GETTING INSIDE

Coach Rod Barnes reaches the third year of rebuilding at Georgia State, and his team gave signs at the end of last season that his efforts were beginning to take hold.

The Panthers closed with seven victories in their last 11 games after spending most of the first half of the season trying to get to know each other as Barnes blended a group of transfers.

Now Barnes has three starters coming back and, once again, the former Ole Miss coach has recruited a strong class to fill in the blanks.

“We have a lot of guys returning, six seniors, and those guys have shown great leadership,” Barnes said. “Senior leadership and depth will help us down the road in conference play.

“I’ve never had a team with six seniors. We’ve got six seniors who are committed to winning and committed to having a great year, and all of them are going to be a factor in what are trying to do this season.”

Senior guard Joe Dukes gives Barnes a potential star after making third-team All-CAA last year while finishing in the top 15 in scoring, assists and steals.

He is joined in a senior backcourt by Trae Goldston, who averaged 10.8 points a game last year and looks for more consistency this year, and by junior Dante Curry, a transfer from South Florida who has battled injuries.

Up front there is no standout but there are four seniors who all averaged 10 or more minutes last year—Trey Hampton and Xavier Hansbro, who frequently started, and Ousman Krubally and Kevin Lott.

A lot will be asked of N.C. State transfer Marques Johnson in his first season of eligibility in the program.

With depth, Barnes will be running and pressing most of the time.

“Last year we had depth but guys didn’t know who was who. We’re working on our pressing game, getting after people. I think our kids will enjoy that,” he said.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Georgia State has hit at least one 3-point shot in 418 consecutive games, dating to Feb. 18, 1995.

• Coach Rod Barnes plans to use Wake Forest transfer Joe Dukes both at the point and off the ball this year in an effort to give him a chance to make more plays. “He’s one of those guys, like a great wide receiver, that you want get him the ball,” Barnes said. “With Marques Johnson in the mix, he doesn’t have to spend 35 or 40 minutes trying to run the team, too. That should give him an opportunity to score more points.”

• Senior SG Trae Goldston has become something of a specialist at beating buzzers with winning 3-point shots. Last year he hit shots to beat Old Dominion and UNC Wilmington, and he hit one against Northeastern a season earlier.

Last Year:   12-20 overall, 8-10, 8th in CAA.

Head Coach:   Rod Barnes (career 162-150); third year at Georgia State (21-41).

Quote To Note:   “With the depth we have we can play the way I like to play, pushing the ball up and down the court.”—Georgia State coach Rod Barnes.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Big things are expected from G Marques Johnson, a transfer from North Carolina State who can play both guard positions. He sat out last year after playing in 21 games and starting six at N.C. State in 2007-08, averaging 2.0 points a game while playing 15 minutes per contest.

C James Vincent is a 6-10 freshman from Northside High in Columbus, Ga. He came back from a season-ending knee injury as a junior to help his school to the Class AAA state quarterfinals. F Jamar Taylor, from Brunswick (N.C.) Community College, averaged 8.1 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting better than 50 percent. He was rated the No. 17 prospect in South Carolina in 2007.

Key Early-season Games:   Georgia State will spend a lot of its early season time on the road. “Last year when we finished strong, people didn’t want to play us as much as they did in the past so we got caught with a few more games on the road than I like,” coach Rod Barnes said. “We get tested early.” It doesn’t get much tougher than right at the start when the Panthers go to N.C. State to open the season. The first league game on Dec. 5 will be a test, too, as they go to Harrisonburg, Va., to take on improved James Madison.

Program Direction:   It took some doing because Rod Barnes had a long way to go, but he now has a senior-oriented team with depth that can play his kind of basketball. Georgia State won eight league games last year, which was big jump forward, and figures to surpass .500 in the conference this year.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Joe Dukes, SG Trae Goldstein, SG Dante Curry, PF Trey Hampton, SF Xavier Hansbro.

Roster Report:  

—N.C. State transfer Marques Johnson, a junior, becomes eligible this year and is expected to challenge for the starting point guard spot. Johnson also played briefly at Tennessee, so this is his third Division I college.

• G Jihad Ali showed promise as a freshman but sat out last year as a redshirt to work on his strength and skills. He returns this year listed at 6-5 after having entered school at 6-4.