Mississippi State graduate transfer guard Andrew Taylor, who has not played since Dec. 13, is no longer on the team and will not return this season, Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans told reporters Monday.
Taylor, a strong 3-point shooter who averaged more than 20 points per game last season for Marshall, played in just seven games with MSU, averaging 11 minutes per contest and scoring a total of 27 points.
“He hasn’t been with us since mid-December, and at this point he’s no longer on the team,” Jans said.
Jans also provided an update on forward KeShawn Murphy, who played five minutes in the Bulldogs’ Southeastern Conference opener at South Carolina on Jan. 6 and has not seen the court since. Murphy remains unavailable but is working his way back toward returning to the team, and Jans said he is hopeful that Murphy will be back before the season concludes.
Murphy broke out with 18 points in a win over North Texas in Tupelo on Dec. 17 and has made 17 of his 29 field goal attempts for the season, but was due for a drop in playing time once star post player Tolu Smith returned. Meanwhile, Trey Fort, a key member of MSU’s guard rotation, sprained his thumb in Saturday’s upset win over Auburn and is considered day-to-day. Jans said he was unsure whether Fort would practice Monday or play Tuesday night at Ole Miss.
If Fort is unable to go, Shawn Jones Jr. could see more playing time. A combo guard with long arms, the sophomore from Houston has appeared in every game, averaging 17 minutes, and has played well in spurts even while dealing with frequent foul trouble.
“We need him to play more minutes and we need him to be very productive,” Jans said. “We’re going to have to look at sliding him around a little bit more with the knowledge he has of the system, with his length, his ability to guard different positions. My thing with Shawn since he’s arrived is just consistency. At times, he looks like the best player on the court in our practice gym and even spurts in games.”
Tuesday night’s game will be a big one for freshman guard Josh Hubbard, who had signed to play for the Rebels before Ole Miss fired head coach Kermit Davis near the end of last season. Hubbard soon decommitted and flipped to the Bulldogs, and is now leading the conference in 3-pointers made per game for MSU (14-6, 3-4 SEC).
Hubbard was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday for the third time this season after scoring 26 points in Wednesday’s loss at Florida and 17 in Saturday’s big win against the then-No. 8 Tigers, 15 of which came in the second half.
“I’m not sure it’ll have extra meaning for him, but I would imagine he probably needs to prepare for what he’s walking into,” Jans said. “I can’t imagine he’ll be treated with a warm embrace by their crowd. The thing that makes me feel good is he’ll handle it. He’ll be mentally ready to go, he’ll understand what it’s going to be like, and if I know Josh like I think I do, it will be motivating for him and he’ll at least try to rise to the occasion.”
Scouting Ole Miss
The Rebels (17-3, 4-3) finished second to last in the SEC in each of the last two years under Davis, but under new head coach Chris Beard, they finished non-conference play unbeaten, highlighted by a home win over Memphis and a road victory against UCF. Ole Miss has won its first three home games in SEC play against Florida, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, and is coming off a key road win Saturday night over Texas A&M.
A Bulldogs win Tuesday would be another Quadrant 1 victory, as the Rebels are currently No. 56 in the NET rankings. MSU is at No. 36, the fifth-best in the SEC.
“Coach Beard and his staff have walked in there and did what most of us coaches knew he would do once he got hired to that position,” Jans said. “They’ve got a really nice record, they’re off to a great start. I’ve known his teams from the past, and they look very similar to the teams he’s had prior to coming to Oxford.”
Four Ole Miss starters are averaging double-digit scoring, led by Matthew Murrell’s 16.6 points per game. Allen Flanigan averages 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest, Jaylen Murray is shooting 45.4 percent from 3-point range (49-for-108) and Jaemyn Brakefield is also a threat from outside.
The Rebels also have as much size down low as any team in the country, with the 7-foot-5-inch Jamarion Sharp as well as another 7-footer in Moussa Cisse. Sharp started the first 14 games of the season and Cisse has started the last six, and while neither is particularly strong as a scorer, Sharp leads the SEC with 2.7 blocks per game, helping Ole Miss rank second in the conference and fourth in the nation as a team in that category.
“They play volleyball with the basketball on the backboard most nights,” Jans said. “Just their presence gives you pause. You have to be cognizant of it. You have to make good decisions, you have to know where they’re at on the floor, and we should know where they’re at by what we’re running. … It’s quite the weapon for them defensively, and it’s something you have to game plan for.”
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