Dee Bost leads the Bulldogs in points, assists, steals, three pointers made and minutes played per game. The senior point guard has been the leader of the team all season, but he has been playing a ton of minutes and carrying the load for State. As good as Bost has been, he needs some help.
Freshman guard Rodney Hood has been the most consistent helper for Bost, averaging 12.6 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. But even Hood admitted the MSU guards need to step up their game.
“We have to handle the ball better and make plays,” Hood said. “They took the ball out of Dee’s hands, and the rest of us failed to make plays. We have to get better at that.”
In State’s SEC opener at Arkansas, the Razorbacks pressed and kept the pressure on the Dogs throughout the game. This led to a season-high 18 turnovers, six above the team’s average. Head coach Rick Stansbury said he is not going to panic about the game.
“Our offense led to some defensive problems, too. Defensively, we have been pretty good and consistent,” Stansbury said. “We’ve seen a lot of different presses all year long, but this one sped us up, and it’s hard to simulate it in practice.”
Besides Hood, senior Brian Bryant, sophomore Jalen Steele and freshman DeVille Smith have seen minutes off the bench. The three are averaging a combined 21.5 points per game. Lately, however, they have added little to the scoreboard, excluding Smith’s 25-point outburst against Arkansas.
Bryant admitted he needs to improve his decision making and ball handling to help Bost more.
“We feel like he’s playing too many minutes, and down the stretch he gets tired,” Bryant said. “We need to rest him in the early half and give him more help.”
While those guards can assist Bost in some ways, Smith is the true back-up point guard and is improving by gaining experience. The 5’11 four-star recruit tallied 25 points in just 18 minutes of action against Arkansas, and Stansbury said Smith must continue to focus and make adjustments.
“He’s best at just scrambling in the open court, but he has to continue to stay focused, and it’s a challenge for him everyday,” Stansbury said. “I want him to get to where we can bring him in and feel comfortable with him and get some consistency from him offensively and defensively.”
Stansbury added that Bost does not need help bringing the ball up the court; rather, he simply needs a rest every once in a while.
“Dee needs a blow, and DeVille’s a guy who can help with that,” Stansbury said. “We need to rest Dee more, but we would like to get Dee and DeVille on the court together some more.”
Smith is averaging 6.3 points per game and is second on the team with 38 assists and 18 steals on the year. Since SEC play is underway, Smith’s contributions to the team will become more and more significant. Hood believes Smith will be a key part of the team as the season continues.
“We need ball handlers, and he’s tough mentally and physically,” Hood said. “He can score with the best of them, and we’re going to need him down the line for ball-handling purposes.”