Georgia State Basketball: 2018-19 preview for the Panthers

JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 21: Head coach Ron Hunter of the Georgia State Panthers reacts against the Xavier Musketeers in the second half during the third round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

3 of 4

LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 20: Kane Williams #12 of the Georgia State Panthers drives against Luka Vulikic (L) #13 and Jacob Davison #10 of the Eastern Washington Eagles during day one of the Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 20, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Georgia State won 68-50. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

Reserves and Newcomers

The bench is where things could get a little dicey for Ron Hunter’s squad. The most experienced reserves are likely to be senior forward Jordan Tyson and Sophomore guard Kane Williams. Even though they both played in 35 and 34 games respectively, they averaged just 5.5 points in 20.9 minutes of action. Tyson, who played his first two seasons at St. Bonaventure, scored a career-high nine points and grabbed five rebounds in a win over South Alabama. While the 6-3 Williams netted 12 points and dished out seven assists in an early-season win over Tulane.

The only other returners for the Panthers are sophomore guard Matt Chism, sophomore forward Josh Linder, and junior forward Chris Clerkley. The trio averaged just 8.9 combined minutes last season. The rest of the reserves will be made up of newcomers.

Damon Wilson is a 6-5 redshirt junior who sat out last season after transferring from Pittsburgh. At Pitt, Wilson saw limited action in two seasons, appearing in 59 games in that span and scoring a career-high seven points against Louisville in 2016. The only other likely contributor is Nelson Phillips, a 6-5 shooting guard from Warner Robins, GA who is listed as a top-200 recruit by 247Sports and the No. 9 ranked recruit in Georgia.