Vic Schaefer sees a different team when he looks at members of the 2013-14 Mississippi State basketball team.
The second-year MSU head coach practically gushes with praise for strength and conditioning coach Richard Akins for helping sculpt his Bulldogs into a group he says looks ready for conference battles.
But just because Schaefer likes the way his players look doesn’t mean he is ready for the season to start. That new beginning won’t come for 38 days when MSU plays host to Shorter in an exhibition game Nov. 4 at Humphrey Coliseum. Schaefer and his coaching staff will take the first official steps to preparing MSU on Sunday night when they hold their first practice of the season.
Schaefer will be out recruiting this weekend, so the start time for the initial workout hasn’t been set. Still, it is hard to dispute there is a sense of optimism and energy entering year two as the Bulldogs try to build on a 13-17 finish.
“We haven’t won any games yet and there is a lot of work to be done before we do win a game,” Schaefer said Thursday. “We are excited about all of the things associated with the program, and we’re excited about our kids and out team. I said to someone the other day, I don’t know if we can score, rebound, or guard anybody, but when we get off the bus we look like a SEC team. Coach Akins has done a great job with our kids, and they have made a tremendous commitment to change the way they look. I am really proud of their commitment.”
MSU’s new look — and five new players — were on display Thursday when the team took team pictures. Junior college transfer Savannah Carter and freshmen Ketara Chapel, Dominique Dillingham, Chinwe Okorie, and Breanna Richardson joined seniors Katia May and Candace Foster, juniors Martha Alwal, Kendra Grant, J’Net Wash, Carnecia Williams, and Jerica James, and sophomore Sherise Williams joined in the festivities in various outfits with varying degrees of maroon and black.
Missing was former Columbus High School standout Kiki Patterson, who Schaefer confirmed no longer was a member of the team. The 5-foot-9 point guard was a key member of MSU’s 2013 signing class, which also included New Albany High School standout Jazmine Spears, who failed to qualify academically and is playing at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College.
Schaefer declined to comment about why Patterson no longer is on the team. He said “as far as I know” Patterson is still enrolled at MSU.
Without Patterson and Spears, MSU will look to its five newcomers to provide depth and athleticism. Schaefer said he likes the competitiveness and the lack of fear the newcomers have shown in individual workouts. He said all of the players come from strong programs and are used to winning, so he hopes they are ready to step right in and contribute.
“They’re here to play,” Schaefer said. “They all bring to the table what we thought they would bring. They each bring something that is impactful.”
A year ago, MSU was last in the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense, 3-pointers made, assist-to-turnover ratio, and rebounding offense. Despite their standing in those categories, MSU showed marked improvement from an 8-5 non-conference record that included losses to Hampton, Winthrop, Cal-Santa Barbara, Central Florida, and Southern Miss. Schaefer said different results in some of those games would have flipped the team’s record and likely would have helped it secure a spot in a postseason tournament.
At the 2012-13 team banquet, Schaefer talked about how expectations for the 2013-14 season would be even greater. He echoed that point Thursday by saying this year’s team has to start quickly to ensure it builds momentum in the non-conference schedule.
“They understand (commitment) is a point of emphasis in what we do,” Schaefer said. “It is part of what we do every day, and it is going to continue to be. Our kids have made great changes in a lot of things. Academically, they went from a 2.95 (grade-point average) to a 3.11. That is an area that is important to us as well.”
Schaefer and his coaches will get to see Sunday just how impactful those players can be. The workout will be the first of 30 in 40 days the team is allowed to have before the start of the season. Schaefer said the team will take Monday off before returning Tuesday for its second practice. Schaefer doesn’t imagine MSU will be ready to start the season at that point, either, but he is primed to get his new group looking as good on the court as they did Thursday in their team pictures.
“We’re going to take it game by game and try to be the best we can every day,” Schaefer said. “If they take it to be the best every day and us as coaches prepare them to be the best they can be every day that will take care of winning.”
MSU will open the season play at Houston on Nov. 8. It will open its 17-game home slate at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against Jackson State.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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