July 07, 2010 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    Ahh, July. Here we are, smack dab in the middle of the dog days of summer. This is the time of year when everybody is looking for some relief from the heat.
    It’s also the time of year when Georgia Southern seems to be all quiet. Summer classes are drawing to a close. Baseball season, the last to finish on campus, seems like it ended six months ago — even though it’s only been about six weeks. And football season just can’t get here soon enough. This time of year for college sports fans everywhere is kind of, well, boring. There’s just not much going on.
    But July also seems to be transition time — time to put last season behind us and look ahead to what next season holds in store. Last July, hopes were high for Eagle football as Chris Hatcher was entering his third year at the helm. Those high hopes were dashed with a below-expectations-six-win season and Hatcher’s immediate dismissal following the final game of the season.
    Since then a new coach has been hired — Southern’s fourth since 2005 — and a new offensive system is being installed. But these changes are different. This coach is a part of the family. Many of his assistants are also from the Paul Johnson coaching tree. This time around Georgia Southern is going back to its roots. Hopefully the new-old-look Eagles enjoy the same success past Eagle teams have had. We’ll find out starting in about 58 days.
    Men’s head basketball coach Charlton Young was just getting settled in this time last year as the Eagle Nation didn’t really know what to expect from the upcoming basketball season. The former Georgia Southern basketball standout inherited a program that was in a mess and quickly got to work to restore the program to what it was when he played — a perennial conference title contender and no stranger to the Big Dance.
    Last season was not what anyone hoped for, but CY and his staff went out and landed the top-ranked recruiting class in the SoCon and the no. 6 recruiting class among all mid-majors in the country. That’s not bad work.
    So needless to say, optimism levels on the basketball front run even higher than a year ago. The NCAA issues and two consecutive single-digit-win seasons are behind us. It’s time to focus on getting to the dance. And CY makes no bones about it — he plans to make that a yearly event for his Eagles.
    Who knows what the next year holds for Georgia Southern? Will Jeff Monken’s triple-option attack be an immediate success as was the case when Paul Johnson returned to town in 1997? Or will the Eagle Nation have to show patience as the new system is installed?
    Will CY and company deliver a quick turnaround from the previous two years? Or will 2010-2011 be a rebuilding year?
    Will the Lady Eagles finally dethrone Chattanooga and make it back to the Big Dance for the first time since 1994? Will baseball bounce back from a disappointing finish to get back to a regional in 2011?
    What will the stories be next July? How will the questions we have now be answered over the next 12 months? One thing is certain, being a dedicated Eagle fan never gets old. Intriguing storylines are always plentiful and expectations are always high.
    If we can just get through the next eight weeks, we’ll be back in the stands watching and cheering as questions get answered and storylines play out. Until then, try to avoid this relentless heat and enjoy the calm before the storm — the new year of Eagle athletics will be here before we know it.

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