Ike Smith is one of 10 returning lettermen for the Eagles.
Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics
Men's Basketball Wraps Up First Week of Practice
9/30/2019 11:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO – A lot of familiar faces took the floor for the first official men's basketball practice last Wednesday, and the Eagles will not need to spend any time on introductions or "getting to know your teammate" games.
GS began full team practices in July before embarking on a seven-day trip to Spain which saw the Eagles win three games. The goals going into the sojourn were to get better at basketball, experience and learn about other cultures and grow closer together, and GS hit the mark on all three. With the start of preseason workouts, the focus shifts to improving on a daily basis.
"Everybody in the country is starting at the bottom of the mountain," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington. "We're trying to have a constant climb of improvement, get better every day and then we'll see where it ends up taking us. If we have the right mentality of getting better every day, I think we'll have a good team."
Georgia Southern reached 20 wins for the third time in five years in 2018-19, posting a 21-12 mark for the second consecutive season. It's the first time GS has won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons in 30 years, and GS returns three starters and 10 lettermen for 2019-20, including 68 percent of its scoring and 69 percent of its rebounding.
Preseason publications are high on the Eagles again this season. Athlon Sports picks the Eagles to win the Sun Belt Conference and named junior Quan Jackson and senior Ike Smith preseason first-team all-conference. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook picked Georgia Southern second in its Sun Belt Preseason Poll, and the publication named Jackson to its preseason all-league team.
Smith, who received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA to compete this season, enters the year ranked 13th on the school's career Division I scoring list. He needs 21 points and eight rebounds to become the fifth Eagle with 1,500 career points and 500 boards. Jackson, a third-team All-Sun Belt selection a season ago, is back and enters his junior campaign 309 points shy of 1,000 after averaging 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and two steals a contest last year.
The Eagle coaching staff will hold a Coaching for Development clinic Oct. 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse, where Coaches for all levels are invited to attend practice. Admission is free, and participants will have the opportunity to watch a full practice and receive tips on how to plan practice and engage players. For more information, contact Eagle assistant coach Ben Betts at bbettsjr@georgiasouthern.edu or 912-678-0255.
The Eagles renewed a long-time series with local rival Mercer last season, and the Bears are set to visit Hanner Fieldhouse, along with Radford, which shared the Big South regular-season title, as part of Georgia Southern's 14-game home slate. Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina will visit Statesboro for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign as part of home-and-home Sun Belt series as the conference schedule expands to 20 games for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
Season tickets for the 2019-20 season start at $100 for general admission seating and $140 for reserved seats. Tickets can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets.
Gallery: (9/25/2019) Men's Basketball Practice 9/25/19
GS began full team practices in July before embarking on a seven-day trip to Spain which saw the Eagles win three games. The goals going into the sojourn were to get better at basketball, experience and learn about other cultures and grow closer together, and GS hit the mark on all three. With the start of preseason workouts, the focus shifts to improving on a daily basis.
"Everybody in the country is starting at the bottom of the mountain," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington. "We're trying to have a constant climb of improvement, get better every day and then we'll see where it ends up taking us. If we have the right mentality of getting better every day, I think we'll have a good team."
Georgia Southern reached 20 wins for the third time in five years in 2018-19, posting a 21-12 mark for the second consecutive season. It's the first time GS has won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons in 30 years, and GS returns three starters and 10 lettermen for 2019-20, including 68 percent of its scoring and 69 percent of its rebounding.
Preseason publications are high on the Eagles again this season. Athlon Sports picks the Eagles to win the Sun Belt Conference and named junior Quan Jackson and senior Ike Smith preseason first-team all-conference. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook picked Georgia Southern second in its Sun Belt Preseason Poll, and the publication named Jackson to its preseason all-league team.
Smith, who received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA to compete this season, enters the year ranked 13th on the school's career Division I scoring list. He needs 21 points and eight rebounds to become the fifth Eagle with 1,500 career points and 500 boards. Jackson, a third-team All-Sun Belt selection a season ago, is back and enters his junior campaign 309 points shy of 1,000 after averaging 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and two steals a contest last year.
The Eagle coaching staff will hold a Coaching for Development clinic Oct. 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse, where Coaches for all levels are invited to attend practice. Admission is free, and participants will have the opportunity to watch a full practice and receive tips on how to plan practice and engage players. For more information, contact Eagle assistant coach Ben Betts at bbettsjr@georgiasouthern.edu or 912-678-0255.
The Eagles renewed a long-time series with local rival Mercer last season, and the Bears are set to visit Hanner Fieldhouse, along with Radford, which shared the Big South regular-season title, as part of Georgia Southern's 14-game home slate. Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina will visit Statesboro for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign as part of home-and-home Sun Belt series as the conference schedule expands to 20 games for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
Season tickets for the 2019-20 season start at $100 for general admission seating and $140 for reserved seats. Tickets can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets.
Players Mentioned
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