There was no sign of disappointment or anger in Vic Schaefer’s voice Tuesday.
When you’re the coach of the No. 11 team in the country that has earned the No. 3 seed in the “biggest, baddest conference” in the nation, it’s difficult not to have a rosy outlook as you move deeper into March.
Schaefer, who was named the SEC’s co-Coach of the Year with South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, wasn’t the only one who took a decidedly upbeat tone hours after the Mississippi State women’s basketball team learned it didn’t have any players named first-team All-Southeastern Conference. Neither first-year players Victoria Vivians nor Morgan William, who were named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team, made a big fuss about the vote by the league coaches. Senior Martha Alwal, who joined Vivians in earning second-team All-SEC honors and was named to the All-Defensive team, also didn’t appear to be fazed by the fact that MSU became the first team since 2002-03 to finish in the top three in the regular season and not have a player selected first-team all-league.
In 2002-03, MSU’s LaToya Thomas joined Jocelyn Penn (South Carolina), Kara Lawson and Gwen Jackson (Tennessee), and Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt) in being named first-team All-SEC by the coaches. LSU and Georgia, which finished ahead of MSU with 11-3 and 10-4 records, respectively, had Seimone Augustus and Christi Thomas earn second-team All-SEC honors. Augustus, who went on to be a three-time Kodak All-American and a two-time SEC Player of the Year, was a freshman in 2002-03. That season was the last one in which the SEC had only five players earn first-team accolades. The format was switched to an eight-player team, which holds true today, the following season.
This season, Makayla Epps (Kentucky), Danielle Ballard (LSU), Tia Faleru (Ole Miss), Tiffany Mitchell, Aleighsa Welch, and A’ja Wilson (South Carolina), Cierra Burdick and Isabelle Harrison (Tennessee), and Courtney Walker (Texas A&M) were named first-team All-SEC. Alwal and Vivians joined Texas A&M’s Jordan Jones and Courtney Williams, Arkansas’ Jessica Jackson, Kentucky’s Jennifer O’Neill, Missouri’s Jordan Frericks, Missouri, and South Carolina’s Alaina Coates on the second team. O’Neill was the league’s sixth player of the year, while Wilson was named its freshman of the year.
In a league with a lot of great players and tradition, it’s difficult to imagine Augustus wasn’t a four-time first-team performer. Looking at the role Vivians played in MSU’s program record 26 victories, which included a program-high 11 in the SEC, it’s equally hard to fathom Vivians isn’t on the first team, or that she didn’t share the league’s top freshman honor with Wilson.
Vivians, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward from Carthage, scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games of the regular season for an average of 16.5 points per game. Her game-high 17 points in a 55-47 victory against Ole Miss on Sunday helped her finish the regular season first in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg.). She also was the SEC’s top freshman scorer in league play (13.8 ppg).
You also can point to the fact Vivians was named SEC Freshman of the Week four times, she was named an USBWA National Freshman of the Week, and she averaged a team-high 17.7 ppg. against ranked opponents. One of those efforts included a MSU freshman record 39 points in a double-overtime loss to Kentucky. The performance matched the top single-game effort by any freshman this season.
Wilson, a 6-5 post player, was 10th in the SEC in scoring (13.7 ppg.) and eighth in rebounding (7.0). The nation’s No. 1 recruit, Wilson was the only freshman in the SEC to rank among the league’s top 10 in scoring and rebounding. Her .516 field goal percentage was second in the conference. She had five double-doubles, including a South Carolina freshman record-setting 19-rebound effort in a loss to No. 13 Kentucky in the regular-season finale. She also led the team in scoring a team-high 13 times. She is the eighth SEC Freshman of the Year to make the All-SEC first team.
You can dissect the numbers all day and come up with an argument for which player had a better season. From having only seen Vivians play nearly every game, it’s hard for me to believe she isn’t a first-team All-SEC performer. You don’t have to look at points per game or shooting percentages to determine which player deserves it more. You only need to look at how much Vivians has matured from the beginning of the season.
Vivians arrived at MSU looking very much like the player she was at Scott Central High School. She immediately unleashed her quick-trigger shooting stroke from all over the court. While some of her shooting efforts (2 of 14 against Louisiana-Monroe and 4 of 18 against Louisiana Tech) might not have been up to first-team All-SEC standards, Vivians didn’t back down from shouldering the role as the team’s No. 1 scoring option. Vivians assumed that role from the beginning of the season in part due to injuries that sidelined Alwal.
To see how far Vivians has come, look at the first part of the SEC season. She had only five and nine points, respectively, in wins against Georgia and Missouri. After back-to-back double-digit efforts against Arkansas and Vanderbilt, Vivians didn’t score against LSU and had eight points against Alabama. Since then, Vivians has had only one game — Texas A&M — in which she didn’t hit double figures. That game is an anomaly, though, because Vivians’ 3-pointer from the corner was the shot that helped the Bulldogs earn the victory.
Scoring has been only part of the maturation. Vivians’ game has grown as she has learned how to attack defenses off the dribble. She also is doing a better job on defense, which is something Schaefer continues to stress to her every chance he gets. The poking and prodding has worked. Vivians has remained focused and deadly. She has eight 20-plus point games (three in the SEC) and four double-doubles.
Deep down, only Vivians knows if she will take motivation from the fact the SEC coaches didn’t vote her the league’s top freshman or find a place for her on the first team. But if you have watched shooters and scorers over the years, many are like Vivians and don’t display their emotions. They prefer to let their shooting do the damage.
As MSU prepares to take on the winner of today’s game between Kentucky and Vanderbilt on Friday, let’s hope Vivians opts to let her game do the talking and she helps MSU continue its record-breaking season. Those who have watched Vivians all season know she is a first-team All-SEC player. A vote by 13 SEC coaches isn’t going to stop her from showing it.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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