2009 Schedule

DAHLONEGA, GA – North Georgia College & State University head men’s basketball coach Chris Faulkner has announced the recruiting class for the 2009-10 season that includes six transfers and four incoming freshmen.

The freshmen class includes Chase Anderson from Mill Creek High School, Reed Buck from Collins Hill High School, Robby Goldsmith out of Hargrave Military Academy, and Taylor Metzger from Greater Atlanta Christian.

"We are pleased with the depth this class will give us at every position,” head coach Chris Faulkner said of his incoming players. Bringing in this many new guys will be a challenge for our program, but we are really excited about this class for both the immediate and long term impact on our program."

Of the six transfers, Tyler Norman and Cody Coleman make their way to North Georgia from nearby Truett-McConnell College, while Carl Taylor joins the Saints from Morehead State University in Kentucky.

Two other players come to Dahlonega from the state of Georgia as Keldrick Coleman transfers from Georgia Perimeter College, while Bernard Rimmer leaves Georgia State University after playing one season with the Panthers to join the Saints. Prior to his stint at Georgia State, Rimmer played two years at Mississippi State University.

The Saints also snagged Jon Nolton from the state of Florida as Nolton enters his junior season for North Georgia after playing a year at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida.

"Our expectations for this team are very high,” Faulkner said. “I expect our seniors to step up and be great examples for our other players and hopefully we can draw from their prior experiences in this league.” 

North Georgia is coming off a season that saw them finish 15-12 overall and 9-11 in the Peach Belt Conference, while posting a 9-3 mark at home. The Saints ended the season winning four of their last six games, but fell 81-76 to Georgia College & State University in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

“As always, I think the Peach Belt will be one of the premier leagues in the country, but I feel this team will have a great chance to be a contender in the conference,” Faulkner said.

North Georgia will open the season at nearby and NCAA Division I opponent Kennesaw State University as the Saints oppose the Owls in exhibition on November 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center.

The Saints will then host four home games to open the regular season before traveling to the Carson-Newman Tournament in Jefferson, Tennessee, to take on Tusculum and Carson-Newman College.

North Georgia will play 10 non-conference games before finally breaking into the Peach Belt Conference schedule the first week of January as they play host to Augusta State University in Memorial Hall.

With the addition of Flagler College and the University of Montevallo to the Peach Belt Conference for the 2009-10 season, the number of teams in the league has now been stretched to 13. Due to this, the PBC has split into two divisions. North Georgia is now in the West Division with Clayton State, Columbus State, Georgia Southwestern, GCSU, and Montevallo, while the East Division consists of Armstrong Atlantic, Augusta State, Flagler, Francis Marion, Lander, UNC Pembroke, and USC Aiken.

The format for the 2010 PBC Tournament has also changed with only eight of the top 13 teams qualifying for the event to be held for the third straight year at the Convocation Center on the campus of USC Aiken. The top two seeds from each division will host a first-round contest on campus on March 3, and the four winners will then advance to the new PBC Final Four to be held the first weekend of March (5-7).