NCAA: How Georgia State Is Changing The Mid-Major Mindset

Less exposure. Less revenue. Less talent.

Mid-majors are at a competitive disadvantage with power conferences. To offset those disadvantages, the blueprint for building a successful mid-major program has always been finding the right coach — usually with a quirky system — and recruiting raw athletes to fit that system, then waiting for those players to blossom into upperclassmen stars to make a run in the NCAA tournament.

But what if there was a way to bypass those steps and get immediate results?

Perhaps there is. Look no further than Georgia State, which seems to have found a way to quickly go from mediocre to conference favorite by becoming a destination for transfers from larger schools.

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Georgia State enters the 2014-15 season picked to win the Sun Belt Conference for the second year in a row. Last season, the Panthers’ first year in the Sun Belt, the team went 25-9 (17-1 in conference play) during the season before losing to Louisiana-Lafayette in the finals of the conference tournament.

That was a huge turnaround from the previous season, when the Panthers went 15-16 (10-8) and tied for fifth place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

So what was the difference? Transfers.

Georgia State’s starting five featured three transfers from high-major schools: Ryan Harrow (Kentucky), Manny Atkins (Virginia Tech), and Curtis Washington (USC).

Harrow was a first team all-conference selection, averaging 17.8 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. Atkins was a second team selection, averaging 14.4 ppg and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game. Washington was a dominant force inside, blocking 2.4 shots per game, and had the third most blocks in a single season in program history.

All played vital roles in the emergence of Georgia State last year.

Atkins used up his eligibility, but Harrow and Washington return this season and are joined by Louisville transfer Kevin Ware. The NCAA granted Ware a medical waiver to play immediately after breaking his leg during Louisville’s run in the 2013 NCAA tournament and missing most of last season.

That’s good news for the Panthers, as Ware has a good chance to be the conference’s top newcomer. Conference coaches already selected Harrow as a preseason first team selection, and voted Washington to the third team. These three, along with reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year R.J. Hunter, have Georgia State primed for another run at a conference championship.

So how do the Panthers continue to land talented players from bigger-name programs? When an athlete “transfers down” to a smaller school, it’s usually for either a larger role or for personal reasons, and Georgia State has done a good job of accommodating players’ wants and needs on a case-by-case basis.

Each situation is different. After an unsuccessful stint at Kentucky, the NCAA granted Harrow’s appeal to play immediately at Georgia State in order to be closer to his father, who suffered a stroke. Washington transferred to Georgia State for a fresh start after disappointing at USC. Ware is from Atlanta and wanted to be closer to home.

Three talented players, all with different circumstances and reasons for coming to Georgia State.

But can a team led by transfers really contend for a conference championship? For Georgia State, that remains to be answered. You could say the hard part — convincing players to come there — is already over, but the true challenge will be meshing all that talent on the fly during the season.

The Panthers were the most talented team in the Sun Belt a year ago, but came up just short of an NCAA tournament berth. This is their second chance. There will be growing pains, but how they react to adversity will decide how successful this season’s Panthers are.

Either way, Georgia State is changing the landscape of mid-major basketball, one transfer at a time.

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