Mississippi State basketball fans will have another opportunity to get a preseason glimpse at coach Rick Stansbury’s 2001-02 Bulldog squad this Saturday morning at Humphrey Coliseum. Scheduled to commence at 9 a.m., the team’s second intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason will be open to the public with no charge for admission. Last Saturday, in their 2001-02 preseason scrimmage debut, the Bulldogs were paced by sophomores Timmy Bowers and Mario Austin, who tallied 32 and 28 points, respectively. Mississippi’s 1999-2000 prep player of the year from Gulfport’s Harrison Central High School, Bowers hit 11-of-16 shots from the field, including 6-of-9 accuracy from beyond the three-point arc. A McDonald’s All-American two years ago at Sumter County High School in York, Ala., Austin shot 13-of-17 from the field and collected eight rebounds last week. In addition, Bulldog veterans Michael Gholar and Derrick Zimmerman added 21 and 19 points, respectively, during last Saturday’s scrimmage, while newcomers Winsome Frazier and Michal Ignerski added 18 and 15 points, respectively.
Mississippi State basketball fans will have two more opportunities to preview the 2001-02 Bulldogs free of charge, as MSU will host the Branch West Basketball Academy of California on Saturday, Nov. 3 and the Birmingham Bullets of England on Saturday, Nov. 10. Both exhibition contests are scheduled for 7 p.m. tip-offs at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs will begin the 2001-02 regular season with a three-game homestand, hosting Nicholls State (Nov. 17), Florida A&M (Nov. 19) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Nov. 21).
Mississippi State returns eight lettermen from last year’s 18-13 contingent, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2001 TiVo National Invitation Tournament before falling to eventual NIT champion Tulsa.