Unless Georgia State wins the Sun Belt Conference, this week will mark the end of the on-the-court relationship between senior Cesare Edwards and coach Jonas Hayes.
Edwards first met Hayes when he was a junior in Hartsville (S.C.) High School and signed with Xavier, where Hayes was the assistant coach. After spending the past season at Missouri State, the 6-foot-10 power forward decided to reunite with his friend, coach and mentor for his final season.
“We just built an unbelievable relationship,” Edwards said. “We talked every day, and I really respected and valued that relationship. That’s why I went to Xavier, and ever since then he’s always been in my corner every single year. We’ve been talking about getting back together, and we were able to do that this year.”
Hayes said, “I’m fortunate that he trusted me with his last year to come to Georgia State. I’ve known him for a while. I trust him, he trusts me and it works.”
Edwards has thrived since joining the Panthers. In 30 games, Edwards has averaged 16.1 points, shooting 51.3% from the field and making 45% of his 3-point tries, with 6.9 rebounds and 1.47 blocks. He has scored 20-plus points 12 times, including 21 at Kentucky and a season-high 29 against Old Dominion.
Edwards easily has been the most consistent player on the team and was rewarded Tuesday by being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team.
“He’s super coachable, super talented and when he gets on a roll, man, he can carry a team,” Hayes said. “It’s one thing to have a game where you play well, but can you do that consistently enough? And that’s who he is.”
Georgia State (13-18, 8-10) earned the No. 8 seed for this week’s Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. The Panthers open play at 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 9 Georgia Southern and No. 12 Southern Miss. The Panthers would need to win five games in five days to win the tournament and earn an automatic qualifying spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers lost the final two games of the regular season, but had won five of the previous six games to climb into the middle of the standings and earn a double-bye in the conference tournament.
“The things that we’ve been preaching about the togetherness of our group, the intensity that’s required, the urgency that’s required, the effort, we started see some results in February,” Hayes said “We finished the season on a strong note, other than of the last two games, but those last two games won’t impact our next game.”
Georgia State split two close games with Georgia Southern, winning 82-78 in Atlanta and losing 76-75 in Statesboro in the regular-season finale. The Panthers did not play Southern Miss during the regular season. Should GSU win its tournament opener, the remainder of the playoff gauntlet would require wins over Marshall, Arkansas State, No. 1-seed South Alabama and the winner from the bottom half of the bracket.
“I feel like our side is really good, really great competition, good teams,” Edwards said. “I feel like we have a great opportunity if we come out, do what we have to do. We have a great opportunity to shock a lot of people.”
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