Georgia State Men’s Basketball Reports for Summer Training

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Coming off a second-straight 25 win season and an appearance in the third round of the NCAA tournament, Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter welcomed the Panthers back to campus on Monday for the first day of skill-instruction and workouts. It coincided with the first day of summer classes at Georgia State.

Hunter welcomed back three players who started significant games last year in Kevin Ware, T.J. Shipes and Markus Crider. Ware was named Sun Belt Tournament MVP after leading the Panthers to a conference championship. Also returning are three potential starters who redshirted last season: redshirt-junior Jeremy Hollowell, redshirt-sophomore Isaiah Williams and redshirt-freshman Jeff Thomas.

“It was great to be back out on the court this morning,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “It feels like just yesterday that last season ended, but a lot has happened since that last game in March.

“Last year is now behind us and we are fully committed to being ready to defend our championship. The returners are hungry to get ourselves back in position to win a third-straight championship and the newcomers want to taste that same success. I can already see that they are going to be a great group and I look forward to working with them.”

Hunter also welcomed four newcomers to the program. Freshman Malik Benlevi and Austin Donaldson will look to make an immediate impact, while transfers Willie Clayton and Devin Mitchell will redshirt this season according to NCAA transfer rules, but will be able to practice with the team.

“We were fortunate to bring in a very talented group of young men,” Hunter said. “Everyone knows that they are going to have to work hard to earn playing time. That process started today.”