At Tuesday’s practice, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team had 13 players available for the first time since forward Tolu Smith suffered a stress fracture in his foot in early September.
So naturally, someone stepped on Smith’s toe in the midst of the workout.
The redshirt junior was in pain, but he fought through it. He also dealt with soreness from breaking in a new orthotic shoe Tuesday unbeknownst to coach Ben Howland or team trainers, which Howland said was unwise.
But soon, Howland, Smith and the rest of the Bulldogs won’t have to worry about any of this.
“We’ll get to a point where he won’t be thinking about his feet anymore,” Howland said Wednesday.
And already, that moment seems to be coming.
Howland acknowledged Smith looked a step slow defensively for most of last Thursday’s game against Louisville in the Bahamas, a 72-58 Bulldogs loss. Still, the Bay St. Louis product scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds in his first game of the season.
In his second, just two days later against Richmond, Smith looked the part of last year’s leading Southeastern Conference rebounder who averaged 12.6 points per game. He made 10 of 11 shots for 22 points, bringing down 11 rebounds for a double-double.
And he helped the Bulldogs recover from blowing a 12-point second-half lead in an 82-71 overtime win. Howland said Smith still made a few of the same defensive mistakes but was pivotal in the victory.
“We wouldn’t have won the Richmond game without Tolu,” Howland said. “He was a key factor in that game against a good team.”
Smith will lead the Bulldogs (5-1) into Thursday’s game against Lamar (1-6), which has lost six straight since a win over NAIA foe Wiley College on Nov. 9. The Cardinals, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, have lost games at Georgia Tech, Southern Miss and Texas Tech. They rank No. 289 out of 358 NCAA Division I teams, according to kenpom.com.
But Lamar kept its Nov. 15 game at GT within 10 points, which Howland hopes will make sure his players remain vigilant when the Cardinals come to town at 7 p.m. Thursday. Lamar ranks No. 85 nationally in 3-point shooting at a respectable 36.3 percent clip.
“Hopefully, that will get their attention, because Georgia Tech’s got a good program and good personnel,” Howland said. “They’re a team that shoots 3s. Anytime you play against a 3-point shooting team, that’s always tough, because it’s a team that could be dangerous.”
Lamar has four players — Davion Buster, Jordyn Adams, C.J. Roberts and Kasen Harrison — who average 10 or more points per game. But not a single Cardinal averages more than 4 rebounds per contest, setting the stage for Smith (8.5 rpg last season) to take over.
Howland said Thursday’s game, which comes three days before Mississippi State hosts Minnesota at 1 p.m. Sunday, will be important for the Bulldogs to keep up a solid early-season stretch.
“We’ve got to come out and play with great intensity and take the opportunity to play against someone else, which they always like to do,” he said.
Murphy will redshirt
Freshman forward KeShawn Murphy will continue to sit out and earn a redshirt this season, Howland said.
Murphy, from Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Alabama, has yet to play this season because of an unspecified injury. Howland said Murphy went through drills Tuesday but isn’t getting much time in five-on-five because of his redshirt year.
Murphy, who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs 245 pounds, came to Starkville as a three-star prospect.
Howland touted his team’s skill in the frontcourt Wednesday regardless of Murphy’s presence, as Smith has taken over the starting center spot and pushed North Carolina transfer Garrison Brooks to the power forward position. Sophomore Cameron Matthews also has played at the 4 with Javian Davis as the backup center. Freshman Alden Applewhite is another option at forward.
“We have a lot of depth, and that’s the sign of a good team, so it’s very competitive,” Howland said.
Howland: Team 100 percent vaccinated
Howland said Wednesday he and his team are vaccinated against COVID-19.
The coach said he previously had contracted the coronavirus but is fully vaccinated, including a booster shot.
The Bulldogs recently returned from their tournament in Nassau, Bahamas, where event organizers “did a great job.” Participating teams had to submit proof of negative COVID tests to enter the tournament and were tested again during the weekend, had to wear face masks in the hotel where the event was held and had to be spaced out whenever possible.
But Howland still came down with a non-COVID virus during the week, saying he wasn’t feeling well by the time the Bulldogs tipped off Thursday against Louisville and was feeling “awful” Sunday and Monday after they returned to the U.S.
Howland said Wednesday his team also received flu shots with the flu circulating the Mississippi State student body. He also read Wednesday about the discovery of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 in a California resident, the first such case in the U.S.
“Who knows how that affects us all?” Howland said. “Thankfully, I and my team are all vaccinated.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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