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ATLANTA — Led by Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections Dwon Odom and Brenden Tucker and a host of new faces, the Georgia State men’s basketball team takes the court for the first time as the Panthers host local foe Morehouse in an exhibition Sunday at 2 p.m. at the GSU Convocation Center.
Tickets are available at GeorgiaStateSports.com/TIX, and parking is free in the Blue Lot.
This is Georgia State’s only exhibition game before the Panthers open the regular season Nov. 6 at Belmont. GSU’s home opener is Friday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. vs. Northern Illinois in the opening game of the Capitol Challenge at the GSU Convocation Center.
Backcourt standouts Odom and Tucker as the top returnees for second-year head coach Jonas Hayes.
Odom, the junior from Alpharetta, Ga. (St. Francis High School) is the Panthers’ top returning scorer after averaging 13.1 points in 2022-23, along with 4.5 rebounds. He led Georgia State with 3.7 assists per game, which ranked seventh in the Sun Belt. He also contributed 28 steals and 20 blocked shots while shooting 76 percent from the free throw line.
Tucker, the senior from Lawrenceville, Ga. (Dacula High School) was Georgia State’s third-leading scorer with 12.9 point per game in 2022-23, including a team-high 14.1 ppg in Sun Belt games. He averaged 3.1 rebounds and also contributed 41 assists, 23 steals and seven blocked shots while played in 28 games with 27 start.
Also returning for the Panthers are junior forward Jamaine Mann (10.3 ppg) and sophomore post player Edward Nnamoko (1.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg).
The six-pack of transfers bolstering the roster include two experienced graduate transfers in 6-8 forward Leslie Nkereuwem, who averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in four seasons at Longwood, and 6-5 forward Jay’Den Turner from Queens, who led the Atantic Sun Conference in rebounding last season with 7.5 per game while averaging 7.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in his four season.
Toneari Lane is a 6-5 guard who averaged 10.3 points last season at Winthrop, and Rickey Bradley Jr. averaged 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals at VMI. Lucas Taylor is a 6-5 forward who spent the last two seasons at Wake Forest.
Four of the six transfers as well as freshmen Malik Ferguson and DK Manyiel are from Georgia.
HEY NEIGHBOR: Georgia State faces Atlanta neighbor Morehouse in the Panthers’ 2023-24 exhibition game.
> Second-year head coach Jonas Hayes earned his first collegiate coaching position as an assistant at Morehouse for the 2005-06 season under then-head coach Grady Brewer. The Maroon Tigers went 16-12 that year.
> The two Atlanta schools also played an exhibition last season as Hayes made his debut on the GSU sideline with a 68-57 win over Morehouse. Brenden Tucker scored 20 points and Dwon Odom had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
> Georgia State and Morehouse have also met four times in regular-season games, all in the 1970s and 80s. GSU leads the series 3-1, including an 88-77 win in the last meeting 1987-88. The teams also played in 1975-76 (GSU 84-74), 1978-79 (GSU 103-76) and 1981-82 (Morehouse 78-77).
> The Panthers have won 18 straight exhibition games, highlighted by a 65-58 win at Georgia Tech in 2017-18. Since 2001, GSU is 32-2 in exhibition games.