Five Takeaways from Coach Howland’s Media Session

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Following the NCAA's announcement from earlier this week that the 2020-21 season will begin on Nov. 25, Mississippi State men's basketball coach Ben Howland had the opportunity to meet with the media on Thursday.

Below are five takeaways from Howland's media session.

1. The summer work is paying off for the returnees.

"I think Iverson [Molinar] may have had the best summer of anybody on our team. It's close, I thought Tolu [Smith], Abdul [Ado] and D.J. [Stewart Jr.] [all had good summers], but Iverson has been relentless. He went out to stay with his uncle, who is a skill instructor and coach. He played basketball beyond college for 15 years. Iverson was working out three times a day for a month in California. He has improved in every way. He's a much better shooter … His jump shot is so much better. I watched him the other day make 126 out of 150 shots from three consistently, wide-open from different spots on the floor. He's done a great job there. He's much more talkative on the floor, and he's really doing a good job of being a leader. I think he's a much better defender, and he's taken incredible pride in his defense."

"He and Deivon [Smith] are going at it each day. That's probably the best competitiveness we have in our practices, other than Tolu and Abdul because they're getting each other better by pushing each other. That's what you want. My best teams were always teams that had great competition within the practice. When you had Arron Afflalo going against Russell Westbrook, or Westbrook going against [Darren] Collison, etc. That's what makes a team really improve - great competition every day."

2. Abdul Ado gearing up for a strong senior season.

"I like Abdul a lot in terms of what he brings to us. You know what we have in him. We have one of the best defending buy guys in the SEC. He was second-leading shot blocker in conference games last year and number one offensive rebounder in conference games. We expect a big year out him and a lot of leadership."

3. The freshmen are making an instant impact.

"Deivon [Smith] is the one that jumps out the most. He's a true point. He really has a great feel for the position. He's a phenomenal athlete and was highly decorated coming out of high school."

"One of the guys who has really stood out in terms of his ability to score and shoot is Keondre Montgomery from Forest Hill. He's a great shooter and a really hard worker. He's done a great job. Cameron [Matthews] has done really good for us in terms of his effort defensively. We really like Andersson Garcia from Hamilton Heights, originally from the Dominican Republic. He's 6-7, long, good athlete."

"Those guys are all learning. All the freshmen. The best thing about a freshman in our situation is that they become sophomores. We're developing players here. These guys are all doing a great job working hard. They've all got some real positives."

"One thing that I was really excited about is that we had four of our freshmen, prior to Derek Fountain getting here, so that would be Keondre [Montgomery], Deivon [Smith], Cameron [Matthews], and Andersson [Garcia], all had a running vertical of over 40 inches in their tests. So, they're good athletes."

4. The transfers are ready to contribute.

"We have Jalen Johnson who transferred in as a fifth-year player from Louisiana-Lafayette. Prior to that, he was at St. Louis and was a very good shooter. He gives us a guy who can knock down three-point shots. I think he's going to be vying for a lot of playing time because of his experience and understanding of the game. He's done a great job. He's got a great work ethic. I love how hard he works, and what he brings to the table in that respect. He's going to be a good player."

"Tolu Smith sat out for us last year, but Tolu has been very good and dominant inside. He's improved a lot from when he got here a year ago. He's really stepped up. I like what Quinten Post has done. Quinten, a year ago, was 211 pounds when he arrived here from The Netherlands. He's now 240 pounds and he's done a really great job in the weight room with really building his body up. He can shoot from the perimeter but still has a lot to learn. We have a transfer, Javian Davis, who transferred from Alabama, that is going to be a real contributor for us as well."

5. The starting backcourt if the 2020-21 season started would be …

"If we were starting today, I would start D.J. [Stewart Jr.] as the three, Iverson [Molinar] at the two and Deivon [Smith] at the one. We would start small but be quick on the perimeter. There'll be match-up difficulties in those respects, but I think we'll have a lot of advantages. That's a very quick, explosive lineup with those three guys on the perimeter. We'll also be playing a number of guys as a three when D.J. slides over to the two. Iverson would be the backup point when Deivon is out, so that's kind of how it's going to formulate."

Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top 4 finish in the conference standings, 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.

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.

Five Takeaways from Coach Howland’s Media Session

Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Javian Davis

Derek Fountain

Andersson Garcia

Jalen Johnson

Keondre Montgomery

Quinten Post

Tolu Smith III

Mississippi State University Athletics