Wesley Morgan’s first two years at Mississippi State were nothing short of a nightmare. Saddled by multiple injuries, the 7-foot-2-inch center could do nothing but watch his teammates post two of the best seasons in school history. All of that changed Wednesday night against Tennessee.
Morgan, used previously in only mop-up duty, came off the bench to score seven points and grab seven rebounds in nine minutes to spark the Bulldogs to an 82-60 pasting of the Volunteers. The nine minutes were the most he has played in a single game in his Maroon and White career.
“I’ve been telling coaches for the last two weeks that Wesley Morgan has a chance to help us,” said MSU head coach Rick Stansbury. “Because of his work ethic and his attitude, he gets better and better each day. He does all the little things.”
Morgan said he was surprised to see Stansbury point at him with about four minutes left in the first half and tell him to check into the game.
“I was a little bit (surprised) but I knew that Linc (backup center Lincoln Smith) was sick. I knew that if our big guys got in foul trouble I might have to be called on so I had to be ready,” Morgan said. “Every day (Coach Stansbury) tells me, ‘you’re coming along, you’re getting better and you’re going to play.’ I just say “All right coach” and keep practicing.”
In the past two years Morgan has only practiced six weeks, according to Stansbury, due to knee and foot injuries he has suffered.
However, Morgan now says he is completely healed.
“I’ve been progressively getting better in practice and pain-free,” Morgan said. “It’s been a long process.”
Morgan received a standing ovation from the crowd of 10,232 every time he left the court and expressed his thanks for the fan support afterward.
“The ovation was nice,” Morgan said. “I appreciate everybody and hopefully I can just build on this.”
After the game, teammates were all smiles when talking about Morgan’s performance.
“He came off the bench and gave us some incredible minutes,” said Bulldog forward Lawrence Roberts, whose 20 po
Shane Power even poked a little fun at Morgan’s hitch in his free throw motion, which caused Tennessee to commit a lane violation.
“I enjoy his free throw shooting because he’s bound to draw a lane violation,” Power said. “He draws lane violations about every day in practice, so we knew it was coming.”
When Morgan wasn’t in the game, the Bulldogs were getting baskets off Tennessee turnovers. The Vols turned the ball over 21 times, which led to 35 points for MSU.
“They really put pressure on our big guys,” said Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson. “We didn’t make good decisions. Giving up 35 points off turnovers will make it tough to win at home or away.”
Point guard Timmy Bowers scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds while Winsome Frazier seemed to regain his shooting touch, scoring 12 points on 4-7 from behind the three-point stripe.
Frazier said that he enjoyed shooting over the 2-3 zone that Tennessee used to try and stop Roberts inside.
“I like zone. I’m a zone shooter,” Frazier said. “That’s one thing I love to do. It’s my strength.”
Despite 20 points from Roberts and 18 from Bowers, everyone knew that Morgan was the star. However, despite the strong game from Morgan, Stansbury said not to count out the Bulldogs’ other center, Marcus Campbell.
“Both of them are going to play,” Stansbury said. “I think it’s very obvious that Wesley Morgan has earned some playing time but I always say I don’t decide how much you play. You as a player make that decision. The more productive you are, the more you play. Wesley Morgan was productive tonight.”
Morgan will be ready on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers. Stansbury said Smith would most likely not be available to play which will leave the door open for Morgan to perform again.
“I’m always going to be prepared (to play),” Morgan said. “It’s better to be prepared and not get the call than to get the call and not be prepared.”ints led the Bulldogs’ offense. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better. He really brought us some energy and made some great passes and rebounds.”