Five Takeaways from Coach Howland’s Media Session

Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics

Five Takeaways from Coach Howland’s Media Session

November 09, 2020 | Men's Basketball

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – With 16 days remaining until Mississippi State men's basketball opens its 2020-21 season versus Clemson on Wednesday, November 25, head coach Ben Howland had the opportunity to meet with the media on Monday.

Below are five takeaways from Coach Howland's media session.

1. The non-conference schedule is aggressive, and the SEC schedule is what was expected.

"I just think it's a very, very aggressive schedule … We're going to miss those first four games [from November 10-25] to try to get our feet under us, which we normally would get at home. By starting [the season] on November 25th, we start out of the gate at very difficult games on neutral court against Clemson and either Purdue or Liberty. All three of those teams are very good, and all three are extremely well-coached."

"Our non-conference also includes games against Dayton and Utah State, both tournament teams from a year ago, the last few years actually, at neutral sites, as well as Iowa State here at home for the [SEC/] Big 12 Challenge. North Texas is picked to win their league, so we have a number of tough games. Texas State will be a very well-coached and good team that has a veteran group. So, we've got our hands full in terms of our nine game non-conference schedule."

"The conference [SEC] is exactly what we expected, always incredibly tough and difficult. We open up on the road this year at Georgia and then come back and play Kentucky and Missouri. Then, I think we're at Vanderbilt. It just keeps going. It's a very, very tough league."

2. There's has been a lot of competitiveness and accountability in practice.

"We'll play at least eight and probably nine when it's all said and done, which is pretty typical. Then, when you throw in that we're so young, guys are still buying for playing time and for opportunities. That's why we make practice so competitive. Every day in practice we keep stats. Everything is competitive. There's always accountability."

"Our leading rebounder by far is Tolu [Smith]. Second is Abdul [Ado], and third is JD [Javian Davis]. Those guys all have to play. We got to play the guys that rebound the basketball. Our best shooters have been D.J. [Stewart Jr.], Iverson [Molinar], Jalen [Johnson], and probably Deivon [Smith] in that order from three. Those guys are all doing a very good job. One of our best defenders has ended up being Cameron [Matthews]. By far, he has the most steals on the team. I think he's fourth on the team in rebounding and has proven to be one of our best defenders."

3. Robert Woodard II and Reggie Perry are NBA Draft ready for Wednesday, November 18.

"He [Robert Woodard II] really fits in that modern-day NBA because he's one of those guys that stretches the floor with his ability to shoot the three. You saw the stats on the moving three's, he was like fourth or fifth of all the players tested in their virtual combines in terms of percentage, 65-percent. He also was in the top-five in one of the other shooting drills. So, he really tested off the charts in the combine."

"Robert also measured out seven-foot-two across, which is a great analytic in basketball. They love that. He was interviewed by every single team in the NBA in terms of a Zoom Conference Call, every team. Multiple teams, I'm talking about a number of teams, explained to me that this was the best interview of the year that they had with anybody. He's so mature. He handles himself so well, suit and tie, incredibly prepared for each team. He's in a great position to be taken in the latter part of the first round. Definitely among the first few picks in the second [round] if it's not in the first."

"I think Reggie [Perry] is in a similar situation where he's got a number of teams interested in him in the late first round, early second [round] as well. So, both of our guys that are going to get drafted are in very good situations."

4. Abdul Ado, Iverson Molinar, D.J. Stewart Jr. and Tolu Smith have been dominant on the offensive end.

"I think that Abdul has improved his aggressiveness on offense. He is trying to be more aggressive on offense than he's ever been during his career here. Again, when you start playing basketball when you're 15, you gravitate to what you do best which is rebounds and block shots. You see days that Iverson [Molinar], D.J. Stewart [Jr.], and Tolu [Smith], all three of those guys are really dominant on the offensive end. Those three guys in particular are going to be really good for us in multiple ways. There are days like last week one day in practice, D.J Stewart was 15-24 in the field in a practice. I think six or eight of them were threes, so he's had some days where he is really, really impressive."
"When I'm talking about things that I really like, this year we've probably had three guys, Deivon [Smith], Iverson and D.J, who are all great in ball screen actions. So, we're going to get all three of those guys in a lot of ball screen situations because they're all really good at reading and creating coming off of ball screens. So, that's probably one of the best things we do right now in terms of our offense are those three guys creating out of situations."

5. Cameron Matthews' defense continues to be solid in practice.

"They [Olive Branch] are a well-coached high school team. He [Eric Rombaugh] does an outstanding job. What I like about him [Cameron Matthews] is that he has a good basketball IQ. He knows how to screen, and he knows how to cut without the ball. He's a very good passer. His assist-to-turnover ratio is one of the best on our team. When he's out there handling the ball, he has a lot of point guard skills where he sees the floor and can make plays for others. He can penetrate and stop. He can finish at the rim because of his body … I take so much from watching kids' practice. Probably the biggest thing that he's got to be better at is to continue to knock down the open 18-to-20-foot jump shot. He's been doing that in practice, and I've been pleased with that."

Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top four finish in the conference standings last season, the program's highest overall regular season finish since 2010-11. The Bulldogs have tucked away three consecutive 20-plus win seasons under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. The last time the program accomplished that feat was the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The 68 victories also are the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-year span.

Mississippi State will look to punch its return ticket to March Madness in 2020-21 led by returnees Abdul Ado, Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. The trio will be joined by talented transfers in Javian Davis, Jalen Johnson and Tolu Smith along with a skillful freshmen class headed by Derek Fountain, Andersson Garcia, Cameron Matthews, Keondre Montgomery and Deivon Smith.

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.