The Sports Guy

The men hit the court in the 2006-2007 season with a lot to prove. They need to show if they are a contender or a pretender.
Last year, GCSU won its fourth Peach Belt Conference Championship with a 16-4 league mark, and advanced to the “Sweet Sixteen” of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Can the Bobcats continue this hot streak? The Bobcats lost six seniors from last season, four of which were in the starting five. As a result, the men are going to be pretenders this season. I believe the team has the talent to be a top team in the conference, but I do not think they have the leadership or the experience to get them there.
Six lettermen, only two  of whom are seniors, return from last year’s championship team, including junior center Aaron Clark who averaged 13.2 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Along with Clark, GCSU returns senior point guard Shejdie Childs who averaged 3.1 points per game and 2.3 assists per game. Childs started only 16 games last year.
GCSU also looks to two returning upperclassmen for a spark this season. One of them is senior Aaron Gibbs, who hit seven three pointers in a win over Columbus State last year, and junior Jay Warden.
The team does welcome new talent this year as transfers. A strong player to watch out for is Sophomore Shaun Keaton. With one year under his belt as point guard at East Tennessee State, a division one school, he will bring a lot of leadership to the lineup.
In addition to Keaton, a pair of junior college transfers will have a chance to step up at the forward positions. Travis Nelson transfers to GCSU from Brevard Community College, while Levert Carter transfers from Atlanta Metro Community College.
Despite all of the talent on the Bobcats, I do not believe they put it all together this season to be a premiere team in the PBC. The returning upperclassmen, besides Clark, have limited experience on the court. Moreover, Gibbs and Warden averaged less than five points per game last year. This will not win games. The 2007 season will be a tough one for the Bobcats, but look for the team to shine in 2008, as the team will have four seniors on the team to lead the way. 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 10 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