BOSTON – Rod Barnes talked about his team going through a building process. Lest anyone think that the Georgia State coach is stepping back after what some might consider has been a disappointing season, the reality is that he said this all along. Even after his team pulled out a 70-68 win at Northeastern on Wednesday night, he’s saying the same thing while feeling like there are some real positives for his team.
Before the season began, Barnes described his team as “cautiously optimistic” in terms of their chance to become a contender in the CAA this season, and talked more about long-term success. It’s not all that surprising considering he’s in just his second year at the helm. Many felt this season’s team had a chance to contend since they brought back four starters from a team that had a number of close losses, and also added five transfers from major conference programs who would inject a good deal of talent into the squad. Of course, that also brought challenges, but oftentimes a team with better players comes out on top.
In light of that, some might be disappointed that the Panthers entered Wednesday night with a 6-9 record in CAA games. That would certainly seem to indicate that the five newcomers didn’t mean instant success, but Barnes never really viewed it that way. He felt the team could match up with anyone as far as talent goes, while knowing that there’s more than just talent that wins games.
While the Panthers have struggled to a 9-18 mark overall and a 7-9 record in the CAA, there are signs that they are turning a corner. The win over Northeastern marked the first time all season they have won consecutive games, and they came in having won three of five.
“In the building process, this is what’s going to happen,” Barnes said after the win. “You’re going to have some ups and downs. We didn’t expect to just come in, we felt like it would be a building process. This helps us.”
The win was also the first over a team that, if the conference tournament were to begin today, would have a bye in the first round. They beat Old Dominion earlier in the year, but the Monarchs have slipped outside the top four.
“We still realize where we are,” said Barnes. “We’re still trying to build to play with the best teams in our league. This helps to know that we’re closer.”
Of the transfers, junior guard Joe Dukes has had the most impact and is one of two who have started regularly. He leads the team in scoring and assists, settling the point guard spot as junior Trae Goldston has played more off the ball while being a clutch player. Trey Hampton, who transferred from Mississippi, has started 22 games but put up more modest numbers.
Against Northeastern, Dante Curry, who came over from South Florida and has been injury-riddled during his career, had a big first half off the bench. Curry finished with 18 points, going 5-9 from long range, and this is something he has done several times this season coming off the bench. In his first game eligible, he scored a career-high 21 points against Georgia Tech, going 4-7 from long range. He also had a pair of 13-point games in two recent wins.
The win at Northeastern marked the fourth time in five games the Panthers shot 50 percent or better from the floor. That’s a positive sign for a team that came into the game shooting 41.5 percent on the season. In that stretch, they have scored at least 69 points in every game. The stretch began a game after the one Barnes believes was a turning point for the team, a 64-47 loss at Drexel. It was after that game that the Panthers began the current stretch of four wins in six games.
“Even though we lost the game, I saw how the team changed,” said Barnes, who thinks his team is playing with a lot of confidence now. “People talk about chemistry, and if we could understand that, we could bottle it up and sell it. It just happens.”
The confidence showed immediately, as they picked up just their second road win of the season in the next game at William & Mary, and it’s reached the most recent game with their third road win. They’re starting to look like the kind of dangerous team some thought they would be before the season.
“As a coach you just keep working, keep working, keep working, keep believing in your kids,” said Barnes. “Now, we’ve got confidence, and that’s the difference between a team that’s capable of winning and a team that’s trying to figure out how to lose. We found a way to lose games instead of finding ways to win them.”
It’s all part of the building process Barnes talked about. Even now, as his team has more confidence and is winning games, he still talks about it as they move on to later steps in that process.
