STARKVILLE — As his third season as Mississippi State’s basketball coach dawns, Rick Ray couldn’t suppress his grin when asked what might make his 2014-15 Bulldogs different than his previous two editions.
The answer is in the numbers.
“The biggest change is we have experience and size this year,” said Ray, who sat down with assembled media for the first time Thursday afternoon in advance of his team’s first practice of the season this afternoon. “I think in our first two years, we had a combined total of 14 scholarship players. Now I look at the roster and we have 12, nearly the same as the previous two years. That makes a difference.
“On the size, I think last year we had three guys that were 6-foot-7 or above. Now we have seven guys that size. We had one guy taller than 6-foot-9. Now we have four.”
After two years of struggling with a depleted roster and limping to a 24-41 mark in his first two seasons, Ray will helm one of the Southeastern Conference’s most experienced groups when the season begins Nov. 14. Ray’s Bulldogs return all five starters, including leading scorers Craig Sword and Gavin Ware, who started as freshmen and have blossomed into leaders as juniors.
It’s that leadership, whether it comes from the aforementioned duo or others, that Ray believes could be critical to MSU’s chances of returning to postseason play.
“That’s the whole key to our season,” Ray said. “I have every confidence that we are going to be better, that we are going to win more games. But when you talk about contending for postseason play, be it the NCAA tournament or the NIT, you have to have guys in your locker room that take on that responsibility. Last year, I was the unquestioned leader of this team. That’s OK. But we have to have players in our locker room step up and assume leadership, too.”
MSU will open the season with a home game against Western Carolina on Nov. 14. It will play host to Delta State in an exhibition game Nov. 6. When the season begins, Ray will have a mixture of youth and experience. The youth includes two players who have been on campus for more than a year. Travis Daniels, a 6-foot-8 forward, sat out last year after signing with MSU out of Shelton State (Ala.) Community College, while 6-foot-11 center Fallou Ndoye, a product of Findlay Prep (Nevada) redshirted. Daniels averaged 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds at Shelton State.
“I know technically those guys are not newcomers,” Ray said. “They’re not newcomers to the program, but when they step out on the floor, it will be the first time they’ve played in a game in two years. With Travis, he’s probably the most skilled guy on our team. Does that mean he’s the best player on our team? Not necessarily, but he’s a legit 6-8 guy with a body to compete in the SEC right away.
“Fallou has size we haven’t had before, and he’s gotten tremendously stronger after a year in our program.”
Other newcomers include 6-7 forward Demetrius Houston. Of the Montgomery, Alabama product, Ray said, “He’s going to be a fantastic player. I can’t see anybody on the court being as athletic as he is.”
MSU also will add 6-2 shooter Maurice Dunlap, of Greenwood; 6-9 forward Oliver Black, of Jackson; and 6-9 forward Johnny Zuppardo, who helped lead Jones County Junior College to the school’s first national championship, to the mix.
“If you don’t think he’s good, just ask him,” Ray said with a smile. “He has a tremendous amount of confidence, and you like to see that. You need that on your team. He’s tremendously competitive in that he will get in there and fight for loose balls.”
The newcomers will join with a returning core to give Ray his most complete roster. It’s a roster that includes Ware, the only player to start all 33 games for the Bulldogs. Ware, a graduate of Starkville High School, averaged 10 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore. Sword led MSU in scoring (13.2 points per game).
“For us to be successful, (Sword) will have to play some point guard for us,” Ray said. “Not all the time, but now we have options as far as how we can attack, and putting Sword there opens us up as to how we can juggle the rest of our lineup.”
Also back for the Bulldogs is junior Fred Thomas, a player Ray said, “can be a first-team All-SEC defensive guy. He’s the guy we want guarding the other team’s best player every single night.”
The Bulldogs will begin practice today and will hold an open practice Saturday, Oct. 11. The time will be released after MSU’s football kickoff against Auburn is revealed.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.