STARKVILLE — There is plenty of credit to go around and those that try to assign it prove such by giving it to different parties, but it all undermines one fact: the Mississippi State’s men’s basketball team’s defense is among the best in the country.
Even as MSU (9-1) has struggled offensively against the better teams on its schedule — 59 points against Jacksonville State, 61 against Dayton and 50 against Cincinnati — it has always been able to lean on a strong defensive showing.
That defense will again be needed when Little Rock (3-9) comes to the Humphrey Coliseum for a 7 p.m. start today.
MSU’s hasn’t had a defense this good at 2-point defense (42.2 shooting percentage allowed) since 2010; it hasn’t been this good at blocking shots (MSU blocks 17.2 percent of its opponents attempted 2-point shots) since 2008. To find an MSU defense this good at defending 3-point shooting (31.4 shooting percentage allowed), one has to go all the way back to 2002.
Last year’s defense wasn’t drastically far behind in any of these categories. That being the case, the difference has been linked to two newcomers, one in the frontcourt and one in the backcourt.
The big man is Abdul Ado. His size (6-foot-11) and his quickness for said size have allowed MSU to take a more aggressive approach to ball screens. Now MSU takes on ball screens with a hedge, putting the forward on the other side of the screen in a more prohibitive position, in the path of the ball handler; it puts more pressure on the ball, but it’s a lot of movement for a big man with his hips square to a guard with the ball.
Freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon put it plainly, “We’re better defensively because Abdul is back.”
Weatherspoon would know — he’s the guard that’s looked at as the defensive difference in the backcourt.
“He continues to be our best on-ball defender and did a great job defensively. I’m really pleased with how hard he played,” MSU coach Ben Howland said.
“Nick’s played really good defense — especially considering he’s a freshman, it’s pretty amazing the motor he has defensively. He was well-coached in high school, obviously,” Howland added, referencing Columbus coach Anthony Carlyle, who coached Weatherspoon at Velma Jackson. “He has fun competing and takes pride in playing really hard. He’s taken more charges than the rest of the team combined, and I mentioned that to our team. It says a lot about his toughness, but again, to be that dialed in as a freshman defensively is really spectacular.”
Their addition, however, has not been the only factor. Even with Weatherspoon in the fold for the preseason exhibition games, Howland came away displeased with the defense. He attributed that to spacing, saying the defense was, “too stretched out and the way we were playing ball screens made us easy to attack.
“We’re more compact and really, one of the best things, I think everybody’s doing a good job of being help side: reacting to the ball, rotating, even when somebody gets beat.”
Howland also said an extra year of experience and strength has helped MSU on defense. One case in that point is that of Aric Holman, who is one of the team’s best shot blockers (1.3 per game) and a starter but only plays 23 minutes per game. E.J. Datcher averages 11.5 minutes per game and KeyShawn Feazell gets another 7.8 with minimal defensive drop off.
The cast of characters behind Ado and Weatherspoon have undeniably contributed to the MSU defense, which ranks 31st in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced numbers, but they also know where it starts.
“Those guys bring energy, they bring passion and they’re always talking on defense,” Holman said. “It inspires others to get in the zone and bring it the same as them.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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 32 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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
