2004-05 BASKETBALL PREVIEWS--PEACH BELT CONFERENCE MEN

Our preseason basketball reports continue with the men's teams in the Peach Belt Conference. The PBC sent four teams to the NCAA tournament last season, including eventual National Champion Kennesaw State. So, what are waiting for? Let's go!

Kennesaw State--After winning 26 games in a row to end the season, which, of course, includes a national championship, the Owls and Head Coach Tony Ingle have to wonder what they'll do for an encore. Yes, that includes repeating as national champs. But, first things first for the KSU men, as they must replace superstars Terrence Hill and Reggie McKoy. But the Owls do bring back NCAA South Atlantic Regional MVP Georgy Joseph and letterwinners Rey Luque and Kevin McDonald. However, this year's team will have no seniors, with Joseph, Luque, and McDonald providing the leadership for the KSU men. Even so, until another team de-thrones, these Owls from Kennesaw State University are still the team to beat.

Clayton State--The Lakers posted a 22-8 record last season, and reached the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference tournament before losing to this aforementioned Kennesaw State team. Head Coach Gordon Gibbons begins his fourth season looking to take the new step: a trip to the NCAA tournament. In order to get there, though, the Lakers must get through a tough early season schedule, including a season-opening visit to central Florida to play in the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic. Gibbons welcomes back his top three scorers from last year in B.J. Puckett, Craig Butts, and Darien Chavis. Butts and Puckett also finished last season as the team's top two rebounders. This aforementioned trio of players must step up if the Lakers hope to win their first PBC regular season title since Gibbons came on board in 2002. In fact, don't be surprised if the Lakers are contending for the championship come late February.

Columbus State--Even after dealing with the tragic death of Jed Bedford last season, the Cougars still managed to go 22-8, and advance to the NCAA Divsion II tournament for the second straight season, losing to KSU in round two. Now Head Coach Herbert Greene begins his 24th season looking to make it three straight trips to postseason play in 2004-05. But the three players that played the biggest role in the Cougars success a year ago: Deshawn Bowman, John Thomas, and Kamar Zachery, have all graduated. That leaves Greene with a lot of holes to fill for this season. However, the CSU men do return All-American Yandel Brown, who became the first player in school history to score more than 700 points in one season. The Cougars will also have six newcomers on the squad this season, including center Will Davis, who transferred from Kennesaw State during the off-season.

Armstrong Atlantic State--The Pirates finished 21-10 last season, which included a trip to the NCAA tournament. But Head Coach Jeff Burkhamer loses eight players from last year's squad, and just four players coming back. With so many players gone, the AASU men will be fortunate just to match last season's win total. But the Pirates did receive somewhat of a boost when Travis Wallace transferred to Savannah from UNC-Pembroke.

Francis Marion--Perhaps the biggest surprise of last season, the Patriots finished 27-4, won the PBC North Division title, and reached the South Atlantic regional final, where they fell to Kennesaw State. But FMU faces a tremendous challenge heading into this season, as Louis McCullough (17.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) returns as the Patriots only returning starter. Michael Jenkins, Andrew Snipe, and George Walker are the only other returnees for the FMU men.

USC Upstate--Last year, they were known as the Rifles of the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg. This year, not only is there a new name for the school: the University of South Carolina Upstate, the nickname is also brand new, as the Rifles became the Spartans. As for the team itself, the Spartans return C.J. Paul at one of the guard positions, while leading Charleston Long also comes back after seeing his season cut short due to a foot injury.

North Florida--Injuries plagued the Ospreys all of last season, which led to a disappointing 13-15 finish. Donny Lotz, Derrick Scott, and David Ashwell all provided at least two-thirds of the UNF scoring from a year ago. But if the Ospreys hope to make any noise in the PBC this season, they need to avoid the injury bug that bit them once too often.

Georgia College & State University--The Bobcats will look to bounce back from a dismal 7-22 season, which included a 3-13 mark in PBC action. Of the five players that return for GC&SU, only two of them saw any significant playing experience in Cooper Sellers and Travis Nesby. But the Bobcats do have a solid class of recruits both at the high school and junior college levels. Whether that mix will be enough to put Head Coach Terry Sellers and his charges in contention remains to be seen.

USC Aiken--Head Coach Mike Roberts will need name tags for this season, as the Pacers (11-18) return only two players from last season, as well as say hello to 10 newcomers.

Augusta State--New Head Coach Dip Metress built Belmont Abbey into a powerhouse in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, leading that program to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. Now Metress faces a new challenge in replacing Gary Tuell, who resigned to take over the Nova Southeastern (Fla.) program. The Jaguars have only one starter coming back from last season, senior forward Clarence Brown. While the Augusta men have finished either first or second in the PBC North Division in each of the last six seasons, the Jaguars may be fortunate just to finish second this season.

Lander--The Bearcats also have a brand-new head coach in Bruce Evans, who has his work cut out for him in trying to improve on back-to-back 7-21 seasons.

UNC Pembroke--The Braves have managed just three wins over the past two seasons, including a miserable 3-25 mark last season. That in part cost former head coach Bryan Garmroth his job. Enter Jason Tinsley, who took over the reins of the UNCP program during the off-season. Looks like Tinsley will also have his work cut out for him trying to turn this downtrodden program around.