STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s annual contest in the state’s capital will be a homecoming for three players.
No. 18 MSU (11-1) will hope to win its ninth straight game at Memorial Coliseum under coach Rick Stansbury when it takes on Northwestern State (7-5) at 7 tonight.
“It’s always special going to Jackson,” said Stansbury, who made his MSU debut at Mississippi Coliseum on Nov. 17, 1998, with a 105-53 win against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. “We’ve had a lot of success there, and it gives another set of fans from that area a chance to see us play.”
Junior forward Renardo Sidney and freshmen DeVille Smith and Rodney Hood will return to Jackson in hopes of being a part of another memorable performance. Sidney, a former McDonald’s All-American, was born in Jackson and made a name for himself as a middle school prospect before moving to California to attend Artesia High School. Sidney hasn’t competed in a regular-season game in Jackson since eighth grade. His debut last season was in a exhibition win against Division III Belhaven College.
Sidney didn’t play in high school in his home city after there were problems with his transfer to a private school in his freshman season that helped prevent the 6-foot-10 prospect from meeting the state’s eligibility guidelines.
In his first full season at MSU, Sidney averages 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The 280-pound center continues to battle conditioning and other issues that have kept him from three home games this season. Sidney is coming off a 16-point, seven-rebound performance last weekend in a 80-75 victory at the University of Detroit.
“I think he’s been a little bit better,” Stansbury said. “I’d like to still get more minutes from him but, again, I’ll take less minutes as long as they’re more productive. There’s been signs of him getting better.”
Smith was a standout prospect at Jackson Callaway High. After struggling with turnovers and the complexity of the college game, Smith has seen his turnovers go up and his minutes decrease.
As junior in high school Smith averaged 23.1 points, 3.9 steals, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in leading Callaway to a second-consecutive Class 5A crown. He hit the game-winning shot against Jackson Provine at the buzzer to win the title.
Hood, Smith’s Amateur Athletic Union teammate, has the most vivid memories of Jackson after he helped Meridian High win the 2011 Class 6A state championship in the Coliseum. Hood had 24 points to lead Meridian to a 62-47 victory against Vicksburg in the state finals two days after scoring 27 points in a 72-43 victory against Starkville in the state semifinals.
“I was talking with DeVille and we both have won and lost games there, so the feelings are mixed,” said Hood, who will have more than a dozen friends and family in the stands tonight.
Hood, who second in the Southeastern Conference among freshman averaging 12.5 points per game, is second on the team at 33.2 minutes per contest.
“One of the biggest things for a young guy I’ve been most impressed with is the game doesn’t speed up for him,” Stansbury said. “You can jump up and shoot it and drive it, but if that game makes you do things at certain times that changes what you do, that’s not always good. But he’s been a very consistent shooter and, as I said all along, he has something a lot of the guys don’t have nowadays — a mid-range game.”
Northwestern State comes in with a much smaller lineup. Six-foot junior guard Shamir Davis lead the Demons at 13.2 ppg. The Shreveport, La., native had 28 points in a one-point loss against Louisiana Tech earlier this season. He likely will have the responsibility of guarding senior point guard Dee Bost, who earlier this week was named a finalist for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year. Bost is third in the SEC in scoring (18.0 pp.), while he leads the league in steals (28) and assists (54). He is 15th all-time at MSU in scoring (1,336 points), while his 504 assists are second. He is 11 shy of the school record.
“He gives you a very talented player out there (that) does multiple things,” Stansbury said. “He gives you some experience at that spot. He doesn’t seem to panic like he used to, and he’s settled down, understanding getting other people involved at times. Some of that only comes through playing experience.”
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