High Energy Dominates Day 1 Of Practice
October 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Basketball is now back.
On Monday, the Ben Howland Era officially tipped off as Mississippi State underwent a three-hour practice at the Mize Pavilion.
Twelve of the 16 players on the roster participated, with Aric Holman, Joe Strugg, Xavian Stapleton and Reggie Patterson sitting out due to various ailments. Sophomore forward Fallou Ndoye, recovering from wrist surgery, saw limited action and didn't participate in any contact drills, while sophomore Demetrius Houston was also limited.
Stapleton isn't eligible this year due to transfer rules. The former Madison Central standout came to Mississippi State in the summer after spending last season at Louisiana Tech.
As far as practice a concern, a lot of time was spent on drills and introducing terminology.
“Today, we went longer than I wanted to, because we have so much teaching,” Howland said. “I'm talking a lot during practice because it's all new terminology we're teaching. Now, we're focused on defense for the first time, starting this past Saturday. The whole point, up to now, was 90 percent fundamentals and offense.”
The NCAA allows teams to have 30 practices in 42 days prior to the season opener, which for MSU is on Nov. 13 at home against Eastern Washington.
MSU, looking to end a streak of three-straight losing seasons, returns to the court on Tuesday. All practices are closed to the public.
On Friday, both the men's and women's teams will participate in Maroon Madness, slated to begin at 9 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.
