BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mississippi State may be without its best player for at least half of the upcoming season, but the core of the Bulldogs’ identity remains the same.
Head coach Chris Jans led MSU to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Starkville last winter, and he did so with the Bulldogs at times relying solely on their defense. While MSU believes it has more offensive firepower than it did a year ago, Jans estimated that leading scorer Tolu Smith will remain out with a foot injury until mid-January, so the Bulldogs may again be reliant on that defense to stay afloat before he returns.
“I could have thought of some better things to happen to us a few weeks ago,” Jans said Wednesday at Southeastern Conference media days. “It’s a part of basketball and we’re trying to deal with it as best we can. Certainly, he’s the heart and soul of our team and we were excited that he made the decision to come back and finish his career as a Bulldog. It meant the world to our staff and our fanbase and certainly his teammates as well.”
Smith spent his freshman season at Western Kentucky before becoming an instant star in Starkville, starting 82 games over the last three years and averaging 16.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest a season ago. His injury is undeniably a massive blow for a team looking to build on a First Four loss last March and contend for an SEC title, but MSU has the resources to make up for his production, as well as a manageable non-conference schedule.
The Bulldogs also return their other four starters, guards Shakeel Moore and Dashawn Davis and forwards D.J. Jeffries and Cameron Matthews. Moore, Davis and Matthews all had at least 50 steals last year, helping MSU rank second in the SEC in that department with 8.8 per game.
“We’re just not as big and physical and athletic as we were hoping to be if we were full strength. That’s certainly going to hurt us in all areas,” Jans said. “Our staff and I are trying to tweak how we play on both ends of the floor.”
Transfers will need to generate offense
Even without Smith, the Bulldogs will be just fine on the defensive end, but no other player averaged double figures in scoring. MSU averaged a shade under 66 points per game as a team, the second-fewest in the SEC and ahead of only a South Carolina team that finished 11-21 overall and 4-14 in conference play. The Bulldogs were historically poor from beyond the arc, ranking last in all of Division I by making just 26.6% of their 3-point attempts.
Andrew Taylor, a graduate transfer guard from Marshall, should help improve those numbers. Taylor racked up more than 1,600 points in four years with the Thundering Herd and averaged 20.2 per game last season on a team that finished 24-8. He also compiled 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.1 steals per contest, earning a spot on the all-Sun Belt Conference first team.
“It’s a lot of production we’re missing, but we have guys who are capable of putting the ball in the basket, especially the new guys we have coming in,” Matthews said. “We’re just being more confident and looking for our shots.”
Starting in Smith’s place will likely be West Virginia graduate transfer Jimmy Bell, who started all 34 games for the Mountaineers and led the Big 12 Conference with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game. Scoring is not Bell’s strong suit, but he was efficient last year, making 54.9% of his field goal attempts.
MSU also added junior guard Trey Fort, who previously played at Tennessee-Martin, Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Howard College. Junior forward Jaquan Scott, previously at Salt Lake Community College, has also joined the Bulldogs, as has redshirt junior guard Trey Jackson III, a Starkville High product who has played for Northwest Mississippi Community College and Mississippi University for Women.
“It’s been pretty exciting (to meet) guys from different conferences, different teams, different cultures,” Moore said. “Basketball is a game that brings people together. With the freshmen and the new guys coming in, we’re pretty well off.”
Portugal trip helped Bulldogs grow closer
MSU played three exhibition games in Portugal in late July and early August, comfortably winning all three against Portuguese all-star teams. The competition may not have been SEC-caliber, but it was still a coming-out party for freshman guard Josh Hubbard, who scored in double figures in each game.
Hubbard, a four-star recruit and the top high school player in his class from Mississippi by ESPN’s rankings, averaged 27.1 points per game as a senior at Madison-Ridgeland Academy. He could be a key source of offense as the Bulldogs seek improvement on that side of the ball. MSU has also brought in Hubbard’s Madison-Ridgeland classmate, fellow guard Harrison Alexander.
The Bulldogs tried their hand at surfing during the trip, which did not go well for Moore — beyond admitting to being the worst surfer on the team, he said he dropped his phone in the ocean, but was able to dive into the water and save it. MSU also attended a soccer match in Lisbon between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Spanish side Villarreal.
“I’d been out of the (United States) a few times, but nothing like Europe or anything,” Matthews said. “It was fun being out there being out there with the guys experiencing something different. The food over there is different. A lot of cigarettes over there. But overall it was fun, a different experience.”
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