Change is a constant in college basketball.
Coaches getting fired, reassigned, or leaving one school for a “better” opportunity is only one side of the equation. On the other, you have players transferring to different schools because of a lack of playing time, a difference in opinion with a new coach, or a desire to play in a system they feel allows them to showcase their skills.
Three years ago, Kendra Grant had an opportunity to pick one of those reasons after Vic Schaefer was hired to replace Sharon Fanning-Otis as Mississippi State women’s basketball coach. Grant had that chance again after her sophomore season when she averaged 11.8 points in a team-high 34 minutes per game. But Grant’s contribution couldn’t prevent MSU from suffering its third-straight losing season, so she had no way of knowing if she could trust Schaefer when he said he and his coaching staff were going to transform the program into a contender in the Southeastern Conference and a player at the national level.
On Monday, the smile on Grant’s face told you she made the right decision to stick with Schaefer and his coaches.
Grant, a senior guard, acknowledged she and her teammates felt a little disappointed in not getting an opportunity to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. Playing in Starkville would have given the Bulldogs a chance to break the single-game (7,326) attendance record they set in the regular-season finale against Ole Miss and to increase the record-breaking overall attendance figure of 67,598.
But Grant said that feeling was replaced with the sense of accomplishment that she and four-year teammates Martha Alwal and Jerica James and classmate Savannah Carter, a junior college transfer from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College) have played integral roles in helping MSU get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season, when Fanning-Otis guided it to the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance.
“Coach Schaefer told us stick it out when they first got here and that we would get to this point,” Grant said. “A couple of years ago, we were kind of hesitant to believe them. But seeing how we have progressed over the past couple of years has been amazing.”
Grant’s decision to stay at MSU has been significant because last season she saw her minutes go down to 21.6 per game. The arrival of freshman guard Dominique Dillingham cut into Grant’s playing time and could have forced her to transfer to another school where she would have gotten a shot to play more and to be a primary scoring option. Grant didn’t leave and remained a key member of the attack, averaging 11.4 ppg. and improving her field goal shooting percentage from 32.9 percent to 39 percent.
Prior to this season, Grant also could have opted to transfer. She had to know the arrival of freshman guard Victoria Vivians, the state of Mississippi’s all-time leading prep basketball scorer, was going to cut into her playing time even more. But Grant again decided not to leave. Even after missing the first four games due to injury, Grant has been a key part of the team’s chemistry. She has embraced Schaefer’s motto and tried to fix things when she comes off the bench or to keep them going when she gets in and sees things are working fine. Through it all, Grant’s production has slipped but her efficiency has improved. She is averaging a career-low 5.8 ppg in a career-low 10.9 minuter per game, but she is shooting a career-high 43.4 percent from the field, including a high mark of 41.2 percent from 3-point range. She has had seven double-figure scoring games and remains a threat to change a game when she comes in because she is attacking her role and isn’t hesitating to shoot.
Grant said she trusted Schaefer and believed he and his coaching staff would affect a change. She said there wasn’t one thing that “sold” her on Schaefer or that made her believe she could trust him. She said she watched how hard Schaefer and his coaches worked and how they epitomized the “all-in” attitude he preached about since the first day he arrived.
“Trusting is difficult, especially for a whole new staff,” Grant said. “It was just a feeling. Me and my teammates talked about it and it felt right. Obviously it was.”
Grant offered that comment surrounded by several hundred friends and fans who attended the NCAA tournament selection show at Dawg House Sports Grill in downtown Starkville. The move off campus was perfect because it helped make the announcement feel like a party. MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin added to the celebratory nature of the event when he thanked Schaefer (The Associated Press’ SEC Coach of the Year; co-coach of the year as voted on by the league coaches) and his coaches for helping revitalize the program.
Stricklin didn’t thank Grant or Alwal or James, but he should have because their show of support for Schaefer and his staff validated their words. It wasn’t always easy for Grant. Schaefer admitted he pushed her and relied on her for a lot in his first season. He also saw her fight through the adjustments she had to make as a junior and as a senior, but he said everything the Bulldogs have accomplished this season feels a little more special because it has helped send the seniors off on the right note.
“From day one, Kendra has been all in,” Schaefer said. “That’s not one I have had to challenge a lot. She has been really easy to coach, and give her credit for that.
“The all-in part is probably a part we have had to remind some of them about at certain times because being all in means you’re all in all of the time. It is not a sometimes or an every-other-day deal.”
That’s a big change for anyone to adjust to. MSU offered a glimpse of its changing mind-set last season when it advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs added another chapter to a record-breaking season. In doing so, the announcement that they were a No. 5 seed in the Spokane Regional signaled the NCAA tournament selection committee has been watching. The arguments were there for MSU to get a chance to play host to the first and second rounds and not to have to travel to Durham, North Carolina, but that time will come. Ask Grant. She more than anyone believes that change has arrived in Starkville.
“We knew where he came from,” said Grant, referring to the fact Schaefer was an associate head coach at Texas A&M when the Aggies won the national championship in 2011. “For him to believe in us and to tell us to believe in him, this is where it has gotten us.”
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. Hiss email address is: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.