GAME NOTES: Statesmen vs. West Alabama/West Georgia
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CLEVELAND - The Statesmen (2-4, 0-0 GSC) of Delta State University look to find a groove, as the green-and-white enter the third week of the regular season.  DSU will travel to West Alabama (3-3) on Thursday, Dec. 2 before wrapping up the week by hosting West Georgia (3-2) on Saturday, Dec. 4.  The UWA game is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Pruitt Hall in Livingston, Ala., while the UWG clash is slated for 6 p.m. at Sillers Coliseum.   

Central Arkansas transfer Chris Poellnitz is leading the Statesmen in scoring this season, averaging 18.5 points per game.  The 6-foot-3 shooting guard is 39-of-89 on the season from the floor and 19-of-42 (.452) from three point range.  

Ken Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 senior transfer from West Florida, has impressed in his first few games for the Statesmen.  The Pensacola, Fla., native is averaging 10.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for the green-and-white.   

After redshirting in 2009-2010 to focus on his studies, guard Arian Maliqi has returned with a vengance, averaging 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.  The 6-foot-6 shooting guard scored 16 points to open the season against No. 17 Rollins and turned in 11 points and four boards versus Saint Leo.  

Senior forward Jamarkus Holt tied the school record for rebounds in a game with 26 in a 96-79 win at Victory University.  The Alcorn State transfer is averaging 9.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for the Statesmen.

Freshman point guard Jay Murphy is averaging 3.9 assists per game versus just 1.7 turnovers through his first six games as a Statesmen.  The former Bolivar Central (Tenn.) High School star dished out a career-high eight assists in the season-opener versus No. 17 Rollins on Nov. 12 at the GSC/SSC Challenge.

Delta State's roster features 17 newcomers this season, including 10 transfers from NCAA Division I and the junior college ranks.  Alcorn State transfer Jamarkus Holt and Central Arkansas transfer Chris Poellnitz headline the list.

Mississippi State transfer Phil Turner made his debut versus Shepherd Tech, scoring 12 points off the bench for the Statesmen.

The Statesmen were picked to finish second in the Gulf South Conference West Division this season by a vote of the league's 14 coaches.    

OUTBOARD MOTORS DELTA STATE
The Statesmen are out rebounding opponents 45 to 39 each game. Seniors Ken Mitchell and Jamarkus Holt have paced the rebounding efforts for the Green and White this season.

Mitchell, a 6-8 West Florida transfer, averages nine rebounds a game and has led the Statesmen in that category four of the six games played.

Holt, a 6-9 Alcorn State transfer, will grab 9.8 boards a game and has led the team for the other two games in rebounds.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS CREATE CHANCES
Of the 271 rebounds that the Statesmen have corralled, 126 of them have been of the offensive variety.

In those second chances, the Statesmen have scored 109 second chance points or just over 18 per game. The largest second chance point deficit came when Delta State out rebounded Victory University by 44 and had 43 second chance points on 38 offensive boards.

STATESMEN DIG DEEP
This may be one of the deepest teams in years for coach Jason Conner. Seven players average five points or more each game for the Statesmen.

That depth leads to incredible bench play. The non-starters have pitched in 141 points so far this season, which is 30% of DSU's total point output.

In the first win of the year against Victory, Delta State amassed 40 bench points while Victory only had 10.

ACCURATE TOUCH
Eight players for head coach Jason Conner are shooting better than 40 percent from the field. Marqueys Brown leads the team at 63.2% from the floor.

Ken Mitchell, James Berry, Marc Liyanage, Jamarkus Holt, Chris Poellnitz, Ladarrin Williams and Arian Maliqi are hitting the nets better than 40 percent of the time. These players help the Statesmen shoot 45.1% from the floor as a team.

POELLNITZ PILOTS SCORING EFFORTS
Senior Central Arkansas transfer Chris Poellnitz (Pole-nitz) is leading the way for the Statesmen in his first and only season with the team. At 18.5 points per game and 45.2% from three, CP is creating shots and making the most of this time on the court. He now scores a point every one minute and 23 seconds.

Poellnitz has scored double-figure points in each game and has led the team in scoring in four of the six games played so far in 2010.

ONLY NEED HALF FOR THE WHOLE STORY
When the Statesmen trail at the half, they have lost. On the other side of the coin, when they have the lead at the half, the Statesmen defeated Victory and Shepherd Tech. In each of those contests Delta State went into the locker room with a six point lead and would hold on to win.  In the four losses, the Statesmen went in at the half down by an average of just over six points.

SPUTTERING START
This is the worst six game start (2-4) for the Statesmen since the 2004-2005 season when the Statesmen went 2-4 under head coach Steve Rives.

Since that 04-05 year, the Statesmen have had three wins once, registered four wins in the six first games three times and even had a five and one start to a season in 2008-2009 under coach Conner.

