Mississippi State is one of the great mysteries when it comes to the SEC and its substantial growth. They’re returning every key player from a team that went 25-12 last year, bringing in an outstanding recruiting class, and still have Ben Howland running the team after continuous improvement in every season he has coached there.They’re primed to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009 and have potential NBA players on the roster. Considering that the only former Mississippi State player in the NBA is Rodney Hood (who left after one year to play at Duke), this is a special time for Bulldog faithful, but will they prove their worth this season?
Key Returners
- Quinndary Weatherspoon
- Lamar Peters
- Nick Weatherspoon
- Aric Holmon
- Abdul Ado
Quinndary Weatherspoon will lead MSU throughout his senior season and likely will be the Bulldog’s leading scorer for the third consecutive season. A mix of Quinndary’s sophomore season where he shot 39.4% from three and his junior season when he shot 57.5% on two-point shots would make Weatherspoon one of the better players in the SEC. He’s the unquestioned leader of this team, and could be on the cusp of national recognition.
You cannot forget about his brother either. Nick Weatherspoon was a highly-regarded recruit coming out of high school in 2017 and committed to Mississippi State to play with his brother. He averaged 10.8 points per game last season with a 55% true-shooting percentage. With this likely to be the final year of the Weatherspoon pairing in Starkville, you can expect both to show out as much as they can.
Lamar Peters entered last season as a projected lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Things went far left after that. Peters averaged 9.6 points per game, shot a horrendous 37% from the field, 27.7% from three, and came off the bench for 13 games. On a brighter note, he did put up 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. If Peters is to play back up to par with his expectations and potentially get to the NBA he will likely have to do so by accepting the role of a facilitator and defensive stopper at point guard.
The Bulldog’s most likely breakout candidate is Aric Holman. The 6’10” senior forward started 30 games last year and put up some downright silly efficiency totals. Averaging 11 points on seven shots per game, Holman shot 57.3% from the field, 63.7% on two-point shots, and 44% on three-pointers. That makes for a 66.5% true-shooting percentage, good for 2nd in the SEC last year. You add in his terrific defensive impact, and Holman wound up with the highest Win Shares per-40 minutes in the SEC a season ago. His frontcourt mate will be Abdul Ado, who started every game as a freshman last season.
Key Losses
- Xavian Stapleton
Mississippi State averaged 73.4 points per game last season. They are bringing back all but 13.8 points per game from that team, 6.4 points solely from losing Xavian Stapleton. Out of 2,716 points scored, the Bulldogs are losing just 344 points from player departures. That’s over 80% of the team’s total points per game and nearly 90% of the teams total points all coming back next year. There’s a reason folks in Starkville are excited.
Key Newcomers
- Reggie Perry
- DJ Stewart
- Robert Woodard
- Andrew Junkin
On top of everyone who’s coming back this season, Ben Howland rounded up a solid recruiting class, with three of the four commits being from Mississippi. They have another thing in common as well: size.
Reggie Perry will likely be the best player from this pool, a monster at 6’10” and 245 lbs. Small forward Robert Woodard is 6’7” and 230 lbs, center Andrew Junkin is 6’11” and 240 lbs. The smallest player from this recruiting class is DJ Stewart who is 6’6” and 195 lbs.
Projected Starting Five
- G: Quinndary Weatherspoon
- G: Nick Weatherspoon
- G: Lamar Peters
- F: Aric Holmon
- F: Abdul Ado
This lineup consists of two seniors, one junior, and two sophomores. Howland used it as his starting group 14 times last season, going 9-5 in those games. It’s the best collection of talent Miss State has. Don’t be surprised if Tyson Carter winds up starting a few games after starting 17 last year, especially if Peters is on a tight leash.
Record Prediction: 21-10 (9-9 SEC)
Mississippi State will likely start the season hot, in fact, I have them with a 14-1 start. The SEC, however, is likely to be a bloodbath. They have a stretch from January to February where they host Florida, go to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, then play Auburn, then go to Alabama and Ole Miss, then three straight home games in against LSU, Kentucky, and Alabama. That part of their schedule is absolutely brutal, and a huge chunk of their losses on the season will likely come from it. That record would get them in the NCAA Tournament comfortably though.
