STARKVILLE — Chloe Bibby didn’t have a check list of things she wanted to improve on leading up to her sophomore season.
As a freshman on the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, Bibby offered glimpses of the shooting, versatility, and international experience she could bring to the court. This season, Bibby is expected to be a key component on the 2018-19 squad, which is why she worked on all aspects of her game during the offseason to make sure she is ready for her chance to shine.
“I knew I needed to improve my shot and be more consistent in that area,” Bibby said. “You can always work on your defense because that is what (coach Vic Schaefer) is all about. That consistency part is key because we lost four key players who were able to knock down shots.”
On Thursday, Schaefer and seniors Teaira McCowan and Jazzmun Holmes will be in Birmingham, Alabama, to meet the media as part of the annual SEC Media Days. On Tuesday, the national media picked MSU first in the preseason Southeastern Conference poll.
Even though she won’t be there, Bibby, a 6-foot-1 forward from Australia, should be a topic of conversation because she arguably is MSU’s best returning perimeter shooter from a team that made 278 3-pointers. She averaged 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 37 games (13.6 minutes per game) last season in MSU’s second-consecutive appearance in the national title game.
Bibby, who shot 37.7 percent from the field and hit 15 3-pointers, figures to play a bigger role after the graduation of Victoria Vivians, Roshunda Johnson, Blair Schaefer, and Morgan William. Those four played integral roles in a program-record 37-win season that saw the Bulldogs average 81.1 points per game and shoot 46.8 percent from the field.
Bibby acknowledges the Bulldogs will be a different team without so many perimeter threats. She said she welcomes a bigger opportunity to do what she can — even take charges — to help MSU take the next step.
“We’re huge down low,” Bibby said. “We have (Texas A&M graduate transfer) Anriel (Howard) here now, and she and Teaira are monsters on the boards. Teaira’s presence inside is going to attract so many people. She is going to take up at least two players. That leaves someone open, so we need to be able to hit those outside shots. I think my role in that has definitely stepped up because you have to be able to make shots to win games.”
Bibby showed in August she is primed to accept that responsibility. Schaefer said Bibby and McCowan were the team’s most consistent players on its 3-0 trip to Italy. Bibby averaged 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. She hit five 3-pointers, which was more than the rest of her teammates combined.
“I think she has worked really hard at trying to be a good player,” Schaefer said. “She has worked hard in the summer at elevating her game, and I think she certainly is the one kid who stood out from the first day we got back together in June until today.”
Schaefer expects the experience Bibby gained last season to pay off this season with a younger roster. He doesn’t believe there is a greater burden on Bibby to slide into a similar position vacated by Vivians, Johnson, or Blair Schaefer, even if he said she is the team’s most consistent shooter right now.
“What position we’re going to play her at is a different story,” Schaefer said. “We have to figure out where and how to play her.”
Bibby returned to Australia for a month before coming back to Starkville in June to attend both sessions of summer school and to work on her game. She said is willing to play anywhere and that she listened during the summer when Schaefer preached about being more consistent and getting into the gym to work on her shooting and her defense. Bibby feels all of the hard work is about to pay off for her and the Bulldogs.
“I think I still have the same sort of mind-set, which is to win,” Bibby said. “Whatever I can do to help out — making shots, getting rebounds, taking charges. I am going to try. Whatever I can do in that way to help us win. On this team, it is probably going to be making shots and doing that sort of stuff.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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