University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Basketball Golden Eagles Get "Early" Start
10/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Basketball Golden Eagles Get "Early" Start
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss basketball starts practice for the 2002-03 season with a pair of Saturday workouts as Head Coach James Green, and his staff and players work toward the season-opening game Nov. 22, against Alcorn State.
The first week of practice promises to be a hectic one for the Golden Eagles, who are scheduled to work from 7-9 a.m., and 1-3 p.m., Saturday, the first official day of practice, and from 7-9 a.m., and 5-7 p.m., the following day. The weekday schedule is even more demanding, with 6:15 a.m., workouts scheduled for Oct. 14, 16 and 18, a day off on Oct. 15, and an even earlier 5:30 a.m., session Oct. 17.
The Golden Eagles will scrimmage for the first time Oct. 19, from 10:30 until noon. That scrimmage will follow an 8 a.m., Commitment Education breakfast that will be held in the Elam Arms dining room. Current players, their parents, former players and friends of the program are invited to attend. Reservations should be made through the Basketball Office at 601-266-6355, by Oct. 14.
Following that week, Southern Miss will have just over two weeks to prepare for Nov. 4 and Nov. 12 exhibition games against Spirit Express and Global Sports, respectively. Alcorn visits Nov. 22, for the first regular-season game, while Jackson State is in town three days later. Troy State and South Alabama round out the November schedule, the team will play in the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, Dec. 6-7, and the schedule then remains busy throughout, as the team starts its run through the Conference USA schedule and into the league tournament, Mar. 12-15, in Louisville, Ky.
While the team ended the 2001-02 season with a 10-17 record, coaches, players and fans alike are excited about a quality group of returning players and an exciting signing class that will go a long way toward pushing the Golden Eagles back into contention for C-USA titles. Southern Miss won a league championship during the 2000-2001 season, becoming one of just three teams with that trophy in their possession.
Junior guards Clement Carter and Mario Myles, sophomore point guard Dante Stiggers and senior center Ben Lambert top the list of returning players, while the new-player group includes the talents of Bay Springs, Miss., guard Jason Forte (6-5, 205), redshirt freshman guard/forward Jasper Johnson (6-7, 230) of Hollandale, Miss., who sat out last season after having shoulder surgery, junior college transfers Greg Johnson (G, 6-8, 200, Phenix City, Ala.), 6-11 forward Geoffrey Brown of St. Paul, Minn., and 6-7 forward Charles Gaines (Jr., Houston, Texas).
To say that Green and his staff are excited to see the season start would be an understatement. ?I think we?ll have more depth, be more athletic and will have better perimeter shooters than we?ve had the past couple of years,? he said. ?I think our returning players gained some valuable experience last season. I think the players we have now are ones with solid character, and from what we went through last season, I think we?ll be a stronger team this season, because we?ll have a better understanding of what it takes to win.
?Winning 10 games is something they, like the coaching staff, are not satisfied with. With the new players we have coming in, combined with the older players who have been in our system for awhile, including Clement (Carter) and Mario (Myles), we expect to be very competitive.
?How many games we?ll win we don?t know, but we will have more players who we can use in more different combinations. I think we?ll have the size inside that will allow us to do more things there than we did last season. With Jasper (Johnson) being back from shoulder surgery, with Geoff (Brown) and Charles (Gaines) available, I think that gives us some versatility that we haven?t had there for awhile.
?Out front, we got a solid year from Dante (Stiggers) last season as a true freshman, and while he?ll continue to make a few mistakes, that year of experience and his ability to run the team will be a plus for us this season. It?s just hard to make up for a lack of experience. Last season will help Dante, and the further he gets into his Southern Miss career, I think we?ll see him get better and better.
"In our wing spots, with Jason (Forte), Sam (Richardson) and Greg (Johnson), I think we have some athletic guys, who can both score and defend. Top to bottom, we?ll be a better basketball team. How good we?ll be will depend, to some extent, on how well we do early, and that will be determined by how hard we work.?
Season tickets for the 2002-03 season currently are on sale through the Athletic Ticket Office located in the Ferlise Center on West 4th Street, or by calling 601-266-5418 or 1-800-844-TICK.
