Ben Howland begins his second season at MSU Tuesday with the start of practice.
Howland's Second Year Begins With Tuesday's Practice
October 03, 2016 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Year 2 of the Ben Howland era officially gets underway Tuesday when Mississippi State ushers in the 2016-17 campaign with the start of practice.
The Bulldogs return two starters in I.J. Ready and Quinndary Weatherspoon and a stacked roster of new talent that garnered the fourth-best recruiting class in the country, tops in school history.
MSU graduated six players from last year's team that finished 14-17 after closing out the regular season by winning five of its last eight games. The seven SEC wins were the most since totaling eight in 2012.
"We're obviously very young," Howland said. "I have probably the youngest team I've ever coached in my 21 years as a head coach. But, I obviously have some talented kids that we are really excited about their futures. The trip this summer to Italy and the opportunity to practice was a really good thing for this team because of our youth.
"I'm looking forward to getting started. (Tuesday) for us is the first day we get 30 days of practice, out of 42 days prior to our first game which began September 30th. We've spaced out our practice times and I like the rule way better."
Team unity and chemistry were developed back in August when MSU traveled to Italy and Switzerland to compete in a foreign tour. The Bulldogs posted an impressive 4-0 run against the European pro teams with standout performances from freshmen Tyson Carter, Eli Wright, Lamar Peters and Schnider Herard, along with Weatherspoon. The 2017 SEC All-Freshman standout paced MSU in Europe with his 23.3 scoring clip, followed by Carter at 20.5.
"I just take the season the same way as I did last year," said Weatherspoon, who averaged 12.0 points and 4.7 rebounds his rookie campaign. "I am just going to go out there and play hard. I am not going to do anything special; just play my game and try to have a good season again. I feel more confident."
Joining Weatherspoon as a returning starter is Ready, who averaged 9.2 points per game and led the team in assists with 134 last season. His 4.5 assists were sixth best in the conference.
The Little Rock native is also the lone senior on the team.
"I want to lead by example," he said. "There isn't many times when you're the lone senior. This is a special group, and they have so much talent that I want to be able to not only give them knowledge but also help them and lead the path for them so they don't hit the freshmen hump as soon as most do, and so we can win games."
The Bulldogs open their 105th season of play at home on Nov. 11 against Norfolk State on Nov. 11.
The Bulldogs return two starters in I.J. Ready and Quinndary Weatherspoon and a stacked roster of new talent that garnered the fourth-best recruiting class in the country, tops in school history.
MSU graduated six players from last year's team that finished 14-17 after closing out the regular season by winning five of its last eight games. The seven SEC wins were the most since totaling eight in 2012.
"We're obviously very young," Howland said. "I have probably the youngest team I've ever coached in my 21 years as a head coach. But, I obviously have some talented kids that we are really excited about their futures. The trip this summer to Italy and the opportunity to practice was a really good thing for this team because of our youth.
"I'm looking forward to getting started. (Tuesday) for us is the first day we get 30 days of practice, out of 42 days prior to our first game which began September 30th. We've spaced out our practice times and I like the rule way better."
Team unity and chemistry were developed back in August when MSU traveled to Italy and Switzerland to compete in a foreign tour. The Bulldogs posted an impressive 4-0 run against the European pro teams with standout performances from freshmen Tyson Carter, Eli Wright, Lamar Peters and Schnider Herard, along with Weatherspoon. The 2017 SEC All-Freshman standout paced MSU in Europe with his 23.3 scoring clip, followed by Carter at 20.5.
"I just take the season the same way as I did last year," said Weatherspoon, who averaged 12.0 points and 4.7 rebounds his rookie campaign. "I am just going to go out there and play hard. I am not going to do anything special; just play my game and try to have a good season again. I feel more confident."
Joining Weatherspoon as a returning starter is Ready, who averaged 9.2 points per game and led the team in assists with 134 last season. His 4.5 assists were sixth best in the conference.
The Little Rock native is also the lone senior on the team.
"I want to lead by example," he said. "There isn't many times when you're the lone senior. This is a special group, and they have so much talent that I want to be able to not only give them knowledge but also help them and lead the path for them so they don't hit the freshmen hump as soon as most do, and so we can win games."
The Bulldogs open their 105th season of play at home on Nov. 11 against Norfolk State on Nov. 11.
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