Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Howland: "We'll have our hands full with Louisiana-Monroe"
November 13, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball head coach Ben Howland was joined by Reggie Perry and D.J. Stewart Jr. as the Bulldogs met with the media leading into Wednesday's practice at Humphrey Coliseum.
UP NEXT/TICKETS
Mississippi State continues its four-game homestand and plays host to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday, November 14. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through the Watch ESPN platform.
General Admission seating is now available at Humphrey Coliseum for men's basketball. Tickets can be purchased in advance for only $5 at www.HailState.com/tickets or in person staring 90 minutes before tipoff for $10 at the Humphrey Coliseum Box Office. Discounted online purchasing also ends two hours prior to tip time for each game.
Mississippi State is offering a pair of new fan-focused season ticket options for the 2019-20 season which includes the addition of general admission seating to men's basketball. A traditional general admission season ticket for seats in designated areas of the 200 level are available for only $155, while reserved seat season tickets are available for $275.
The second offering is a first-of-its-kind mobile access season ticket, the mobile access pass. This new ticketing option will provide exclusive access to already-sold lower level seats during non-conference games inside Humphrey Coliseum, and a 200 level general admission ticket for all conference games.
During non-conference play, fans with the mobile access pass will be digitally delivered a general admission ticket for a designated lower level section each game and will have access to sit in any open seat within that designated section. The non-conference option is available for $65 whereas the entire season pass is available for $180. Learn more about this new offering at www.HailState.com/accesspass.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
November 13, 2019
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement:
BH: "I'm excited to announce that we had a signing today of Deivon Smith out of Georgia. He's a really good point guard, and we're really excited about him. He's a high-level player and one of the best point guards I saw all summer. I think he's really a huge addition for us. He's a true point, great decision maker, incredibly athletic. He's six-feet tall and an incredible athlete. His vertical is probably 45-46 inches, it's incredible. He's very quick but very understanding of the game. He's a good shooter. He comes from a really good high school program and is very well-coached. He played for a very good AAU team, Atlanta Celtics, they won the tournament in Birmingham which is the biggest Adidas Tournament that was held this summer … I'm really excited about him. He's a great kid who comes from a great family, and we're very fortunate to get his paperwork back today."
Q: Two games in, are there any adjustments that you feel you can make especially when teams got on you with press?
BH: "The press was true in the first game, but the second game we played it was more about pressure – handling and the denial of everything. I thought we did a better of job obviously during the last 10 minutes of the game [against Sam Houston State] and being more aggressive.
"I think this time of year you're seeing – we've played two good teams thus far. I think FIU and Sam Houston State are going to win a lot of games this year. The team we're playing tonight is a very good team. It's a team that had Texas A&M down eight at the half two nights ago and ends up losing by six in a very tight game against a very-talented and well-coached Texas A&M team."
"You look at last night. Auburn gets very fortunate to beat South Alabama who they end up beating by one. South Alabama had a great chance to win that game. You guys all saw us play South Alabama a couple of weeks back. Obviously, Kentucky gets beat at home by Evansville. There's a lot of parity in college basketball especially this early in the season. It's tough."
Q: How has KeyShawn Feazell's grown?
BH: "I think what has helped him the most is the fact that he's so much quicker and more athletic with the less weight he is carrying around. He was carrying around muscle. It was not like he was fat in any way. No one has ever accused him of that. He's just so much more bouncy and more athletic."
"I also think his learning [has improved]. He's learned how to play really hard. That's one thing when I watched him in high school, and I told him this yesterday that I was most worried if he was going to be able to come in and play as hard as you need to play. He has done that and then some. I think he is playing as hard as anyone in our program. That's what I love most."
"I think he's is playing with reckless abandonment. You see how he's attacking the rebounds. He had a big rebound late in the Sam Houston State game. He came in and grabbed it. He didn't get it, but it came to someone else. But, if he had not gotten in there with reckless abandonment, they would have got the offensive rebound."
