JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team got preparations for the 2013-14 season underway on Tuesday afternoon, when the team held its first practice of the preseason.

The Gamecocks worked out for about two hours in their practice gym in Kennamer Hall, beginning preparations for a season that officially gets underway on Nov. 8 at Bradley. JSU's first test on the floor will be a Halloween exhibition game vs. West Georgia in Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Gamecocks have reason to be excited after a 17-11 record a year ago and finishing .500 or better in the league in back-to-back seasons for the first time. They return a pair of scoring threats on the perimeter in senior Brian Williams and junior Darion Rackley, while senior Nick Cook is the most notable returnee in a post that lost three major contributors to graduation.

In his sixth season at the helm of the Gamecocks, James Green has added a wealth of new talent and is excited to get the 2013-14 season underway.

A 6-foot-1 native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Williams led the Gamecocks and was fifth in the OVC in assists per game with 4.3 a year ago, while his 13.1 points per contest ranked in the top 20 in the league. Rackley, a 6-foot-3 guard from St. Louis, is the team's leading returning scorer after pouring in 13.7 points per game last year and was one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the OVC with a 39 percent success rate in his sophomore year.

Senior guards Rico Sanders, Giovanni Smith and Rod McReynolds help in one of the more experienced backcourts in the OVC this year that will also feature some added depth from Green's group of incoming players.

Junior Avery Moore transferred from Florida A&M midway through last season and will be eligible after the fall semester. He has experience as a starter with the Rattlers and has shown the ability to put up big numbers from the perimeter.

Another transfer is junior Grant White, who returns to JSU after a year at Palm Beach State. White was in the starting lineup for the Gamecocks down the stretch of his freshman season and helped JSU to the OVC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville.

Freshmen Randall Smith, Undra Mitchem and Nathan Laing also enter the fall as additions to the JSU backcourt. Smith was an all-state point guard at Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga., while Mitchem comes from a very successful program in Leesburg, Fla., that saw him help the Yellow Jackets to three 20-win seasons and a state title. Laing was an all-conference guard at Harnett Central High School in Lillington, N.C.

Cook is the only returning upperclassman in the frontcourt, where he will lead a talented group that features youth and some transfers. Cook currently has 108 career blocks, which is third in the school's Division I history. The 6-foot-6 forward from Hattiesburg, Miss., has also grabbed 353 career boards, knocking on the door of the Top 10 in JSU's Division I record books.

Back are sophomore big men Michael Louder and Darrius Moore, who each saw limited action as true freshmen a year ago. Junior Teraes Clemmons and freshman Joe Kuligoski are combo players that took redshirts a year ago and will be in the mix this season.

Three junior college transfers step in to shore up the Gamecocks' inside game and all three have size. Jamal Hunter from East Mississippi Community College is a 6-foot-8 frame that shot almost 60 percent from the floor, while 6-foot-7 newcomers D.J. Felder of East Georgia College and Jeremy Watson from Shelton State round out that group.

Felder averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game in leading EGSC to a state title last year, while Watson is a Birmingham native that also won a state title in junior college last season.