Connecting Hardcourt’s Building Blocks

Georgia Gwinnett College men’s basketball players Anthony Bittar, Devontre Chaney, Drew Kramer, Stephon Martin and Deonté Martinez may be good on their own, but they’re even greater when playing together – as they’re getting ready to do later this month for the tipoff of the historic 2025-26 season.

The five talented players took a leap of faith to becoming Grizzlies, with four of the five of them having to wait an entire year as the foundation of the college’s inaugural season was being formed. A basketball court in GGC’s new Convocation Center was being built for them.

But they already were familiar with the program’s leader, Head Coach Chase Teichmann, who was their coach while leading Florida College to conference championships and earning respect in the NAIA national tournament.

Teichmann made a personal decision to move north to Lawrenceville in the summer of 2024, and Bittar, Chaney, Kramer, and Martinez followed at the start of GGC’s 2024 fall semester. They spent nearly a year playing pickup games and working to improve aspects of their hardcourt skills.

And, they had no reservations in joining new program.

Within days of arriving on the Georgia Gwinnett College campus Teichmann began recruiting players for the 2025-26 season and Kramer was high on the list of potential targets.

“Drew was the first one I asked,” states Teichmann. The 6-foot-7 wing made 43 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point field goal arc for Florida College during the 2022-23 season. The following year he earned a spot on the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference all-tournament team and helped the Falcons to the second round of NAIA postseason play.

“He (Drew) can play on the perimeter. He shoots the cover off the ball. He really understands how to move without the ball. He’s vertically athletic and plays above the rim. He’s a smart defender. He’s just a guy, in today’s college basketball, that you can just plug into the lineup and he can play. And since he’s been with me for so long, he knows what we want to be the most,” the coach remarks. 

Teichmann also had a lot of wholesome things to say about Kramer as a person. He says, “Drew is just a great guy. He’s the kind of guy you want dating your daughter. He’s a good student, good person, and a really good player.” 

Not surprisingly, Kramer was named to the GGC Athletic Director’s 2025 Spring Honor Roll. 

Chaney was a former Falcon commit quickly accepted an invitation to the new program.

“Devontre was 100 percent in (to playing at GGC). He said yes so fast (in 2024) I didn’t even get to tell him that we’re a new program, there would be no season next year. I had to give him all the facts. After I did that, he said ‘Okay cool, I'm still in’,” notes Teichmann.

The guard was a junior college all-region player at Palm Beach State College (Florida) after averaging 15.6 points, nine rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He also named to the Division II All-Florida College System Activities Association team. 

Chaney was supposed to transfer to Florida College and to play the 2024-25 season when Teichmann moved to GGC. He followed the coach to Lawrenceville, even though he wouldn’t get to play for another year.

“He’s a really unselfish player,” remarks Teichmann about his guard. “He’s a 6-foot-5 guy who can pretty much play anywhere in the perimeter and guard any position as well as play above the rim. He does a lot of things that don’t even show up on the game’s statistics. He’s just a winner.”

The summer of 2024 was a whirlwind of emotions for Bittar, who was planning on reuniting with Teichmann at Florida College after spending the 2023-24 season at Southeastern Louisiana, a NCAA Division I college. He earned first-team All-Continental Athletic Conference honors during the 2022-23 season, averaging 12 points, five rebounds and six assists per game for the Falcons. All of that then helped lead the team to a 58-10 record in his two seasons under Teichmann. 

“He’s a big point guard and can play multiple positions. Also, he’s probably the best passer on our team. He makes everyone better,” the coach assesses on Bittar. “He’s a really good finisher, having shot the ball really well during the two years playing for me. He’s really efficient and has some things that you can’t teach.” 

Teichmann adds, “It was hard for him to see the long-term vision, especially after already transferring once. But he just needed a couple of days to digest the news that I was coming [to Georgia Gwinnett College], and he ended up coming.”  

“I’d really grown to understand that the grass really isn’t always greener on the other side,” reflects Bittar about spending one frustrating season in the Southeastern Louisiana program.

Martinez was curious about GGC and its new program before joining his former teammates. However, he was another quick “yes” for Teichmann. 

“He ended up calling the next day at 6 a.m. saying, ‘Let’s do this thing,’” recalls the coach about that recruiting timeline.

The guard averaged 10 points and four assists per game at Florida College in 2023-24, helping the team to a 28-5 record and second round of the NAIA national tournament. He made 48 percent of his shots, including a 43 percent clip in 3-pointers, and 88 percent of his free throws. That came after Martinez collected second-team all-conference accolades at Bismarck State College (North Dakota). 

“He’s really efficient and a true three-level scorer. He also really guards the ball defensively. I knew what I was getting and that’s what I liked about bringing him here,” said Teichmann.

Meanwhile, Martin remained in Florida for the 2024-25 campaign and jumped at the chance to reunite with his coach and teammates for his final college basketball season. 

Teichmann actually encouraged him to take advantage of the playing opportunity to improve aspects of his game. 

Teichmann stated: “Stephon always had a phenomenal attitude. He’s been awesome, the rest of the team he’s gotten to know super quick. I think he’s probably everybody’s favorite teammate. You know that if you need him, he’s there and having him with us really is just a win for everyone.” 

Bittar, Kramer and Martin were part of the same freshman class at Florida College. Now, they are the foundation of Georgia Gwinnett College’s program.

"Spending the last year together, we had no choice but to get tighter and closer," said Martinez.

Best believe, with that kind of mentality, these men collectively will make Georgia Gwinnett’s inaugural men’s basketball season unforgettable.