After losing its top four scorers from a season ago, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team continues its restructure for the 2020-2021 season.
The Bulldogs landed a 6-foot-6 small forward prospect Keondre Montgomery, a Forest Hill standout. Montgomery signed his National Letter of Intent at his high school Tuesday afternoon. According to 247Sports, Montgomery is a four-star recruit and the No. 1 rated player in the state of Mississippi for the class of 2020. He’s the 122nd best recruit nationally.
“Keondre is a great addition to our basketball family and already possesses an excellent offensive skill package,” MSU coach Ben Howland said in a news release. “He’s an outstanding three-point shooter, a strong finisher at the basket and can create for others. When I watch Keondre on film, I see his love for the game of basketball. He plays hard on both ends of the floor and plays with a good intensity level. I look forward to seeing his continued growth and development as a player in our program.”
In his senior year at Forest Hill, Montgomery averaged 28.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and four assists per game.
“Keondre has a high motor, plays with a lot of passion and led us in every statistical category last season,” Forest Hill coach Jerry Currie said. “Offensively, he’s an extremely gifted scorer that can score at all three levels. ‘Dre is a knockdown three-point shooter, has a great midrange game and can finish at the rim. However, one of his best offensive attributes, is his passing ability. He has a real knack for setting teammates up for easy scores. Last summer, he started working on his low post game and consistently took smaller guards to the low block all season.”
Montgomery had offers from Auburn, Clemson, Ole Miss and Seton Hall in addition to the Bulldogs. His signing gives the Bulldogs the top two players from the Mississippi 2020 recruiting class (three-star forward Cameron Matthews being the other), and marks the second four-star recruit MSU coach Ben Howland has signed for 2020 after Georgia product Deivon Smith signed with the Bulldogs last fall.
MSU could go the graduate transfer route to fill out its roster, as the Bulldogs have already acquired Louisiana small forward and graduate transfer Jalen Johnson, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. A season ago, Johnson averaged 15 points for Louisiana.
A scouting report on Montgomery from a source close to the MSU basketball team
“Talented scorer. Can score at all three levels. Good vision/feel as a passer. Can guard multiple positions with his size and athleticism.”
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
