STARKVILLE — Last season, Josh Hubbard was Mississippi State’s only consistently reliable outside shooter, and even though opposing teams were keying on him, Hubbard had no choice but to take over late in close games down the stretch.
The Bulldogs addressed that issue via the transfer portal in the spring, adding two Southeastern Conference veterans in Riley Kugel (Florida) and RJ Melendez (Georgia), but their biggest-impact backcourt addition started his college career at Charleston Southern before playing at Boston College last year.
Claudell Harris is just behind Hubbard for the team lead in 3-point percentage, sitting at .378 to Hubbard’s .380. Opponents have taken notice and are respecting Harris’ range, which has opened things up for Kugel and Melendez.
“He’s rounding into form for this year’s team,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said Thursday. “For him to impact (the game) in a bunch of different areas rather than just how many points he scores each game, he probably ranks in the top two or three of talking on defense for us every day, and that’s invaluable for our team.”
In Monday night’s game, Bethune-Cookman never strayed far away from Harris, and he had the maturity to avoid forcing tough shots. In fact, Harris did not even attempt a field goal in the first half, and he picked his spots effectively in the second half, finishing 3-for-5 from behind the arc to help the No. 17 Bulldogs (12-1) get past a pesky Wildcats team.
Harris made his third straight start against Bethune-Cookman and is improving in other facets of his game. He scored just six points in a key win at Memphis on Dec. 21, but grabbed eight rebounds and had a career-high five steals — all in the first half.
MSU will need well-rounded scoring and defense from its guards against its tough Southeastern Conference schedule, which begins Saturday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum against South Carolina.
“Sometimes when people use the term ‘role player,’ there’s almost a negative connotation with it,” Jans said. “That’s not true at all. Coaches know that. Sometimes others around the industry don’t understand that. … I don’t really talk about role playing with our guys at all, because I don’t look at it that way. When people put Claudell or anyone in a ‘role player’ deal, it makes me cringe, because he’s having a great year for us.”
Scouting South Carolina
The Gamecocks won 11 games two years ago in their first season under head coach Lamont Paris, but last year, they improved to 26, including a 13-5 mark in SEC play and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. The leading scorer from that team, Meechie Johnson, now plays at Ohio State, but South Carolina still has an all-around star in sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles.
Murray-Boyles leads the Gamecocks (10-3) in scoring and rebounding with 16.6 points and 9.3 boards per game to go along with strong block and steal totals. Point guard Jamarii Thomas and big man Nick Pringle are also averaging double-figure scoring, with guards Jacobi Wright and Myles Stute rounding out the starting lineup.
“He’s a special player. Probably my favorite player in the league thus far,” Jans said of Murray-Boyles. “He can do it all. He doesn’t shoot the 3, but the way he impacts the game in every other facet is pretty remarkable. He has such a great feel, he’s got soft hands, he’s uber-competitive. They can run offense through him. He’s unbelievable on the glass. Just a great combination of size and skill and feel and IQ and competitive spirit.”
South Carolina opened the season with a bad loss at home to North Florida, but the Gamecocks’ only other defeats were on the road against Indiana and at a neutral site to a ranked Xavier team. They routed Boston College in the ACC-SEC Challenge, and outlasted in-state rival Clemson in overtime on Dec. 17.
At No. 86 in the NET rankings, South Carolina is by far the lowest-ranked SEC team in that metric. Saturday will be the Bulldogs’ only conference game in Quadrant 3, with their remaining 17 games all in Quads 1 or 2. As of Thursday, all nine of MSU’s SEC road games will be Quad 1 opportunities.
“I’m just worried about Saturday. I’m all in on South Carolina,” Jans said. “Protecting your home court will be talked about by every team in America that’s starting league play at home. It’s a marathon. This league is going to be a gauntlet. Everybody’s talking about it. But we’re all in on South Carolina.”
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