"He is doing a great job for us in so many ways. He's playing with a real confidence. A confidence of a guy that he's looks like he has played a lot the previous two years when in reality he didn't play a lot of minutes, but he got a lot of experience every day. He also knows he's earned it. This summer, when everyone went home for the summer break, he stayed here and stayed in the weight room. He was here working out the whole time, and he's really earned what he's getting. That's a beautiful thing when you see a kid earn his opportunity to have some success."
Q: Is it pleasing to see as a coach that your team is playing good defense without having to foul?
BH: "We're not fouling, and that's been a real positive. You're always trying to play without fouling. That was a problem for us my first couple of years here. We talked about it going into year three and really made it an emphasis. We talk about it every day. The players don't like it, but we're calling out every foul out there that we see so they get in the habit of utilizing what they can and can't do. That's big for us because we've got to stay out of foul trouble. In the first game, we did get into foul trouble when D.J. Stewart [Jr.] had two fouls which then put us into a rotation where Tyson [Carter] had to play a ton of minutes because of foul trouble in the back court. We've got to continue to stay out of foul trouble."
"I was really happy with our halfcourt defense in both games. I think both of these last two games were where we had turnovers that have turned into easy baskets. If you threw those [turnovers] out and took those easy layups out of the game from our turnovers and just looked at our halfcourt defense, it would be 30 percent or below. It's been very good, and that's what we have to continue to do is to cut down on our turnovers and make better decisions. Our guys have done a better job of it over last few days. I think they've realized how important it is."
Q: With how Tyson Carter has been shooting, is it tough to bring him out of the game when he's getting big minutes?
BH: "Yeah, we need him out there offensively. There's no question. He's shot the ball great and has made timely shots when needed including the game-tying on Friday night at 58. He's made some big shots for us and has really played well. We want to keep that up for sure."
"One thing, we'll have our hands full just so you guys know the scouting report with Louisiana-Monroe. They have two very good guards who are both all-league players returning in their conference [the Sun Belt]. [JD] Williams and [Michael] Ertel. Ertel is a kid out of Indiana where you learn how to shoot a basketball before you learn how to walk. You can see that in this kid, this kid has just got a stroke. It's unbelievable. Williams is a really good slasher, and he can also shoot the three. So, we've really got our hands full, and they're a well-coached team. Again, this is another tough game with two experienced, high-level guards, so it will be a good test for us tomorrow night."
Guard D.J. Stewart Jr.
Q: How comfortable are you getting out on the court from the first game to now?
DS JR: "I hadn't played any yet so I was just trying to get a feel for the game. First game, I was a little bit nervous. It's been a while since I've been out [on the court], but the second game I got back into the flow of the game."
Q: What was the process of going from redshirting last year to this year getting major minutes on the court?
DS JR: "I didn't want to redshirt last year. I felt like it was better for me and the team. I had the chance to play, and I worked hard for it. When I got the chance [to play], I took [advantage] of it."
Q: How much better did you get your redshirt year?
DS JR: "I got better not just mentally but physically. Last year, it was nice to watch the veterans that we had on the court and learn from them on plays. I learned from their mistakes and put them into my game."
Q: How important is your aspect of the game for you to work this hard to get where you are now?
DS JR: "Overall, when I first came here, I didn't want to be just known for that I can score well. I was going to be more focused. If I was to get any playing time, it was about defense with me – getting stops and playing hard."
Forward Reggie Perry
Q: Have you been working on your offensive playing off from Tyson Carter in practice?
RP: "Yes, I feel like a lot of people look at Tyson as a shooter, not a guard. He gets what he wants. If we're playing too far back, he's going to shoot it. If we're playing too far away, he's going to go by you. That is a good thing about Tyson."
Q: Does Kentucky's loss last night make you realize that there are really good teams everywhere?
RP: "Most definitely, Coach Howland always tells us that we can't go into games just thinking we're going to beat them. There are not off nights, especially in Division I basketball. Hats off to Evansville. It's a hard place to beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena, but you can get beat on any night."
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball head coach Ben Howland was joined by Reggie Perry and D.J. Stewart Jr. as the Bulldogs met with the media leading into Wednesday's practice at Humphrey Coliseum.
