So what are we supposed to
be thinking about Mississippi
State basketball these
days? I wish I had the answer,
but to be honest I cannot think
of too many positives myself. We
only have seven players currently
on the roster for next season,
and our top recruit, Josh Gray,
recently got out of his letter of
intent. As much as I have been
trying not to think about the
2012-2013 basketball season,
I guess it is time to address the
elephant in the room.
Here is the thing I have been
trying to remind myself: State is
not the only team losing big-time
players. While Arnett Moultrie’s
decision to enter the NBA draft a
year early will obviously hurt the
Dogs, there are plenty of other
players around the SEC making
the same decision.
Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins,
who led the SEC in scoring the
past two seasons, is declaring for
the draft. Florida star Bradley
Beal is gone after one season.
Texas A&M’s Khris Middleton is
headed to the draft as well. (Not
that the Aggies stand a chance
in the SEC anyway, right?) The
SEC’s other new arrival, Missouri,
will be recovering from
its embarrassing fi rst-round exit
from the NCAA Tournament
for awhile.
Alabama’s second leading scorer
Tony Mitchell was granted his
release from the team recently.
LSU recently hired a new head
coach, and Auburn sophomore
Varez Ward is being investigated
by the NCAA for point-shaving.
As for Ole Miss, well, just the
name itself brings enough trouble
and pessimism for the Rebels
to handle.
And then there’s Kentucky,
who is most likely losing the
heart of its team in Anthony Davis,
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and
Terrence Jones. Not to mention
Darius Miller (Mr. Clutch) is
graduating. Oh, and they only
signed the No. 1 high school recruit
but failed to sign the No. 2
recruit. Shame, shame.
And who are we to complain
when Arkansas’ whole athletic
department is in a state of fl ux
due to Bobby Petrino?
I understand the Bulldogs
have lost more than just Moultrie.
Renardo Sidney has declared
for the draft … no comment
except I believe the Dogs will
be better without him, but you
can decide that one for yourself.
Deville Smith leaving the program
hurts, but mainly because
he would have been a fan-favorite.
The 5’11 point guard was
fun to watch but way too out of
control to handle the offense.
The biggest blow of them all
was Rodney Hood. The talented
freshman had the opportunity
to be like Lebron in Cleveland
and have a team built around
him, but just like King James,
he chose to take his talents elsewhere
(most likely Duke, Ohio
State or Florida State).
That leaves us with 13 points
per game, four rebounds per
game and 22 starts combined
last season for the players left
on MSU’s roster. Together, Jalen
Steele and Wendell Lewis have
the potential to provide MSU
with a starting point. Steele
showed his clutch three-point
shooting last season, and Lewis
can be made into a solid post
player with the right coaching.
But amidst all of these departures,
we have had some
key arrivals, Rick Ray being
the frontrunner. Ray now has
the opportunity to start from
scratch and let his talent in recruiting
work its magic. He can
make the team his own instead
of trying to build off of someone
else’s work. Most of the assistants
he has hired are known for their
recruiting; this will be put to the
test right away.
It will be a tough task, but
Rome was not built in a day and
neither will this basketball team.
But give Ray and his staff a couple
hundred days (including the
recruiting period) and you will
see a new-look MSU basketball
team. I am not exactly sure what
that look will be, but it will be
new.
A lot of people were critical of
Scott Stricklin’s decision to hire
Ray as the new head coach. It
is true that Ray has never been
a head coach and is not a wellknown
name, but we have to
trust Stricklin’s decision. The
athletic director’s last two hires,
Dan Mullen and Vann Stuedeman,
have paid off tremendously,
so I am willing to let him do
his job instead of trying to do it
for him.
So what should we think
about MSU basketball? Nothing.
Just stop thinking about it.
We need to stop trying to fi gure
out what next year will look like
and let Ray do his job. That is
why he was hired, right? He is
getting paid to coach the basketball
team, not us. In the mean
time, we have to remember that
fall is right around the corner.
And fall means football. So here
is my answer: get ready for football
season and let Ray and his
staff get ready for basketball season.