Even in a pandemic, there was no shortage of compelling sports stories in The Golden Triangle in 2020.
But The Commercial Dispatch was up to the challenge of narrowing down the top 10 stories of 2020 as 2021 creeps around the corner.
Multiple aspects of each particular story were considered, such as newsworthiness, future impact, proximity and precedent. The following stories were voted on by the newspaper’s staff, with each member voting for what they deemed the top 10 stories of the year. The first story a writer picked received 10 points, the second story nine points, and so on.
Plenty of subjectivity was to be expected, as evident by the variety of stories on each participating staff member’s ballot.
Nevertheless, here are our top 10 stories of the year along with a few honorable mentions.
— Mississippi State football beats LSU in Baton Rouge
— Ron Polk returns to Mississippi State
— Mississippi State softball sees historic start to its season before shutdown
10. West Lowndes girls basketball goes undefeated in regular season, loses in state semis, 2 points
It was a dream regular season for the West Lowndes girls basketball team.
The Panthers took a 25-0 record into the MHSAA Class 1A final four in Jackson, where their bubble was burst by eventual champion Pine Grove.
Still, West Lowndes was more than happy with its first-ever undefeated regular season. The Panthers posted two wins over the likes of Noxubee County, West Point and New Hope in their non-district play and easily overpowered their district foes. They won one game against Noxapater by a score of 93-15.
And though their season ended two wins short of what they strove for, West Lowndes was ecstatic to make it so far.
“I thought it was a great season,” coach Takeea Bozeman said. “The best we’ve ever had.”
9. West Point’s dream of a five-peat ends in Class 5A state title game, 9 points
The West Point football team’s “drive for five” came up one turn short.
On Dec. 5, the Green Wave were turned away by West Jones, 33-27, in the MHSAA Class 5A championship game as they sought a public school-record 12th title and a record-tying fifth consecutive crown.
There were signs early on that this year’s West Point team might not match the accomplishments of past seasons’ squads. The Green Wave dropped their opener at Starkville and lost back-to-back games against Lake Cormorant and Grenada in the middle of the season.
But West Point roared back to beat Holmes County Central, Grenada and Ridgeland on the road in the playoffs and reach the title game against West Jones.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, though, a fifth title just wasn’t in the cards.
8. Starkville boys basketball wins back-to-back state championships, 13 points
Greg Carter knows winning never gets old.
When his Starkville High School boys basketball team won this year’s MHSAA Class 6A championship, Carter had the same euphoric feeling he did after last season’s title.
So did the Yellow Jackets, who went 27-2 and beat Jackson Murrah 58-51 in the championship game. They finished off a playoff run that included wins over Clinton, Olive Branch and Harrison Central.
Starkville improved throughout the year, turning a new, fresh November squad into a state champion in the space of just four months.
“When we started this season, the first thing I told them was, ‘This team hasn’t done anything,'” Carter said. “‘This team hasn’t won anything. If you want something, you’ve gotta go win it.'”
The Jackets sure did.
T6. Columbus girls basketball captures first-ever state title, 20 points
A surprise loss to New Hope in the district tournament final shook things up a bit for the Columbus High School girls basketball team this winter.
But the Falcons resolved to come out even better.
They surged through the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs, beating Holmes County Central and Lafayette in tight games and blowing out Laurel in the state semifinals. Then, the Falcons held off Brookhaven 55-51 to claim the first state championship in girls basketball in school history.
“This goes out to all our girls in the Lady Falcon program who have worked so hard to get here but were not able to accomplish what we’ve accomplished,” coach Yvonne Hairston said. “We’re just celebrating all of them and all of us, and it’s just a great feeling.”
Columbus star Aniya Saddler, who had the winning shot in the quarterfinals against Lafayette, moved on to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, but DJ Jackson is leading a Falcons team hoping to follow up what last year’s historic squad accomplished.
T6. MSU’s Robert Woodard II, Reggie Perry drafted; Woodard II becomes first pro Columbus player drafted since 1980s, 20 points
Robert Woodard II made history for both the Columbus community and Mississippi State men’s basketball program on Nov. 18.
After the Memphis Grizzlies selected Woodard II 40th overall in the 2020 NBA draft then later traded him to the Sacramento Kings, he became the first Columbus-born player taken in the NBA draft since Sedric Toney in 1985. Woodard II also was the first MSU player to be drafted since Woodard II’s former collegiate teammate Quinndary Weatherspoon was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in 2019 (No. 49 overall). The Columbus native made his NBA debut on Dec. 27 and scored a basket against the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, Woodard’s college teammate, Reggie Perry, was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets with the 57th overall pick in the draft. Perry, the Associated Press Co-SEC Player of the Year for the 2019-2020 season, made his pro debut on Dec. 22 against the Golden State Warriors and scored his first career NBA basket.
5. MUW Athletic Director Jason Trufant relieved of duties after investigation, reassigned to another role within the university, 22 points
In a five-month investigation, The Dispatch spoke with one current MUW employee, two former student athletes and six former athletic department employees who described a toxic and bullying culture cultivated by Athletic Director Jason Trufant that was largely ignored by higher-ranking administration.