UP NEXT/TICKETS
Mississippi State continues its four-game homestand and plays host to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday, November 14. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through the Watch ESPN platform.
General Admission seating is now available at Humphrey Coliseum for men's basketball. Tickets can be purchased in advance for only $5 at www.HailState.com/tickets or in person staring 90 minutes before tipoff for $10 at the Humphrey Coliseum Box Office. Discounted online purchasing also ends two hours prior to tip time for each game.
Mississippi State is offering a pair of new fan-focused season ticket options for the 2019-20 season which includes the addition of general admission seating to men's basketball. A traditional general admission season ticket for seats in designated areas of the 200 level are available for only $155, while reserved seat season tickets are available for $275.
The second offering is a first-of-its-kind mobile access season ticket, the mobile access pass. This new ticketing option will provide exclusive access to already-sold lower level seats during non-conference games inside Humphrey Coliseum, and a 200 level general admission ticket for all conference games.
During non-conference play, fans with the mobile access pass will be digitally delivered a general admission ticket for a designated lower level section each game and will have access to sit in any open seat within that designated section. The non-conference option is available for $65 whereas the entire season pass is available for $180. Learn more about this new offering at www.HailState.com/accesspass.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
November 13, 2019
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement:
BH: "I'm excited to announce that we had a signing today of Deivon Smith out of Georgia. He's a really good point guard, and we're really excited about him. He's a high-level player and one of the best point guards I saw all summer. I think he's really a huge addition for us. He's a true point, great decision maker, incredibly athletic. He's six-feet tall and an incredible athlete. His vertical is probably 45-46 inches, it's incredible. He's very quick but very understanding of the game. He's a good shooter. He comes from a really good high school program and is very well-coached. He played for a very good AAU team, Atlanta Celtics, they won the tournament in Birmingham which is the biggest Adidas Tournament that was held this summer … I'm really excited about him. He's a great kid who comes from a great family, and we're very fortunate to get his paperwork back today."
Q: Two games in, are there any adjustments that you feel you can make especially when teams got on you with press?
BH: "The press was true in the first game, but the second game we played it was more about pressure – handling and the denial of everything. I thought we did a better of job obviously during the last 10 minutes of the game [against Sam Houston State] and being more aggressive.
"I think this time of year you're seeing – we've played two good teams thus far. I think FIU and Sam Houston State are going to win a lot of games this year. The team we're playing tonight is a very good team. It's a team that had Texas A&M down eight at the half two nights ago and ends up losing by six in a very tight game against a very-talented and well-coached Texas A&M team."
"You look at last night. Auburn gets very fortunate to beat South Alabama who they end up beating by one. South Alabama had a great chance to win that game. You guys all saw us play South Alabama a couple of weeks back. Obviously, Kentucky gets beat at home by Evansville. There's a lot of parity in college basketball especially this early in the season. It's tough."
Q: How has KeyShawn Feazell's grown?
BH: "I think what has helped him the most is the fact that he's so much quicker and more athletic with the less weight he is carrying around. He was carrying around muscle. It was not like he was fat in any way. No one has ever accused him of that. He's just so much more bouncy and more athletic."
"I also think his learning [has improved]. He's learned how to play really hard. That's one thing when I watched him in high school, and I told him this yesterday that I was most worried if he was going to be able to come in and play as hard as you need to play. He has done that and then some. I think he is playing as hard as anyone in our program. That's what I love most."
"I think he's is playing with reckless abandonment. You see how he's attacking the rebounds. He had a big rebound late in the Sam Houston State game. He came in and grabbed it. He didn't get it, but it came to someone else. But, if he had not gotten in there with reckless abandonment, they would have got the offensive rebound."
"He is doing a great job for us in so many ways. He's playing with a real confidence. A confidence of a guy that he's looks like he has played a lot the previous two years when in reality he didn't play a lot of minutes, but he got a lot of experience every day. He also knows he's earned it. This summer, when everyone went home for the summer break, he stayed here and stayed in the weight room. He was here working out the whole time, and he's really earned what he's getting. That's a beautiful thing when you see a kid earn his opportunity to have some success."
