STARKVILLE — Practice hasn’t been the same for Mississippi State forward Gavin Ware this season.
That’s a good thing.
Ware, a Starkville High School product, has been MSU’s most productive front-court player since arriving on campus before the 2012-13 season. Ware’s natural ability helped him adjust to the college game. At 6-foot-9, 250 pounds, Ware averaged 10 points and seven rebounds per game as a sophomore. But he achieved those numbers on a team that had little depth and not a lot of size up front.
Now Ware has help.
“It has been different in practice,” Ware said. “When I first got here, we didn’t even have enough players to scrimmage. Now it’s a war every day down there. We’ve got a lot of newcomers, and practice is more competitive.”
That new-found depth will be critical for the Bulldogs, who have struggled through 13-game losing streaks in each of their first two seasons under coach Rick Ray. But Ray believes added depth at forward and center could help change the tide this season.
“We have experience for the first time in my tenure. Along with that experience, we have size,” Ray said. “We go from having one guy on our team who is 6-foot-9 or above to having four guys on our team who are 6-foot-9 or above. I’m really excited about what we can do. I think it’s going to help our players individually and as a team. Individually, there’s going to be competition for those minutes on the front line.”
MSU will showcase its new look at 6 p.m. Thursday against Delta State in an exhibition game at Humphrey Coliseum. It will play host to Western Carolina on Nov. 14 in its season opener.
In rebuilding a frontcourt that struggled in rebounding and post defense in his first two seasons, Ray will look to 6-11 center Fallou Ndoye and 6-8 forward Travis Daniels to make a difference. Both players redshirted last season. Ndoye redshirted in his first season out of Findlay Prep to add size and strength, while Daniels, a transfer from Shelton State (Alabama) Community College, sat out after arriving for the spring semester.
“I know technically those two guys are newcomers, but they’re unique and not really newcomers to the program,” Ray said. “The first time they set foot on the court will be the first time they play basketball, but they have been here the whole year, or in Travis’s case, a whole semester.”
Daniels, who averaged 9.8 points per game as a sophomore at Shelton State, has an inside-out style of play that gives the Bulldogs a big, physical small forward or an agile power forward.
“I think Travis is probably our most skilled guy on the team besides maybe (point guard) I.J. Ready,” Ray said. “He can do so many things, and he’s a legitimate 6-8 guy. He has the body to compete in the SEC right away.”
Ndoye will be Ray’s biggest center in stature since Ray’s arrival three years ago. Ware said Ndoye “has been bigger and stronger this season. He battles in practice, too.”
Ray also sees potential in Ndoye.
“With Fallou, just having the size we haven’t had in the past and the fact he’s done a really good job in the weight room adding strength (will help us),” Ray said. “We have a guy who can go up and challenge shots at the rim and finish at the rim. I think with Fallou and (freshman Oliver Black) in those two positions, the five and the four, you can do anything you want to as far as ball screen defense because of those guys’ mobility and ability to move on their feet.”
Throw in players like Black, a 6-9 freshman from Wingfield, and returner Roquez Johnson, a 6-9 forward who averaged 9.7 points while starting eight games as a junior, and Ware has his best supporting cast in his time at MSU, which should aid the his maturation.
“The first two years were tough,” Ware said. “We didn’t have enough big guys to practice, and if you don’t have that, the games are really tough. Now we have got the bodies. I’m ready to get out there.”
For Ray, the continued growth of Ware — and the pieces around him — will help the Bulldogs as they seek a postseason berth.
“I think we have some things around Gavin now that will give him some help,” Ray said. “He won’t have to be the guy getting every offensive rebound, defensive rebound, and guard every team’s best offensive player in the post. We have some guys that can alleviate some of those situations.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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