Men’s Basketball Season Preview: The Script is Flipped in 2016-17

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Preview schedule
Oct. 24 - Overview
Oct. 28 - Juniors
Oct. 31 - Sophomores and Freshmen
Nov. 2 - Schedule

STATESBORO, Ga. – College coaches have been saying it for years – the good thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. In the case of the Georgia Southern men's basketball program, that growth has likely been accelerated because of the amount of time Eagle freshmen spent on the court last season.

Georgia Southern was the youngest team in the country last season, starting three sophomores and two freshmen, and yet, the Eagles managed to hover around .500 all year and won 10 Sun Belt games to finish fifth in the league standings.

Freshmen and redshirt freshmen who are back accounted for 40 percent of the Eagles' minutes played, and Georgia Southern returns all five starters, eight of the nine players who were in the rotation and 94 percent of its scoring and rebounding.

Below is the second in a four-part series previewing the 2016-17 season.

The juniors
Byington now has a six-man class of three-year players in the program. Mike Hughes, Devonte Boykins, Jake Allsmiller and Coye Simmons are juniors in eligibility and will be counted on to set the tone.

Named second-team Preseason All-Sun Belt by the league's coaches, Hughes took some time to figure out his role last year but once he did, he soared in conference play, averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 assists to earn a third-team All-Sun Belt nod.

"Mike has really taken a step forward, and I felt like we became a better team because he became one of the leaders of the team if not the leader of the team," said Byington. "He has really taken ownership of the team, and we need him on the court because he gives us so much not only in terms of leadership, but he can score, he can pass, he can play defense and he's very smart."

Boykins played in 31 games, started 10 and averaged 5.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He was first off the bench in 11 games and can play either guard position.

"Devonte has had a tremendous summer and a tremendous preseason," said Byington "He is extremely valuable for us because of his versatility and experience and a very good leader. He's a point guard, and he can play off the ball. He has really worked on his shooting and has been making shots."

Allsmiller played in all 31 games and started 23, including the last 19. He was fourth on the team in scoring with 7.8 points a game and ranked sixth in the Sun Belt in 3-pointers per game with 2.1 a contest.

"The biggest challenge we had with Jake since he has been here was getting stronger, and he has put on 12 pounds since last season," said Byington. "He has started a lot of games and played a lot for us so his experience is invaluable. I think with his strength, he is going to be a better defensive player, but I also think he is going to be able to make more shots because he won't have leg fatigue. His shot is a little simpler and easier to get up now."

Simmons played in 31 games and started 20, including the last 17 of the season, and averaged 3.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. He led the team in rebounding 11 times and recorded double-figure rebounds in three contests.

"Coye understands our terminology now, and Coye got stronger this summer too so he's up to 250 pounds," said Byington. "He is now as strong as any player he is going to go against, and he's powerful. What we work on with Coye is being more skilled and fluent with that strength. He understands our system, understands how to do things so he should be able to take the skill development that we put in the offseason and transfer it to games now because he's kind of been through it."

A newcomer to the program but an experienced player at the collegiate level is B.J. Gladden, a junior college transfer from Eastern Florida, where he averaged 11.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game in 2015-16. He began his career at Akron, redshirted his first year and then played the 2014-15 season.

"B.J. brings experience even though it's his first year on the team," said Byington. "He is in his fourth year in college, and he's mature and been through everything. He is very versatile - he can pass, he can dribble and he's long so that along with his versatility, his rebounding is going to help us a ton. We are really working on his shooting to have him be more confident and be able to make plays on the perimeter but his IQ and feel for the game is very good, and that's why he is going to help us a lot this year."

The Eagles host Lees-McRae in an exhibition game in Hanner Fieldhouse Nov. 3, before opening the season at NC State Nov. 11.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Jake Allsmiller

Devonte Boykins

B.J. Gladden

Mike Hughes

Coye Simmons