VALDOSTA — The men’s basketball team at Valdosta State is going to open some eyes in the fall. And those eyes are going to be looking up.

The Blazers have signed Billy McShepard, a 6-foot-11 forward from Louisburg College in Louisburg, N.C., and Josh Williams, a 6-foot-9 center from Truett-McConnell Junior College in Atlanta.

The two giants will join a Blazers squad that already features three other players that stand 6-foot-7, including returning All-American Tyrone Curnell.

“We’ve been fortunate to have some kids that are taller that have skill. That might be the way to say it,” VSU head coach Mike Helfer said. “I think all of our guys that are 6-foot-7 have skill like Tyrone and B.J. (Dibble). We’re going to be tall, but our skill level is going to be good. That height can hopefully help us and maybe even be an intimidating factor as we go into some games.”

McShepard comes to VSU as a highly touted recruit. The rising junior said he was recruited by so many schools that he can’t remember them all. Ones he did remember were Division I UNC-Pembroke and Division II power Clayton State. However, VSU had an unconventional connection to McShepard that helped bring him to the Azalea City.

“My sister went to Valdosta State, but I didn’t know too much too much about the school,” McShepard said. “I just knew about football program, I hadn’t heard much about basketball. Then I met (assistant) coach (Nick) Gast and coach Helfer and they filled me in. I liked what I heard.”

McShepard was a highly touted recruit for a reason. At 6-foot-11 he plays the three and is best known for his shooting ability. Last year he averaged 17 points per game for Louisburg and shot 54 percent from the field. He hit 21 3-pointers and grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game.

“He’s a very different player,” Helfer said. “You look at him at 6-foot-11 and everybody immediately assumes he’s going to play inside, but he’s not an inside player. He’s a perimeter player. Obviously we thought he’s a great player and we enjoyed our time with him as a person. I just think he’s going to be a good fit for what we’re trying to do.”

McShepard agreed that he’s going to be a good fit, citing one of the reasons he chose VSU was because he got along great with the returning players on his visit. He was also impressed by VSU’s growing campus.

“The campus was lovely,” McShepard said. “It’s a nice campus. I met a lot of administrators, and they were nice people. It’s a homely place see myself for the next two years.”

While he doesn’t have the shooting ability of McShepard, Josh Williams brings a much needed defensive presence to the team. Williams said VSU was the only Division II team that recruited him, and he had a full ride offered to him by the Missouri Tigers and Western Kentucky and Marquette were also interested.

“I’ve been in college for three years and went to a few schools where I wasn’t happy,” Williams said. “I never enjoyed myself at school, then I visited (VSU) and liked it a whole lot. I can’t explain it. The energy, the vibe. It was cool. So were the players. I got the feeling everything was going to work out. I knew my position and what they want me to do. It feels to go to a school where you fit. It makes things easier.”

The Blazers struggled at times in the post last year, and in a game against Lynn they lost at the buzzer after being unable to haul in a series of loose balls around the basket. The hope is that Williams can solve that problem.

“We struggled with some guys last year when we faced a pretty good sized post player,” Helfer said. “I hope Josh will be able to defend the good post players that we face this year. He had 67 blocks in junior college. That’s good. He’s not the most bouncy athlete, but his timing is great.”

Williams will be the best defensive player the Blazers have had since the 7-foot-1 Jamahl Stokes two seasons ago.

“Stokes was interesting because he was really such a huge defensive presence,” Helfer said. “Josh doesn’t have the same type of body as Stokes, he is much bigger than Jamahl was. I think Josh is going to come in and give us a big anchor in the middle.”

Just because he’s expected to a key defensively, Helfer insists that Williams can also produce on the offensive end. Last year he averaged 8.6 per games and shot 53.3 percent from the field for Truett-McConnell.

“He’s good defensively, but offensively he’s not raw,” Helfer said. “He knows how to play in the post. He’s not going to be a guy that just tomahawk dunks on everybody. He’s got very good post moves and what he does very well is pass out the post as well as anybody that I may have coached in a long time. He sees double teams, sees the help signs, knows where to throw it out to. Those are great qualities to have in a post guy.”

With the addition of a 6-foot-11 shooter and a 6-foot-9 defensive force to a team that went 24-7 last season and returns four starters, the hype is already building for what might be one of the best men’s basketball teams in a long time at VSU. Helfer said seven players from last year’s squad have chose to stick around for the summer to work together, a sign that the players know something special could be in the works.

“I think our guys are sticking around for two reasons,” Helfer said. “Yes, they know we have a chance to improve on what we did last year, but they’re also a very tight group of guys. They’re like if everyone is staying then we need to be here and work together, shoot together and lift together. When you get that kind of player and leadership that’s a good sign.”

The new players will join the returning players for the first week of classes in mid-August, then practice begins in mid-October with the first game coming in mid-November. By that time a long, successful journey could be about to begin.

“I’m excited because we had some success last year,” Helfer said.” We have a lot of guys returning. They’re working extremely hard. Add in the new guys and we’re excited. I’m really excited about the quality of person we have in our program, especially with Billy and Josh who are great kids.”