STARKVILLE — Ben Howland never saw Quinndary Weatherspoon play live until last June.
Hired as the new Mississippi State coach last March, Weatherspoon had already signed with the
Bulldogs. Howland had watched film of Weatherspoon at Velma Jackson High School, but the first day of summer workouts was an eye-opener for Howland.
“The first time I saw him, I saw his body and saw him in the weight room and saw the legs that come up to here,” Howland said. “This guy is built like a basketball player. (I thought) he might have a real chance just looking at him.”
Weatherspoon delivered on that potential in his first season at MSU. On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference coaches named the 6-foot-4, 202-pound rookie to the All-SEC Freshman Team. He is the first Bulldog to receive the honor since Craig Sword and Gavin Ware were named to the team in 2012-13.
Weatherspoon is third on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game. He also leads the team with 41 steals and is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game.
At approximately 8:30 Thursday night, Weatherspoon and 11th-seeded MSU (14-16, 7-11 SEC) will play sixth-seeded Georgia (17-12, 10-8) in the first round of the SEC tournament in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Weatherspoon’s season also has left its mark on MSU’s record book. He is sixth all-time among freshmen in scoring average, seventh in points (367), steals, and 3-pointers made (43), and eighth in field goals made (132).
The swingman leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg.) and in steals (27) in SEC games.
“It’s a real honor to be named to the All-SEC Freshman Team,” Weatherspoon said. “All the credit goes to my coaches and teammates for this honor. I’ve just been working as hard as I can to get better and help my team get better, and we’re not done. This motivates me to work even harder and try to help our team finish out this season on the highest note possible.”
Weatherspoon was a finalist for the C Spire Howell Trophy, which is given to the best collegiate men’s basketball player in the state of Mississippi.
Howland said he wasn’t surprised Weatherspoon received the honor.
“A lot of it is just his attitude, his work ethic, and his talent level,” Howland said. “He’s very talented. I’m happy moving forward and excited to see how he’s progressed and I expect him to continue to progress.”
Howland couldn’t believe senior center Gavin Ware wasn’t named to either All-SEC team. The Starkville native is first in the league in field goal percentage (62.5), seventh in rebounds (224), 11th in blocks (32), and 12th in ppg. (15.8).
“I was very disappointed because I thought he was definitely deserving of it,” Howland said. “You look at his numbers and his improvement and what he’s meant to our team. I was very disappointed about it. But I think this league is better than it was last year and you look, who do you take of that list of those 16 guys?”
Alabama’s Retin Obasohan and Ole Miss’ Stefan Moody were named first-team All-SEC. Obasohan also was on the All-Defensive Team and named Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy was named SEC Coach of the Year, Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis was named SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, LSU’s Ben Simmons was named SEC Freshman of the Year, and South Carolina’s Duane Notice was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
Howland believes this is only the beginning for Weatherspoon, who began playing organized basketball in the ninth grade.
“His ceiling is a lot higher because he started so late,” Howland said. “There are so many areas he can improve and get better in. I think he’s going to get a lot better because I know he’s going to work hard. I know he wants it bad, and I know he’s going to put the time in.”
Howland expects Weatherspoon and junior point guard I.J. Ready to play Thursday.
Howland said Weatherspoon missed Monday’s practice with a sprained ankle and Ready has been dealing with a lower back injury.
Prior to MSU taking on Georgia, seventh-seeded Ole Miss (20-11, 10-8) will take on 10th-seeded Alabama (17-13, 8-10) at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Ole Miss won the last meeting in the series, 82-74 on Jan. 7. The Rebels have won 20 games for the eighth time in 10 years under coach Andy Kennedy. The Rebels recorded seven 20-win campaigns in the 96 seasons before Kennedy’s arrival.
This is the second-straight first-team honor for Moody, who is from Kissimmee, Florida. He is first Rebel since Ansu Sesay in 1997-98 to earn back-to-back first-team honors.
Moody, the 2016 C Spire Howell Trophy winner as the best men’s collegiate player in Mississippi, is the 15th All-SEC honoree under Kennedy, which is the third most in the league over the last 10 years trailing only Kentucky and Florida.
The fifth-fastest player in reach 1,000 career points in Ole Miss history, Moody leads the SEC, and ranks ninth nationally, in scoring (23.1 ppg.). He needs eight points to become only the fifth player in Ole Miss history and the 26th player in SEC history to top 700 points in a season.
Moody was also named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District IV team for the second-consecutive year the media organization announced Tuesday. Moody is one of 10 honorees named to the squad, which is made up of players from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Alabama is coming off a 70-63 loss to Georgia on Saturday. It has lost four of its last five SEC games after winning five straight.
Obasohan leads the Crimson Tide in scoring (17.2 ppg.). He is averaging 20.6 ppg. in conference play.
“I’m so proud of Retin,” Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. “I got word yesterday and was just really excited for him. I couldn’t wait to tell him (Tuesday). I wanted to be the first one to tell him. Obviously, he couldn’t get all-defensive (Team) and been on the first team without his teammates. His teammates do a lot to help him on the floor, but it’s well deserved. (It’s) well earned. … I’m just honored to be his coach and work with him. … He’s definitely had a tremendous leap this year. He’s not finished.”
Obasohan is the third player in program history, and the second in as many years, to claim the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, joining former standouts Levi Randolph (2015) and Justin Knox (2009) as past recipients. Obasohan is the second player in program history to be named to the league’s first team and all-defensive team in the same season. Trevor Releford accomplished that feat in 2013.
“It’s far beyond anything I could possibly imagine,” Obasohan said. “It blows my mind still. It’s so surreal. It kind of seemed like a dream. I’m just grateful for the guys I have in that locker room, the coaching staff I have and the God I serve. It’s pretty unreal, and I’m excited to even add some more great stuff to this season.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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