(This is the second of eleven stories previewing the men's basketball teams in the Sun Belt Conference.)

GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES:  COACH:  MARK BYINGTON, 3rd SEASON

2014-15 RECORD:  22-9, 14-6  T-2nd (Lost SBC Championship Game to Georgia State)

KEY RETURNEES:  Mike Hughes (7.6, 4.9, 31 starts) Jake Allsmiller (4.3, 1.8, 19 starts)

KEY LOSSES:  Jelani Hewitt (17.6, 4.2), Trent Wiedemann (11.6, 5.6), Angel Matias (8.2, 5.6), Eric Ferguson (8.0, 5.3), Curtis Diamond (7.8, 3.1)

It was quite a first season for Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference.  Riding the strength of a veteran team, the Eagles were one shot away from making it to the NCAA Tournament, falling to Georgia State in the SBC title game.  The Eagles won 22 games, their best in over a decade, and their title game appearance was their first in two decades.

Guard Jelani Hewitt was a first team all-league selection as well as Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt  Trent Wiedemann was a third team pick.  They are gone.  And they aren't the only ones.  Four of the five starters, the top five scorers and top three rebounders are gone from the veteran club.

Now third year coach Mark Byington will try to get it done with a a roster that includes a senior transfer, four sophomores and seven freshmen, three of them redshirts.

"This is year three and in a way i feel like we are starting over agai, Byington said.  But Im excited about this team.  I'll bet there's not many teams in the country that are younger."

Heading the returnees is sophomore guard Mike Hughes, who started every game last season and averaged 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.  Another sophomore, Jake Allsmiller had 19 starts in the team's final 20 games.  He took 120 shots last season, all but nine attempts were from behind the three point line.

"I expect a lot more from them....but they are in different roles, said Byington.  Last year they fed off others and it's a different level than being a go to guy.  But those guys have gotten better .Hughes is a better leader and Allsmiller has put on 14 pounds.".

Two other returnees, sophomores Coye Simmons and Devonte Boykins, combined for just twelve minutes per game a year ago, and will be counted on to provide a bigger contribution in their second season.  Boykins' brother DeVinnie is a senior transfer from Marshall.  He played in 30 games and averaged a little over three points per game.

Georgia Southern did an excellent job of team rebounding a season ago and Byington admits it's a concern going into the season.  "We'll have to do it by committee.  We ask our guards to do a lot.  Montee Glenn and Shaunte Johnson should be able to help inside."

OUTLOOK:  Although the team is very young, Byington has two sophomores who played a lot of basketball around which to build.  Hughes might have won the freshman of the year award if it hadn't been for Wesley Person of Troy.  Allsmiller will have to be more versatile, but we know he can shoot.  How well the freshmen play, especially at the guard spot, will say a lot about this team.  The coaches picked them tenth, and that's understandable, given what they lost.  But as they grow, this team will get better.  Don't be surprised if they're in the conference tournament and get tabbed as the team no one wants to play on opening night.  In the meantime, youth will be served...but sometimes as the main course.

 

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