STARKVILLE — For the first time in nearly 15 years, Mississippi State University has a new men’s basketball coach: Rick Ray.
After a 17-day search, MSU named Ray, 40, an associate head coach at Clemson University, to lead its program into a new era. It will be the first head coaching job of Ray’s career.
“Rick fits the model of head coach we have sought to bring into our program over the last several years,” MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said in a university release. “He is bright, enthusiastic, disciplined and is a man of integrity. He has served with some of the top head and assistant coaches in college basketball, and will bring a piece of all of them to our head coaching position.”
Ray replaces Rick Stansbury, the school’s all-time wins leader, who retired earlier this month after 14 years as the Bulldogs’ head coach and 22 seasons as a member of the MSU men’s basketball coaching staff.
The hire was announced Sunday afternoon. On Sunday night, Stricklin gave Ray and his family a private tour of the athletics facilities at MSU. Ray is expected to make his first public appearance at 10 a.m. today at a news conference at Humphrey Coliseum.
Ray, whose name never came up in any media reports, has worked the past two seasons for head coach Brad Brownell at Clemson. Brownell was hired two years ago at Clemson from Wright State University after Stansbury turned down the Tigers’ offer to leave Starkville.
“I have so much appreciation for Brad Brownell,” Ray said in a statement. “I learned a great deal underneath him in my two years. I learned more about being a basketball coach, how to build a program and how to treat people.”
Two years ago, Clemson finished 22-12 and 9-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season. Clemson went 16-15 this season and didn’t qualify for the postseason.
“He’s well respected in the business,” Brownell said. “He has the ability to be demanding with his players to make them better on and off the court and still develop long-lasting relationships with them. He is a great hire for Mississippi State.”.
Prior to Clemson, Ray was an assistant coach for Matt Painter for four seasons at Purdue University. He also has worked at Northern Illinois (2004-06), Indiana State (1997-2004), and Nebraska-Omaha (1996-97).
“Coming from the Midwest, I learned quickly about Southern hospitality,” Ray said in a statement about his time at Clemson. “It was something my family and I will always remember. It is not something that is just talked about, it is practiced every day. I will always remember Clemson because of all the great people and how well they treated my family.”
During his time at Purdue, the Boilermakers won 103 games and advanced in the NCAA tournament each season, including to the Sweet 16 each of his last two seasons.
“Rick Ray is a tireless worker and fierce competitor, two traits that will serve him well as he leads Mississippi State basketball into a new era,” Painter said. “MSU is getting a great young coach with the energy and drive to be successful.”
Ray appears to fit a mold MSU has identified with the previous hires. Like with MSU football coach Dan Mullen, softball coach Vann Stuedeman, and women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer, MSU went with a candidate whose personality best suits the university’s image instead of someone with a more glamorous résumé.
“I am impressed with his basketball philosophy and the vision he has articulated for taking Mississippi State basketball to a higher level,” MSU President Mark Keenum said in a university release. “Rick has been successful everywhere he has coached. He is a winner and has a solid plan to put his brand on the program that will reflect the highest standards of integrity and accountability.”
According to sources inside the program, MSU spoke with several other coaches, including Colorado State University turned University of Nebraska coach Tim Miles, Wichita State University coach Gregg Marshall, Duke University assistant coach Jeff Capel, Murray State University coach Steve Prohm, Valparaiso University coach Bryce Drew, and University of Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne.
In his first opportunity to make a hire in the big three money-making athletic programs at MSU (football, men’s basketball, and baseball), Stricklin went as far as to write a public statement to ask for patience as the search process reached its third week.
“I want to commend Scott Stricklin for the extraordinary work he put into finding the right fit for our basketball program,” Keenum said. “He has done just that. He was thorough and deliberate and has brought in an exceptional individual to lead Mississippi State basketball into the future.”
Ray was part of the 2006-07 Purdue staff that signed arguably the top class in the school’s history, a group rated No. 5 nationally by Scout.com that included All-American Robbie Hummel, guard E’Twaun Moore, and forward JaJuan Johnson. However, The Dispatch has learned Ray wasn’t primarily responsible for recruiting any of the three to Purdue.
“I know he comes from a good system, will work hard, and do things the right way,” Blue Ribbon Illustrated editor Chris Dortch said. “I thought maybe the choice would have had head-coaching experience, but that isn’t a guarantee of future success.”
While at Purdue, Ray was on Painter’s staff with current University of Tennessee coach and close friend Cuonzo Martin.
“Rick is a hard-working, intelligent basketball coach who really has a passion for the game,” Martin said. “But, more importantly, it is a great move by the MSU administration, which did its homework and reached out to a qualified coach who will represent the university in the right way.”
Ray will be the first African-American to be named head men’s basketball coach at MSU. The Bulldogs named Sylvester Croom the first black football coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference.
Ray was a standout player for Grand View College (Iowa), where he was an All-America Scholar-Athlete and honorable mention all conference performer in 1993. Ray earned his undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and secondary education from Grand View in 1994. He earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from Nebraska-Omaha in 1997.
“He is extremely well thought of in the coaching profession on every level,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes said. “He comes from a background under Brad Brownell and Matt Painter, which is all you need to know. His teams will be tough, disciplined, and will be demanded to play hard. Scott Stricklin did Mississippi State fans right in this hire. He will quickly establish a new trail and philosophy for MSU basketball.”
Sources have confirmed to The Dispatch assistant coach Phil Cunningham won’t join Ray on the next MSU staff. Point guard prospect Josh Gray said on his Twitter account that the only thing keeping him from asking for a release from his scholarship is if assistant coach Marcus Grant is retained.
On the floor, Ray likely will bring a physical man-to-man defense and a motion offense similar to what is run at Purdue and at Tennessee.
“Rick is a terrific coach in every sense of the word,” Brownell said. “He is as consummate professional. He is a relentless recruiter (and) has worked with some of the best Xs and Os coaches in the business and is unbelievably bright.”
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