STARKVILLE — RJ Melendez first played at Humphrey Coliseum in February with Georgia, and he was not expecting to be such a focal point of Mississippi State’s defensive game plan.
After spending his first two college seasons at Illinois, Melendez was primarily a bench player this past winter after transferring to Georgia. But when UGA visited Starkville on Feb. 7, Melendez was less than two weeks removed from a 35-point outburst against Florida, which earned him starts in his next two games against Alabama and South Carolina.
Melendez was back to coming off the bench against MSU, as he would in every game the rest of the way, but State was still determined to lock him down. In 15 minutes of action, Melendez managed to get just three shots off, finishing with three points, one rebound and one assist as MSU defeated UGA 75-62.
“I couldn’t get anything up,” Melendez said Thursday. “It was crazy to me the way they guarded me. They weren’t a great shooting team, but they were getting wide open looks and whatever they wanted because they were exhausting us on the offensive side (with) their defense. Once Coach (Chris) Jans reached out in the portal, I was immediately interested and I was willing to see what he wanted from me.”
Despite his pedestrian outing that night, MSU is glad to have Melendez on its side now as part of the Bulldogs’ retooled backcourt. Dashawn Davis and Shakeel Moore are out, but MSU added four transfer guards — Melendez, Riley Kugel (Florida), Kanye Clary (Penn State) and Claudell Harris (Boston College) — who are competing for minutes alongside budding superstar sophomore Josh Hubbard and Shawn Jones Jr.
Melendez averaged more than one steal per game last year at Georgia and hangs his hat on defense, so he should fit well on a Chris Jans-coached team. The Bulldogs were second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense in Jans’ first year as head coach and fourth last season.
“There’s a lot of NBA players who make millions of dollars just by being elite defenders,” Melendez said. “Offense comes and goes, but if you’re an elite defender every single day, it just gives you a step over other people who can handle the ball really well, can shoot the ball pretty well. With the defense, you can impact the offense. That will give you a boost of confidence and energy, being able to stop the other teams and frustrating them.”
Melendez and his former SEC foe Kugel are both on the taller side for guards and can shift up a position if Jans wants to go small. MSU has a veteran lockdown defender at forward in Cameron Matthews, and KeShawn Murphy can fill in at center in a pinch.
Clary (5-foot-11) and Harris (6-foot-3) give the Bulldogs depth at point guard behind Hubbard, as does incoming freshman Dellquan Warren. Clary was Penn State’s leading scorer last year and is just one inch taller than Hubbard, so the two have guarded each other frequently during summer workouts.
“He’s very challenging to guard,” Clary said. “He’s very aggressive and can shoot the ball from anywhere once you step past half court. You have to just be alert. As far as competitiveness, even if Coach Jans wasn’t so aggressive with his style of play, (Hubbard and I) just naturally like going at each other.”
Nwoko, Foumena have big shoes to fill in post
MSU will have to get used to life without Tolu Smith, the big man who finished his career with 14.4 points and eight rebounds per game over four years with the Bulldogs. Also gone is Jimmy Bell Jr., who was among the SEC’s leading rebounders in non-conference play last year while Smith was working his way back from a foot injury.
Sophomore Gai Chol is the only returning center on the roster, but MSU added Michael Nwoko and Jeremy Foumena for much-needed post depth. Nwoko was a bench player at Miami last year, playing less than nine minutes per game. He’s sure to be in excellent shape by the time this season begins, though — he said the Hurricanes never ran “suicide sprints” in practice – while Jans and the Bulldogs have emphasized conditioning this summer.
“I’m not Tolu Smith. I’m Michael Nwoko,” Nwoko said. “You can’t expect me to do the same things that Tolu Smith did, because I’m not him. We’re not the same player. I play a totally different game of basketball. Don’t get it twisted, our fans should expect big things from me and all the other bigs as well, but none of us are Tolu. At the end of the day, we’re different players.”
Foumena is coming off his redshirt freshman year at Rhode Island in which he played in 28 games, all as a reserve, and averaged 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. A French Canadian who grew up in Montreal and played at a prep school near Toronto, Foumena was late arriving to Starkville for summer workouts due to a visa issue but is now up to speed.
“Me, Gai and (Foumena), we’re going at it every day,” Nwoko said. “We’re not getting in our heads or anything. We’re all just working to try and get better and just trying to earn (playing time).”
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