GREEN-AND-WHITE TO TANGLE WITH TIGERS
The Statesmen of Delta State University hold an all-time series lead of 36-20 over the University of West Alabama. The two GSC challengers last met on November 23, 2009. The Statesmen won the battle on the hardwood 72-67. Head coach Jason Conner holds a record of 6-0 versus UWA .

STATESMEN AND WOLVES SET FOR 34TH MEETING
The Delta State University Statesmen currently hold an all-time series lead of 22-11 over the University of West Georgia Wolves. The two Gulf South Conference foes last played December 3, 2009. DSU defeated UWG 94-77 at The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga.

DSU INCHING CLOSER TO 650 WINS VERSUS GSC
DSU looks to get the programs 649th victory versus a Gulf South Conference opponent on Dec. 4, as the UWG Wolves come to Walter Sillers Coliseum. The Statesmen hold an all time record of 648-409 versus GSC opponents. Head coach Jason Conner holds a 36-20 all-time conference mark in four seasons at the helm of the Statesmen basketball program and is looking for number 37.

TRANSFERS MAKING IMPACT ON STATESMEN
Head coach Jason Conner added five transfers to the roster for the 2010-11 season. Three of these five players have made an immediate impact on this year's team and continue to make their presence known. Senior transfers Ken Mitchell from West Florida, Jamarkus Holt from Alcorn State and Chris Poellnitz from the University of Central Arkansas continue to pace the Statesmen in scoring and rebounding. Poellnitz currently leads the Statesmen in scoring with 18.5 points per game. Mitchell is second in scoring with 10.8 points while Holt ranks third on the squad with 9.8 points per contest. Holt also leads the team in rebounding with 9.8 rebounds per game.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Delta State is picked to finish second in the West Division of the Gulf South  Conference behind nationally No. 13 ranked Arkansas Tech. This is the second straight season DSU has been picked to finish second.

STATESMEN ON PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Junior forward Marqueys Brown, a 6-foot-9 power forward, was named to the Preseason All-GSC West Division Team by a vote of the league's 14 head coaches.  Last season, the Memphis, Tenn., native was named first team All-GSC.   Also receiving preseason honors  are Mississippi State transfer Phil Turner and Chris Poellnitz, a senior transfer from Central Arkansas. Both were named “Top Newcomers.” 

CONNER QUICKEST TO 70
Statesmen head coach Jason Conner has accomplished a feat no other coach at DSU can say, he is the fastest to 70 wins.  In just four seasons Conner has amassed a 72-41 record a bench mark reached by no other coach in Statesmen Basketball history.

THE CONNER PLAN
Under Jason Conner, the Statesmen have had success on the floor, but more importantly, in the classroom. That facet of being a student athlete is something that the fifth year head coach stresses to his incoming crop of talent.
 
Delta State's basketball team boasts a NCAA Graduation Rate of 100 percent, in figures released by the NCAA in October. Meaning that every player that came in during the 2002-2003 season, freshman or transfer, graduated in the allotted five-year period. That's a figure that stands alone during that same period for all other NCAA sponsored sports at Delta State.

CONNER BUILDING ON TENURE
Fifth year head coach Jason Conner is heading into familiar territory. 14 coaches have covered the history of Delta State basketball and the average tenure for each coach is six seasons. Conner is heading into his fifth year and stands as the seventh longest tenured coach in DSU basketball history.

A.D. Dickson, Herman Zimoski and Mel Hankinson each coached six years. Jim Murrell coached eight seasons and John Ray Ricks was the head Statesmen for 15 years, going 216-126-1. But the longest tenure as head Statesmen basketball coach belongs to the legendary Steve Rives. He coached for two decades and amassed the most wins in green-and-white history with a record of 388-186. Conner has a long way to go to reach that mark, but could jump into fourth place all time in wins with another successful season this year. He has 72 wins and needs 19 to surpass both Hankinson and Dickson. 

STATESMEN LOOKING TO ADD TO TROPHY CASE
The Delta State University Statesmen have won six conference crowns in program history which is the most of any school in the Gulf South Conference. The 2010-2011 Statesmen look to increase that margin of success.

EUROPEAN STATESMEN
The 2010-2011 Statesmen Basketball squad has some international flair this season. Senior forward Arian Maliqi is from Pristina, Kosovo, some 5,268 miles from Cleveland, Miss. Redshirt junior center Karan Bajwa is 4,640 miles from his hometown of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youngster Marc Liyanage, a freshman from Hamburg, Germany is 4,790 miles from his old stomping grounds. Those players from far away lands will look to make a big impact for the Green and White in the 2010-2011 season.
 
BROWN FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Marqueys Brown literally leaped onto the Gulf South Conference scene last season with some of the most athletic plays that Sillers Coliseum has ever seen. In 2009-2010, Brown averaged 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.