With the exception of the coaching staff and four returning starters, the 2008-09 South Carolina State men’s basketball team will look altogether different than last year’s edition.

Last year’s 20-loss campaign only served to expedite head coach Tim Carter’s ongoing make over of the team. Taking advantage of the scholarships made available with the departure of four players and the dismissals of David Cobb and Derrick Davis, Carter was able to add seven players during the recently completed signing period:

- Guard Jimmy Williams (6-4), East Laurens High School in Dublin Ga.- The Class 2-A Player of the Year in Georgia, he averaged 15 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists per game.

- - Forward Arsenio Williams (6-5), Fort Scott Community College in Kansas - A first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Eastern Division selection and the school’s all-time leading scorer (1,142 points) and rebounder (595), the Chicago native averaged 22 points per game last season.

- Forward Kiara Douglas (6-7), Darlington High School - An All-State forward, he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior.

- Forward Charles Belton (6-4), Coastal Georgia Community College - He averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game and was selected to play in the 2008 Georgia/Florida Junior College All-American Game.

- Guard Kensha Johnson (6-1), Coastal Georgia Community College - Averaged 10 points and five rebounds last season and seven assists per game.

- Guard Jamaal Day (6-2) of Wilkerson County High School - A Georgiahoops.com first-team Class A All-State selection who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.

- Forward Brandon Smalls (6-5), Harcum Community College - The North Charleston native averaged 20 points per game and led his team in steals and 3-point field goals.

Add College of Charleston transfer forward Josh Jackson, who sat out last season, and the incoming talent brings a blend of athleticism and skill Carter believes will bring the Bulldogs closer to playing the style of basketball he envisions in Orangeburg.

“I think with the nucleus that we have coming back and the guys that we have coming in, I think it puts us in a position where we can really, really fight for a championship,” Carter said. “When you look at who have coming back...we return four starters (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Carrio Bennett, point guard Jessie Burton and forwards Jason Johnson and Jason Flagler), every person that we signed is going to compete for playing time. It’s a situation where just because you were on the team last year doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be starting next year. That’s what I want.”

Those players who have left the program are guard Thomas Bookman, forwards Everett Spencer and Chris Miller-Williams and center Dale Carn. While Bookman and Miller-Williams saw their minutes drastically reduced as the season progressed and Carn was redshirted, Spencer started 23 of 31 games played averaged 7.5 points.

He and Carn had also joined senior Robert Baker in publicly supporting the former Bulldog Cobb. However, Carter insisted the departures of Spencer, Carn, Miller-Williams and Bookman were by their own accord.

In addition to a new-look team, Carter has put together a more favorable schedule for the Bulldogs. Not only will SCSU play its first four games at home against Erskine College, Allen University, Carver Bible College and the College of Charleston, but will only have two guaranteed games at Clemson University and the University of Nebraska.

Carter is especially excited about the prospect of high fan support from the Lowcountry and Upstate for the games against the College of Charleston and Clemson.

With the schedule complete, Carter is turning his focus towards his upcoming individual and team basketball camps. He will hold two individual sessions the weeks of June 9-12 and June 16-19 at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Each day from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. will be filled with competitive drills, informative instruction and each camper will be assigned to a team for games with equal playing opportunity.

The team camp is scheduled for June 13-15 where schools from around the state will scrimmage each other over three days at various Orangeburg gymnasiums.

The cost of the individual camp is $75 for half-day campers and $150 for full-day campers. Those taking advantage of the Early Bird Special before today’s deadline will receive discounts of $10 (half-day) and $20 (full-day). The cost of the team camp is $350 per group with schools receiving a $50 discount if they bring two teams.

A brochure for both camps can be downloaded by logging on the SCSU Athletics website at www.scsusports.com and visiting the men’s basketball section. For more information, contact assistant coach Jermone Riley at (803) 536-8760.

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