Season of Hope

The Georgia College & State University basketball teams will open their respective 2003-2004 seasons this weekend, with the Bobcats going to Greenwood, S.C. to face Anderson and Mars Hill on Sunday, while the Lady Bobcats will travel to Alabama to face Montevallo.
Both teams will try to rebound from so-so seasons in 2002-2003, with the men finishing at 14-13, and the women at 13-16. The final record for the GC&SU women marked their first losing season in eight years.
Lady Bobcats Head Coach John Carrick anticipated the start of the new season with enthusiasm.
“This season, I’m glad to start because last season is over,” Carrick said.
On the other hand, Bobcats Head Coach Terry Sellers sees a lot of work ahead for his squad.
“We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us with so many new players,” he said. “They’ve worked extremely hard in the preseason, and continue to work hard. They’ve been one of the hardest working teams in the last two or three years.”
Both teams will look to replace some key players with a mixture of returnees and newcomers, with the Bobcats losing all four of their scorers, including all Peach Belt Conference standouts Rodney Keener and Darryl Ruffus, while the Lady Bobcats must replace graduated standouts Andrea Lee and Dalana Watson.
However, both coaches feel their respective teams have some returning players who’ve shown some leadership, thus far.
Lady Bobcat Senior Larkin Cleveland of La Grange, will contribute key minutes off the bench as a point guard.
“(Cleveland) plays very hard, and makes good decisions,” Carrick said. “I’m looking forward to working with her in her senior year.”
Senior Bobcat Guard Tylan Gatling, of Aberden, Md., is one player who Sellers believes will play a key role for the team this season, despite missing much of the pre-season with a broken hand.
“We hated to see (Gatling) have that injury, because he had the most experience of any of the guys returning,” Sellers said. “We’re looking for him to put it all together this season.
Other returning players have shown good leadership this season for the Bobcats, including seniors Duke Gibbs of Tifton, and John Thomas of Macon.
“He has come back and shown some good leadership,” Sellers said
As for the newcomers for both the Bobcats and Lady Bobcats, both Sellers and Carrick expect them to play important roles in the success of their respective teams during the season. Carrick especially expected big things from Central Florida Community College transfer Kirsti Jones of Naples, Fla., as well as another transfer in Antionette Long of Calhoun, Tenn., who comes to GC&SU via Florida Community College of Jacksonville, Fla.
“(Jones) is a quick, tenacious defensive player, who can also put the ball in the hole,” he said. “(Long) is very athletic and very strong, and will hopefully be a dominant rebounder.”
On the men’s side, Sellers liked the chemistry and diversity of his new players, which included junior college transfers such as Kevin Benn of Baltimore, Travis Nesby of Flint, Mich. and Stephone Washington of St. Louis.
“(The newcomers) mesh together real well, the chemistry has been good on the team, and they’re from a lot of different places, backgrounds,” he said. “They’ve come together, and seem to be coming together as a team.”
Both squads face tough non-conference schedules during the season’s early weeks, with the Bobcats facing perennial powerhouses such as Morehouse, North Carolina Central and West Georgia, as well as Albany State, Montevallo and the Savannah College of Art & Design.
The pre-conference schedule is just as challenging for the Lady Bobcats, as they will face Montevallo and West Georgia from the Gulf South Conference, Eckerd and Saint Leo from the Sunshine State Conference and Tuskegee from the SIAC.
Both Carrick and Sellers believe that the Peach Belt Conference will be as strong as it ever has been.
“Each and every year, it has gotten more competitive, and it seems like it’s in the (South Division), where it’s getting absolutely horrendous.”
Sellers agreed with Carrick.
“(The PBC) is going to be stronger than ever this year, and so we’re really going to have a challenge,” he said.
Both coaches feel that hard work and dedication will be the keys to success for their respective squads this season.
“Hopefully, we will come out to play each and every night,” Carrick said. “Hopefully we will rebound well, take care of the basketball, and make the shots you’re supposed to make when you’re open.”
With Columbus State and Kennesaw State expected to contend for the PBC championship in 2004, Sellers believes the Bobcats must deal with the experience other conference teams have.
“We’ve got to try to overcome (the teams) that have a lot more experience than us,” he said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 14 2003. 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