In the initial investigation, The Dispatch uncovered numerous accusations of bullying, homophobic statements and verbal abuse by Trufant. The now-former athletic director vehemently denied any of the claims, while MUW President Nora Miller contended the school had done everything it needed to in relation to an investigation into Trufant’s behavior in August of 2019.
Just over six weeks after The Dispatch’s findings hit newsstands, Trufant was relieved of his duties and shifted into a role as a special adviser to Miller. Softball coach Buddy Foster, who has a long history of work in athletic administration, was tabbed as the interim athletic director on Dec. 17.
4. Longtime MSU women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer leaves for Texas; Nikki McCray-Penson hired as a replacement, 25 points
2020 was a year of coaching turnover in Starkville.
While Joe Moorhead’s firing was less surprising, Vic Schaefer’s departure from MSU to Texas was a seismic shift of epic proportions around the women’s college basketball world. After taking twice taking the Bulldogs to the precipice of their first team national title in any sport, Schaefer headed back to his home state to take over as the new head coach in Austin.
With Schaefer out, MSU administrators turned to former Old Dominion head coach and one-time Pat Summitt disciple Nikki McCray-Penson to lead the Bulldog women’s basketball program.
Having spent 10 years on Dawn Staley’s staff at South Carolina as an assistant coach and a two-time all-American and SEC player of the year at Tennessee, McCray-Penson is plenty familiar with her new surroundings and is in the midst of her first season leading a talented but youthful group through conference play.
T2. Joe Moorhead fired after 6-7 season; Bulldogs bring in the pirate, Mike Leach, 32 points
What an ending, eh?
After a wild Egg Bowl that saw Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore imitate a peeing dog in the end zone and a missed Luke Logan extra point, then-MSU head coach Joe Moorhead proclaimed that doubters would have to drag his “Yankee ass” out of Starkville. And so they did.
After a lackluster Music City Bowl loss to Louisville, Moorhead was fired and replaced with the ever-eccentric Mike Leach.
In eight seasons at Washington State and a decade prior at Texas Tech, Leach had made a habit of winning at some of college football’s most remote outposts. The jury is still out on the Pirate after a 3-7 finish to his inaugural regular season in Starkville, but at the very least it’s been entertaining.
After concluding his MSU tenure with a 14-12 record and two wins over Ole Miss, Moorhead spent this past season as the offensive coordinator at Oregon, helping the Ducks to a Pac-12 title.
T2. Kylin Hill tweets ultimatum if no action is taking regarding Mississippi state flag, later receives key to the city of Columbus, 32 points
It all started with a tweet.
In mid-June, a debate regarding the status of Mississippi’s state flag bearing a Confederate emblem was raging in the Mississippi state legislature. Exterior pressure to remove the flag was put on the state from various sources, such as the NCAA when it announced it would no longer allow Mississippi to host NCAA postseason events in an escalation of its previously developed Confederate flag policy.
Mississippi State’s star running back, Kylin Hill, became one of the most outspoken supporters of demanding a new flag when he went to social media to issue an ultimatum to state legislators on June 22. His tweet read: “Either change the flag or I won’t be representing this State anymore & I meant that .. I’m tired.”
Hill was met with immediate feedback. Some positive. Others, not so much. After more than 100 years of flying the state flag bearing the Confederate emblem, the Mississippi Legislature voted in late June to remove it. In late July, Hill was awarded the key to the city in his hometown from Columbus Mayor Robert Smith.
“I took a risk,” Hill said at the ceremony. “I know I took a risk.”
On the field, Hill only played three games for MSU before opting out for the remainder of the year to focus on the NFL draft.
1. COVID-19 rocks the world, sports included, 40 points
What else could the top story be?
A worldwide pandemic that killed more than 300,000 Americans also had a tremendous impact on the sports world. In the middle of the year, serious doubt crept in that sports, both college and high school, would even be played. When they eventually resumed, postponements, cancellations and last-minute schedule changes were ever present.
COVID-19 made its first significant sports-related impact in the Golden Triangle on March 12, when the Southeastern Conference canceled the SEC men’s basketball tournament. The NCAA tournament followed a few days later, and the spring baseball and softball seasons weren’t far behind that. High school athletics followed suit, also cancelling all spring athletics.
Despite the Big Ten and Pac-12 electing to shut down their fall football seasons (with both leagues later revoking those decisions), SEC commissioner Greg Sankey pressed forward with plans for a 10-game conference-only schedule. Most SEC teams, using safety protocols that required athletes to test three times a week, completed their 10 game schedules, even though schedule changes were constant.
Meanwhile, MHSAA canceled the first two weeks of its fall football season but completed a full slate across six classes. The same can be said for its other sports. MAIS didn’t put in any delays where football was concerned and finished the year as scheduled.
As 2020 ends, the pandemic still rages on, but both college and high school basketball are continuing their seasons.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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 34 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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
