 45 and played in the NIT along with Akron. A league record six Sun Belt teams advanced to postseason play.
GS finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-6 record, its first winning record in non-conference play since 2014-15 when the Eagles went 8-3. It's just the second time in the last eight seasons that the Eagles were above .500 in non-conference games.
Youth Movement
Georgia Southern had no seniors in its rotation and started two juniors and three sophomores a majority of the season. All of Georgia Southern's scoring and rebounding will return to the 2017-18 roster.
Waiting in the Wings
Sophomore Jared Hamilton sat out the 2016-17 campaign after transferring from Jacksonville State following his freshman season. He averaged nine points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.5 minutes a game and started all 30 games in 2015-16. Hamilton reached double figures in 13 contests and scored a season-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds in 40 minutes against Tennessee State.
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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
GS posted an eight-game win streak from Dec. 2-Jan. 23, its longest since the 2005-06 season, and Georgia Southern's NCAA RPI of 122 is the second-highest in the last 27 seasons, just behind the ranking of 111 in 2015, head coach Mark Byington's second season.
The best news is that all 11 scholarship student-athletes return to the 2017-18 roster and will be joined by transfer Jared Hamilton and redshirt freshman Quan Jackson, both of whom sat out last season. Below is a look back at the 2016-17 campaign.
Postseason Honors
Tookie Brown and Ike Smith earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors and were named first-team all-district by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The duo ranked first and second in the Sun Belt in scoring.
Smith ranked first in the Sun Belt in scoring (19.6 ppg) and field goals made (230), second in free throws made (127) and fifth in field goal percentage (.498). The sophomore led the Eagles in scoring in 17 games and scored over 20 points 19 times. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Week Jan. 24 and finished the campaign just two points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
Brown earned both honors for the second straight season. The sophomore currently ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring (17.1 ppg), first in free throws made (148), sixth in steals (1.4/gm) and fourth in assists (4.0/gm). He scored 20-plus points in six straight games from Dec. 15-Jan. 9 and scored 20-plus points 14 times this season and 30-plus twice. Brown led the Eagles in scoring 12 times and was named Sun Belt Player of the Week Jan. 3. He became the first sophomore in school history to go over 1,000 points for his career after netting 32 at Appalachian State Feb. 13.
Brown (Jan. 3), Smith (Jan. 24) and Mike Hughes (Feb. 7) were all named Sun Belt Player of the Week during the season.
Sun Belt Success
The Eagles finished third in the Sun Belt league standings and have finished in the top-three in two of their three seasons in the league. GS joins UTA and Louisiana as the only three teams to reach double digit wins in conference play in each of the last three seasons and has the third most league victories (36) during that time. The Eagles started 7-0 in league play for the first time since the 1991-92 campaign, when GS won its first nine games in the Trans America Athletic Conference.
Talking 1K
Sophomore Tookie Brown scored his 1,000th career point at Appalachian State Feb. 13. He is the first Eagle in the program's modern era to reach the mark as a sophomore. Two Eagles did it in their second seasons at Georgia Southern (Elton Nesbitt and Johnny Mills).
Junior Mike Hughes reached the 1,000-point mark against Utah Valley in the final game of the season, and Ike Smith needs just two points to reach the mark.
The last time GS had three 1,000-point scorers on the roster was in 2014-15, when Jelani Hewitt, Eric Ferguson and Trent Wiedeman led the Eagles to the Sun Belt championship game (Wiedeman scored 886 points at College of Charleston before transferring to GS).
3 > 2
Georgia Southern's top-3 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Byington's tenure. GS ranked first in the SBC in threes per game (9.2) and 32nd in the country this season, and the Eagles made 10 or more threes in a game 15 times. GS's .362 percentage from long distance is the eighth-highest in school history.
High-Flying Eagles
GS averaged 75.5 points a game, the second-most in the last 11 years. The Eagles scored over 80 12 times, including six straight games from 12/20-1/14, and scored over 90 five times, including two in a row Jan. 21 and 23. It was the first time the Eagles scored 90-plus points in back-to-back Division I games since Feb. 11 and Feb. 13, 2006.
GS shot 50 percent or better in a half in 21 games, including 60 percent or better three times. The Eagles shot 50 percent or better in both halves of a game twice (GSU, 12/31 and CCU, 1/23) and shot 50 percent or better in six games.
Taking care of the rock
Georgia Southern ranked second in the Sun Belt in fewest turnovers, turnovers per game and turnover margin. The Eagles logged single-digit turnovers in 10 games and posted a season-low six vs. Troy (1/7).
Protecting Hanner
Georgia Southern posted double-digit wins in Hanner Fieldhouse for the third straight season, finishing with a 10-3 record. Georgia Southern is 33-9 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 42 contests there and 40-15 under Byington.
Boarding the Mothership
The Eagles had 16 live broadcasts on television and streaming platforms in the regular season. Fourteen Eagle games aired on ESPN3, three aired locally on WSAV and two were on the American Sports Network (also available on WatchESPN and WatchESPN app) as part of the Sun Belt package. Non-conference Games at NC State (ACC Extra), at Mercer (ESPN3), at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) and at Florida Gulf Coast (ESPN3) were also carried.
Tough Schedule
Georgia Southern played five non-conference games against five teams that are currently in the top-100 in the NCAA RPI (Akron - 58, FGCU - 85 (twice), Minn - 20, Winthrop - 70). FGCU and Winthrop won their league tournaments and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament, while Minnesota earned an at-large bid. Sun Belt regular-season champ UTA owns an RPI of 45 and played in the NIT along with Akron. A league record six Sun Belt teams advanced to postseason play.
GS finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-6 record, its first winning record in non-conference play since 2014-15 when the Eagles went 8-3. It's just the second time in the last eight seasons that the Eagles were above .500 in non-conference games.
Youth Movement
Georgia Southern had no seniors in its rotation and started two juniors and three sophomores a majority of the season. All of Georgia Southern's scoring and rebounding will return to the 2017-18 roster.
Waiting in the Wings
Sophomore Jared Hamilton sat out the 2016-17 campaign after transferring from Jacksonville State following his freshman season. He averaged nine points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.5 minutes a game and started all 30 games in 2015-16. Hamilton reached double figures in 13 contests and scored a season-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds in 40 minutes against Tennessee State.
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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
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