Monday’s press conference to introduce former Clemson associate head coach Rick Ray as Mississippi State’s 19th head basketball coach had all the normal bells and whistles.
Fans cheered, Ray shook hands with athletic director Scott Stricklin and then rang a chrome cowbell.  The press conference was the easy part for Ray.
What happens next is the hard part.
Before a single X or O can be drawn, Ray must keep the current team and signing class intact to keep MSU competitive in the SEC and on the national radar. Ray said Monday the “most important recruits” are those already on the team. In the case of Rodney Hood, he’s right. Hood, who was freshman All-SEC this season, has hinted in reports about transferring. That loss would be a huge blow to an already thin roster. If he stays, Hood has the kind of talent and work ethic around which Ray can build the program.
Of course, there’s the recruiting trail, where Ray quickly needs to become familiar with the talent in Mississippi. Also, keeping Josh Gray, MSU’s guard signee out of Texas, is key for this signing class.
Once the 2012-2013 roster is set, then Ray can start drawing out the motion offense he plans on running.
It’s far from a ‘sexy’ hire, and Stricklin has admitted that much. The hire has been both criticized by some MSU fans and praised by national college basketball columnists. I fall somewhere  in-between, but depending on how much talent he can convince to come to Starkville, I think Ray could prove to be a good hire.
Stricklin’s first public comments on Ray were that he “fits the model of head coach we have sought to bring into our program,” and Scott is right on this one. A relatively young, high-energy guy that can sell MSU is certainly the type of coaches that have been hired recently, and Ray fits that mold. We’ll find out soon enough how good he is at selling the program once we see who stays and who goes.
Rick Stansbury built MSU into a program that could achieve consistent success, but unfortunately for Ray, he left it with a bare cupboard. Now it’s up to Ray to replinish that cupboard.
It won’t be easy, but it can be done. The baton is now passed from one Rick to another.