Ray, who was hired to replace Rick Stansbury, arrived in Starkville after a two-year stint as the associate head coach at Clemson University.
During his time at Clemson, the Tigers won 38 games and qualified for the NCAA Tournament one time. Prior to becoming the associate head coach at Clemson, Ray was an assistant at Purdue for four years, where he helped sign one of the top recruiting classes in school history. This class was rated No. 5 nationally by Scout.com and included All-American Robbie Hummel.
 
Athletic director Scott Stricklin said Ray fits the characteristics of a coach he looks for when trying to fill a job.
 
“Rick fits the model of head coach we have sought to bring into our program over the last several years,” Stricklin said. “He is bright, enthusiastic, disciplined and is a man of integrity. He has served with some of the top head and assistant coaches in college basketball and will bring a piece of all of them to our head coaching position.”
 
Ray may not be a well-known commodity to many MSU fans, but he wasted little time letting people know what to expect of the MSU basketball program under his watch.
 
“We will be successful. I don’t know how to lose. The only thing I’ve ever done is win ballgames,” Ray said. “I don’t care if you are an assistant coach or associate head coach. If you come from a winning program, you know how to win.”
 
With MSU’s basketball program serving as the butt of many jokes over the last few years, Ray emphasized his desire to see his team perform well on and off the court.
 
“I’m really big on doing things the right way. We are going to instill toughness. Sometimes you don’t have a banner year recruiting; you miss out on the McDonald’s All-American. You better have a system that will overcome some sort of bad recruiting year or attrition,” Ray said. “I want to make sure we put a team on this court that you guys can support and feel good about. That is very important to me. I want to make sure our guys are going out there and fighting and competing.”
 
Ray’s next few weeks will be spent trying to sell the program to potential assistant coaches, recruits and fans. With the spring signing period right around the corner, it is important he try and assuage any fears current signees might have as well as work to add any talented players who are not currently signed with a school. Ray said he believes his style of play will be attractive to recruits.
 
“This is going to be an exciting brand of basketball, offensively. We want to push the basketball and put people on their heels. We want to make sure we run a motion offense,” Ray said. “I believe the motion offense does one thing: it allows guys who are good enough to do what they need to do to go and make plays. It is as simple as that. I want them to go out there, make plays and be free.”
 
When it comes to filling out his staff, Ray would like to keep one of the current MSU assistants on staff to help with the transition and to ensure MSU continues to recruit well in Mississippi. Along with keeping one of the current assistants, Ray said he wishes to bring in an assistant he knows, and he wishes to bring in another who really wants to be at MSU (a “wild card” as he referred to him).
 
Due to the transition phase that will take place after Stansbury’s 14 years on the job, Ray stressed that fans should cast their doubts aside and believe in him and Mississippi State.
 
“As a basketball coach, I want to go out and connect with our players. I want them to have a positive experience at Mississippi State. I’ve been on the phone non-stop with recruits and players. It will take time, and it will take some patience,” Ray said. “All I ask you to do is throw away your doubts, throw away your fears and just go two feet in to Mississippi State basketball and then see what happens. If it doesn’t happen, then you can be judgmental, but don’t be judgmental right now. Just make sure you go out and support these guys because they need it. We’re going to be good, and we’re going to be successful. We’re going to do it the right way, and we’re going to put a brand of basketball on the court that all you guys can be proud of.”