In virtually every national preseason poll, the national media have ranked Mississippi State University’s 2002-03 men’s basketball team among the best in college basketball. Three publications, including CBSSportsline.com, Lindy’s and Blue Ribbon, feel that the Bulldogs are one of the ten best teams in the country. In addition, FOXSports.com, ESPN.com, CollegeHoopsNet.com, Street & Smith’s and Athlon rank the Bulldogs 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th respectively. ESPN.com projected in its preseason “Bracketology” column that MSU will compete in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East.
The players have their own expectations. “I’m a big dreamer,” senior point guard and team leader Derrick Zimmerman said. “My goal is the national title. People might say that’s stupid coming from Mississippi State, but I believe, and these guys believe. Why not us?”
According to junior guard Timmy Bowers, the preseason hype will force the team to make a transition from being a hunter to being hunted. “The bull’s-eye is on our back now, but we have to approach every game the same,” he said. “We just have to go out there and play our hardest, no matter if a bull’s-eye is on us or not.”
A year ago, many publications picked MSU to finish at the bottom of the SEC’s Western Division for the 2001-02 season. The Bulldogs won a school-record 27 games, finished second in the West and stormed into Atlanta to win the SEC Tournament Championship.
Guard Ontario Harper said ignoring the media last season was just as important as it will be this season. “Last year we really didn’t worry about being ranked last in the West,” he said. “We set our own goals, and everyone on the team had his mind made up about what he was going to do, what we were going to do and what we needed to do.”
Mississippi State opened the 2001-02 season with 11 straight wins before falling to Cincinnati in the Las Vegas Classic Tournament. This season, the Bulldogs will play a much more difficult non-conference schedule, with a Dec. 14 matchup against preseason top-10 foe Xavier in New York City. The Musketeers have a star forward in David West who is thought by many to be the country’s best player. On Dec. 28, the Bulldogs will face Oklahoma, a Final Four team last season and consensus top-five pick this season in the Nokia Sugar Bowl Basketball Classic.
Harper relishes the opportunity to play against two of the best teams in the country. “You don’t want to cut any corners to achieve all the goals you want to achieve,” he said. “If we want to be the best and win a national title, we’ve got to go through some of the best teams. I think we’re going to be ready for the challenge when its time to play the games.”
Throughout preseason publications, writers consistently cite the return of 6-9 junior forward Mario Austin as a key factor in Mississippi State’s potential for success this season. Following last season, Austin shocked the Bulldog faithful by declaring that he would enter the NBA draft and forego his two remaining years of eligibility.
After flirting with the draft, Austin decided to return to Mississippi State and was welcomed back by fans, coaches and teammates. Austin, who played at the center position last season, spent the off-season improving his shooting and perimeter defense.
Not only will the improvements make him more enticing to NBA scouts, but they will also allow Austin to move to the power forward position and make room for MSU’s promising young centers, 7-0, 255-pound Marcus Campbell and 7-2, 245-pound Wesley Morgan.
Austin said he feels like he made the right decision by returning. “Coming back might turn out to be the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “To be around these guys for another year is going to make me that much better as a player and a person.”
Last season, Austin averaged 16.1 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game on his way to being named the SEC Tournament’s most valuable player. FoxSports.com has ranked Austin as the fourth-best power forward in college basketball for the upcoming season.
Zimmerman and Bowers plan to compliment Austin’s inside game with the nation’s best guard play. “I’m pretty sure you’re not going to find two guards in the country or anywhere that do the things we do,” Zimmerman said. “We believe in ourselves and our ability. We feel we’re the best backcourt in the nation. If we don’t believe that, no one will believe it.”
Zimmerman led the SEC with 6.2 assists per game last season, while also averaging 9.0 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and 2.2 steals per game. FoxSports.com calls Zimmerman the nation’s 12th best point guard. Bowers, who averaged 10.6 points per game off the bench last season, should start at the shooting guard position.
Joining Zimmerman and Austin as returning starters for Mississippi state is 6-foot-10-inch, 225-pound clutch-shooting forward, Michael Ignerski, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a junior last season.
6-foot-10-inch center Lincoln Smith also returns after a sophomore season in which he averaged 8.4 minutes per game in relief of Mario Austin. With Austin, Ignerski, Smith, Campbell and Morgan all standing taller than 6-feet-9 inches, Mississippi State features one of the largest front lines in college basketball.
“We’ve got five of the best big men in the country,” Austin said. “When people say that we only have one best player on this team, I say that there’s no one (best player.) I look at it as a whole. It’s us. It’s us against the world.”
Several other players expect to see considerable playing time as reserves during the 2002-03 season. According to MSU teammates, junior college transfer Brandon Vincent will be an intimidating physical force on the court and will give the team maximum effort at all times. Sophomore guard Winsome Frazier returns after a freshman season in which he averaged 3.3 points per game. True freshman Stephen Cowherd should also be a key bench player. He will likely replace Guy Gardner as Zimmerman’s backup at point guard.
Despite individual attention players like Mario Austin and Derrick Zimmerman are drawing this preseason, the players stress the importance of team chemistry and unity.
“It’s a big family,” Zimmerman said. “Like every family we have our ups and downs, but we love each other. You can’t separate us.”
With talent, chemistry, leadership and coaching, Mississippi State’s players said they believe they can achieve their goal of winning the 2002-03 national title. There is one thing, however: the players want more than they want a national title.
“Our main and only goal this year is that, at every home game, we want 10,500 people in the stands,” senior leader Zimmerman said. “That’s a sellout. We get a sellout when we play teams like Alabama or Ole Miss, but we want it even when we play teams like Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 23). We’re going to make sure the fans get their money’s worth.
“Humphrey Coliseum is the toughest place to play in America, hands down,” he said. “Our record speaks for itself over the last four or five years.