Q: Is it pleasing to see as a coach that your team is playing good defense without having to foul?
BH: "We're not fouling, and that's been a real positive. You're always trying to play without fouling. That was a problem for us my first couple of years here. We talked about it going into year three and really made it an emphasis. We talk about it every day. The players don't like it, but we're calling out every foul out there that we see so they get in the habit of utilizing what they can and can't do. That's big for us because we've got to stay out of foul trouble. In the first game, we did get into foul trouble when D.J. Stewart [Jr.] had two fouls which then put us into a rotation where Tyson [Carter] had to play a ton of minutes because of foul trouble in the back court. We've got to continue to stay out of foul trouble."
"I was really happy with our halfcourt defense in both games. I think both of these last two games were where we had turnovers that have turned into easy baskets. If you threw those [turnovers] out and took those easy layups out of the game from our turnovers and just looked at our halfcourt defense, it would be 30 percent or below. It's been very good, and that's what we have to continue to do is to cut down on our turnovers and make better decisions. Our guys have done a better job of it over last few days. I think they've realized how important it is."
Q: With how Tyson Carter has been shooting, is it tough to bring him out of the game when he's getting big minutes?
BH: "Yeah, we need him out there offensively. There's no question. He's shot the ball great and has made timely shots when needed including the game-tying on Friday night at 58. He's made some big shots for us and has really played well. We want to keep that up for sure."
"One thing, we'll have our hands full just so you guys know the scouting report with Louisiana-Monroe. They have two very good guards who are both all-league players returning in their conference [the Sun Belt]. [JD] Williams and [Michael] Ertel. Ertel is a kid out of Indiana where you learn how to shoot a basketball before you learn how to walk. You can see that in this kid, this kid has just got a stroke. It's unbelievable. Williams is a really good slasher, and he can also shoot the three. So, we've really got our hands full, and they're a well-coached team. Again, this is another tough game with two experienced, high-level guards, so it will be a good test for us tomorrow night."
Guard D.J. Stewart Jr.
Q: How comfortable are you getting out on the court from the first game to now?
DS JR: "I hadn't played any yet so I was just trying to get a feel for the game. First game, I was a little bit nervous. It's been a while since I've been out [on the court], but the second game I got back into the flow of the game."
Q: What was the process of going from redshirting last year to this year getting major minutes on the court?
DS JR: "I didn't want to redshirt last year. I felt like it was better for me and the team. I had the chance to play, and I worked hard for it. When I got the chance [to play], I took [advantage] of it."
Q: How much better did you get your redshirt year?
DS JR: "I got better not just mentally but physically. Last year, it was nice to watch the veterans that we had on the court and learn from them on plays. I learned from their mistakes and put them into my game."
Q: How important is your aspect of the game for you to work this hard to get where you are now?
DS JR: "Overall, when I first came here, I didn't want to be just known for that I can score well. I was going to be more focused. If I was to get any playing time, it was about defense with me – getting stops and playing hard."
Forward Reggie Perry
Q: Have you been working on your offensive playing off from Tyson Carter in practice?
RP: "Yes, I feel like a lot of people look at Tyson as a shooter, not a guard. He gets what he wants. If we're playing too far back, he's going to shoot it. If we're playing too far away, he's going to go by you. That is a good thing about Tyson."
Q: Does Kentucky's loss last night make you realize that there are really good teams everywhere?
RP: "Most definitely, Coach Howland always tells us that we can't go into games just thinking we're going to beat them. There are not off nights, especially in Division I basketball. Hats off to Evansville. It's a hard place to beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena, but you can get beat on any night."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballJosh Hubbard - "I'm Back"
Friday, April 17
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans & Players SEC Tournament Postgame vs. Auburn - 3/11/26
Thursday, March 12
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Media Session - 3/9/26
Monday, March 09
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Josh Hubbard & Ja'Borri McGhee Postgame Press Conference vs. Georgia - 3/7/26
Sunday, March 08