ATLANTA — Coming off a Sun Belt tournament title, the Georgia State men's basketball team was back at practice Friday preparing for the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers started the season 8-10 before winning their last 10 to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. GSU is the only school in Georgia with a men's basketball team headed to the tournament.
"We had a couple days off so they had a little more time to enjoy it. Starting today we could really turn the page, get back into a routine of trying to improve," Coach Rob Lanier said.
Head CoachLanier credits senior guard Kane Wiliams for the turnaround after taking more of a leadership role.
"Kane Williams saved our season," Lanier said.
Williams said he came in with an attitude that rubbed off on the rest of the team.
"I came into the locker room and I said 'I'm not a loser and I don't think any of you are, so what are we going to do about it?'" Williams said about his pep-talk to his teammates.
He said their season turned around as they worked together with the team responding to his leadership with the winning streak.
"Everybody wants to win, we want to make some noise," Wiliams said.
The coach said they're bringing the same attitude to the tournament.
"We don't talk about being underdogs," Lanier said. "This ain't Vegas, this is basketball for us. We don't want to be Cinderella -- we don't believe in none of that stuff."
Lanier said the team wants to be good, so they'll prepare the best they can to make the most out of the opportunity.
The Panthers will continue to wait until Selection Sunday to see where they'll be headed and who they will play in the NCAA Tournament.