Mississippi State is at full strength for the first time all season, just in time for the Southeastern Conference opener. Star post player Tolu Smith made his season debut in Sunday’s win over Bethune-Cookman, coming off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Head coach Chris Jans had the depth in the frontcourt to make up for Smith’s absence, but with MSU’s centerpiece back in the fold, other players will see a reduction in minutes. That will give Jans the flexibility to use players like Jimmy Bell Jr., KeShawn Murphy and Gai Chol in specific situations — depending on the time and score, who else is on the floor and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Bulldogs’ opponent.
Bell, transferred from West Virginia to back up Smith only to be thrust into the starting role due to Smith’s foot injury, is now likely to come off the bench going forward, but Jans said both after Sunday’s game and at Tuesday’s press conference that he is not worried about how Bell will handle the change.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Jans said. “People asked me, ‘When Tolu’s back, how is Jimmy going to handle it?’ I didn’t even think about it. He’s such a great guy and he’s been encouraging Tolu and excited for Tolu. His mindset is, ‘When I’m not in there, now there’s another guy who’s going to keep wearing them down, keep pounding them like I do.’”
Bell started for MSU (11-2) against the Wildcats but played a season-low 17 minutes to Smith’s 19, and that disparity is likely to only widen as Smith gets closer to full strength and the Bulldogs face better teams. Bell and Smith are both true centers — neither has attempted a 3-pointer in his collegiate career — so them playing at the same time is unlikely.
“When I’m out or when (Bell) is out, one of us is in, there’s no let-up for the other team,” Smith said. “The coaching staff did an amazing job recruiting and bringing a great player like him in.”
Murphy, on the other hand, has more of an ability to stretch the floor, so he and Smith could team up in the post if MSU wants to go big. He has made 10 of his 38 attempts from 3-point range in 26 games with the Bulldogs and took a star turn on Dec. 17 against North Texas, scoring a team-high 18 points. He also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes against Tulane on Dec. 9.
The freshman Chol may be the odd one out. He played three minutes against Bethune-Cookman after not seeing the floor at all in the previous two games against North Texas and Rutgers, and MSU may be content to let him learn from watching Smith and Bell, who are both in their final year of eligibility.
Smith and Bell are both taller than any starter for South Carolina, who the Bulldogs face on Saturday, but the Gamecocks do have a 7-footer on their bench in Josh Gray. Still, against a team that ranks fourth in the SEC in both 3-point attempts per game and 3-point percentage, a smaller lineup might be the way to go.
“Jimmy Bell is such a wonderful human being, and he’s probably as encouraging about Tolu as anybody,” Jans said. “He knows it’s only going to help him as well to have another guy who can be in there when he’s not in there… doing all the things that Jimmy is capable of doing. It’s not something we’ve had big powwows about as a team, or even me and Tolu. It’s all been really good.”
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