New ‘Cats hold promise

Anyone that hopes to follow the 2002-2003 Georgia College & State University Bobcats will need a scorecard.

Head Coach Terry Sellers has at least nine new players to work with, mainly from the junior college ranks.

The new players for the Bobcats are: Kedrick Larry, a 6-4, 174 lb. guard from Port St. Joe, Fla., Will Cantrell, 6-2, 183 lb. guard from Lilburn, Ga., Cooper Sellers, 5-11, 185 lb. guard from Milledgeville, Tylan Gatling, a 6-3, 171 lb. guard from Belcamp, Md., Rodney Plair, a 6-1, 175 lb. guard from Fayetteville, Ga., Brian Morrow, a 6-5, 194 lb. forward from Miami, Fla., Thomas Webb, a 6-8, 214 lb. forward from Douglasville, Ga., John Thomas, 6-4, 191 lb. forward from Macon, Ga., Jon Haymon, 6-10, 219 lb. forward from Conyers, Ga. and Jason Gant, 6-3, 230 lb. forward from San Antonio, Texas.

Coach Sellers emphasized the importance of getting adjusted to playing college basketball regularly.

“Until those players become tested in game situations, you really don’t know [what you have],” said Sellers. “We’re really counting on our new guys to step in and help us right away.”

One new player, Gatling, made the long trip to Milledgeville after
averaging 30 points a game at Harford Community College in Maryland. Gatling chose psychology for his major, because “I like to deal with people and the way they act.”

Larry, who won two Florida state titles while at Port St. Joe High School and later earned all-conference honors at Santa Fe Community College in Florida, chose computer science for his major because of his strong interest in computers.

“I’ve always had an interest in computers and wanted to learn much more about them,” he said.

So far, Larry has enjoyed being at GC&SU.

“I like the campus,” he said. “It’s small, and you can get everything pretty quick.”

Thomas, unlike most of his new teammates, played his high school basketball closer to home in Macon, although he left central Georgia for two years to play at Lurleen B. Wallace State Junior College in Ala. So far, Thomas has also enjoyed being in Milledgeville.

“I’ve adjusted real well, and I’ve made a lot of friends,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of people saying that they’re going to come see us play this year.”

While at Southwest High School in Macon, Thomas was named to the all-city team, as well as being a member of Mu Alpha Theta and earning all-region and most valuable player honors at Lurleen B. Wallace.

Coach Sellers believes that teamwork will be the key to success for the Bobcats this season.

“The only way we’re going to be successful is if all of the players are willing to put the team before themselves,” said Sellers.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 25 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry