STARKVILLE — Bulked up and anxious to hit the court, Mississippi State forward Arnett Moultrie is ready to see what he can do in the Southeastern Conference.
The University of Texas-El Paso transfer and former Memphis prep standout sat out last season after the NCAA didn”t grant a family hardship request.
Moultrie spent last year on MSU”s scout team and watched his new teammates deal with player suspensions, eligibility issues, two midseason transfers, national scrutiny, and embarrassing losses.
“I still approached practice like I was gonna play,” Moultrie said. “I just came hard every day. I didn”t take a day off.”
Moultrie has added 20 pounds to his 6-foot-11 frame. At 240 pounds — he hopes to add five more — he”s prepared his body for the competition he”ll face in the SEC and for what is expected to be a challenging non-conference slate.
“I”ve never been this big in my life,” Moultrie said. “I”m going through a case of Muscle Milk a week.”
Moultrie said he”s putting up a hundred extra shots a day and is working on his ballhandling and shooting range.
MSU”s explosiveness and length at the power forward position will give it an element it sorely lacked last season, when it had a front court rotation of just three players.
“I love Arnett”s game,” teammate Renardo Sidney said. “He hits the boards, blocks shots, and runs the floor.”
Moultrie averaged 9.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in his final season with the Miners. He averaged 8.2 rebounds as a freshman.
Paired with Sidney up front, point guard Dee Bost running the offense, and freshman wing Rodney Hood expected to start, MSU hopes to become a greater threat in transition.
Already a skilled basketball player, Sidney has lost weight and players have noticed his improved fitness after he worked out with John Lucas in Houston, Texas. Moultrie said the two should dominate the boards, where MSU finished ninth in the SEC last season.
“It”s gonna look a lot different; he”s gonna do a lot of bangin” and I”m going to do a lot of running and jumping,” Moultrie said.
European schedule finalized
With high expectations for the 2011-12 season, MSU will get a jump on competition earlier than any other conference team.
MSU announced the opponents and dates for its European road swing, which will feature five games in a seven-day span that will begin Aug. 7 against the Netherlands Under-23 team in Amsterdam.
The Bulldogs are one of 19 teams across the country — and the only Southeastern Conference team — that will play exhibition games overseas this season.
“The Euro trip should be good for me to get a couple of games under my belt,” said Moultrie, who played on the United States” U-19 national team that won a gold medal in New Zealand. “We all can”t wait. Coach (Rick Stansbury) said he”s gonna make it more fun for us instead of a business trip, but we”re still gonna try and win every game.”
MSU will face Rotterdam Basket (Netherlands) on Aug. 8, Waregem in Ghent Belgium on Aug. 10, St. Jan-Antwerp in Ghent, Belgium on Aug. 11, and Vanves Basket in Paris on Aug. 13.
NCAA teams can play 10 games in an international tour every four years. Players can participate in an international tour only once in their careers.
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 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.