STARKVILLE — Ben Howland knew what he was getting with Quinndary Weatherspoon and couldn’t wait for the Southeastern Conference and country to watch the freshman.

The Mississippi State coach was happy that Weatherspoon was already signed when he took over the program last March and knew immediately that Weatherspoon was going to make an impact.

Weatherspoon was overshadowed by fellow freshman Malik Newman, but not anymore. Weatherspoon has made a name for himself the last few weeks and earned co-Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors Monday, the second time he has won the award. The Bulldogs (12-14, 5-9 SEC) play Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5) tonight in Reed Arena.

“He does so many things that helps them win,” Aggie coach Billy Kennedy said. “He rebounds, he defends, he makes the 3, he gets to the free throw line. He’s much better than I anticipated when I saw him in high school. He’s playing like a freshman of the year in this league at this point. He’s playing as good as any freshman in the league.”

Weatherspoon scored a career-high 24 points and made the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to help the Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 75-74 last Tuesday. He followed that performance by scoring 15 points, pulling down four rebounds and picking up two steals in a 67-61 win at Alabama Saturday.

Weatherspoon has grown into his own this season averaging 11.8 points per game, but he has really shined in league play by averaging a team-best 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Howland said it wasn’t an overnight transformation for Weatherspoon, rather it was hard work day in and day out and that has allowed the Canton native to be so successful.

“He’s earned it,” Howland said. “He’s put the time in. He gets in there extra on his own late at night in the practice gym and gets up shots.”

Weatherspoon is just surprised as anybody with his play this season, but it wasn’t from a lack of confidence. The shooting guard has rarely played his natural position this season. He has played positions 1-4, and seen a lot of time at the four-position, forward, because of the lack of depth and his willingness to help the team.

It has been a new experience for Weatherspoon this season with playing at a different level and playing a different position, but he has embraced it.

“It was tough in the beginning of the season because I was learning every position,” Weatherspoon said. “In the beginning of practices, I would be forgetting plays. Now I’ve got used to it and I know the plays.”

Weatherspoon has not struggled offensively this season, but did struggle on the defensive end early. Playing a zone defense in high school, the man-to-man concept that Howland teaches was very new to the former Jim Hill High School standout. Weatherspoon admitted he was happy when they were playing zone in the early part of the SEC season, but when they switched back to man-to-man, he decided to roll with it.

Weatherspoon said playing good defense has become a point of pride for him and Howland said his competitive nature helped him get better defensively. The 6-foot-4, 202-pound Weatherspoon has rarely guarded someone his size in playing the forward position. In the win over the Crimson Tide, he guarded 6-foot-7 Riley Norris, who didn’t even attempt a shot because of the defensive effort from Weatherspoon.

Howland said it’s pretty special that Weatherspoon has played so well offensively at four positions and guards all four positions so well.

“Not many freshmen have that kind of capability,” Howland said. “I think it says a lot about how smart he is, how skilled he is and how tough he is.”

Weatherspoon said his biggest dreams were to play college basketball and play in the NBA. He has already done one and the other looks like a real possibility. As for the attention he is receiving this year, Weatherspoon is just trying to stay humble.

“I’m enjoying the credit and the awards I’m getting, but I’m just trying to get some wins in the SEC so we can make a run in the SEC Tournament,” Weatherspoon said.

In a 61-60 loss to the Aggies in the conference opener Jan. 6, Weatherspoon scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds in 26 minutes. Kennedy said he hasn’t really seen Weatherspoon’s role change much since that game, but he has noticed a different attitude from Weatherspoon’s teammates.

“He’s been accepted by the juniors and seniors,” Kennedy said. “Those guys now are not afraid to give him the ball and let him go make a play. They’ve got a lot more confidence in him, all the way from the coaching staff to the juniors and seniors. When you win the respect of your seniors that says a lot. He’s very impressive.”

n In other basketball news, after not playing Saturday with a back injury, Newman’s status for Wednesday is unknown.

Howland said Newman saw the doctors in Columbus Monday, but the decision if he will play will come later. Howland said Newman’s back locked up against Vanderbilt.

He missed the first game of the season with a turf toe injury.

“I’m sure he’s frustrated. It can’t be fun,” Howland said. “It’s part of it. How you deal with that adversity is everything.”

Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait

Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.