Bobcats rebuild, while Ladies thrive

by A.J. Foss
Senior Reporter

The GCSU men’s basketball team faces a number of questions as it enters the 2006-2007 basketball season.
The Bobcats finished last season with a 22-9 overall record ,with a record of 16-4 in the Peach Belt Conference.  The Bobcats won the regular season PBC title and advanced to the “Sweet Sixteen” of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament.
However, the Bobcats have lost six seniors from last year’s team, four of which were: starters that including All-American forward Jeremy Mayweather, the PBC player of the year, and guard Bryan Harrison who was named to the All-PBC team. 
“Those guys were six of the best seniors we ever had and they will be very hard to replace,” said head coach Terry Sellers.
The loss of those six seniors led to the media predicting the Bobcats finishing sixth out of the 11 teams in the PBC.  The problem is not talent for the Bobcats, but rather experience as only six letterman, including two seniors return from last year’s team, including senior point guard Shejdie Childs.
“We have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, so (the returning players) need to step up as leaders and role models and show the new guys how much hard work and dedication we put into the season last year,” Childs said.
With all the new players, Sellers is uncertain what he has in his basketball team as he enters his 14th season as head coach of the Bobcats.
“We’re still searching for our team’s identity and what our strengths and weaknesses are,” Sellers said.
The Bobcats will also have work players that have transferred from other universities including sophomore guard Shaun Keaton.  Keaton played last season at East Tennessee State, a Division I school in the Southern Conference, but wanted to play at a school closer to his hometown of Albany. 
“I thought GCSU was a good program, had good coaches and players, so I took advantage of the opportunity,” Keaton said.
The good news for the Bobcats is they do have their starting center, Aaron Clark returning. Bobcats.  Clark, a junior, averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and was named to the NCAA South Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team after he averaged 18.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in the Bobcats’ three postseason games.  However, Clark has spent his time in preseason practice on helping the new players get into a rhythm.
“I know I am going to get a little more attention (from the other teams) but I just need to step up my game so I can be another contributor,” Clark said. “I’m not really focused on scoring more points because we got a lot of guys who can score.”
According to Sellers, the question of whether the Bobcats will be a contender for the PBC championship will depend on how quickly the players come together as a team.
“Hopefully by conference time we will have a lot of those questions answered and we will play some great basketball,” Sellers said.
The Bobcats’ season begins on Nov. 17 with a tournament at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.  The Bobcats’ home opener will be on November 21st when they face USC Aiken.
The GCSU women’s basketball team, coming off its 2006 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship, is considered one of the favorites to win the PBC for the 2006-2007 season.
The tournament title came as a shock to fans and players as the Lady Bobcats finished with a 14-13 overall record in the regular season, a 9-11 conference record, and number 5 seed in the PBC Tournament. But, the Lady Bobcats caught fire and won three games in a row, including a double overtime win over Francis Marion in the championship game to advance to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament for the third time in five years.
“The way we played at the beginning of the season, we shouldn’t have won (the PBC),” said senior guard Brandy Holsendolph. “But the way we played at the end of the season, we deserved to win.”
The Lady Bobcats return 10 lettermen, only two of which are seniors, from last year’s team that was picked second in the preseason PBC poll only behind the Clayton State Lakers.  But Lady Bobcats head coach John Carrick knows that he will find out whether the team is one of the best teams in the PBC on the basketball court.
“I don’t pay a lot of attention to the preseason poll,” Carrick said. “It’s nice that other people respect your team, but it matters at the end of the year where we’re at.”
The fact that the Lady Bobcats have 10 returning players does make Carrick’s job a little bit easier.
“Besides the fact that they know what to expect out of me as a coach, I already know what the players’ strengths and weaknesses are,” Carrick said.
While the Lady Bobcats lost only two players to graduation, one of the two seniors was forward LaWanna Leon.  Leon averaged 17.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and was named Most Valuable Player of the PBC Tournament.  Carrick described Leon as the team’s “go-to” player.
“If we needed a basket, we ran something for her to get the basketball and score, so the team will miss her there,” Carrick said.
However, the Lady Bobcats do return a lot of talent, including junior forward Marquita Driskell, who spent her freshman season at the University of Georgia.
Clark, a junior, averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and was named to the NCAA South Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team after he averaged 18.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in the Bobcats’ three postseason games.  However, Clark has spent his time in preseason practice on helping the new players get into a rhythm.
“I know I am going to get a little more attention (from the other teams) but I just need to step up my game so I can be another contributor,” Clark said. “I’m not really focused on scoring more points because we got a lot of guys who can score.”
According to Sellers, the question of whether the Bobcats will be a contender for the PBC championship will depend on how quickly the players come together as a team.
“Hopefully by conference time we will have a lot of those questions answered and we will play some great basketball,” Sellers said.
The Bobcats’ season begins on Nov. 17 with a tournament at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.  The Bobcats’ home opener will be on November 21st when they face USC Aiken.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 3 2006. 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