Unsung Heroes Of The Court
February 06, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Mississippi State women’s basketball’s practice players help push the Dawgs to victory.
STARKVILLE – Sam Purcell has done amazing things during his tenure as Mississippi State's women's basketball coach.
He led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament wins during his first season with the program and, most recently, picked up his first Top-10 win after defeating No. 9 LSU last week. What many don't know about the second-year head coach is that he likely wouldn't be here without the opportunity to compete against the Auburn women's basketball team as a practice player during his time as a college student.
"After junior college basketball, I didn't have a chance for a Division I opportunity," Purcell said. "I knew I wanted to be a coach, so I went on to be a coach and that was part of it. I was a student coach and practicing player and look what happened. I was pouring into those young women. That's why I'm here today. I was one of them actually for two years."
Purcell's background as a practice player is why he places such high value on his scout team as a head coach, to the point where they're truly a part of the team. They watch film every day, and they prepare Purcell's Bulldogs by taking on the personalities of each upcoming opponent.
"They get to stay in shape," Purcell said of his practice players. "They get early enrollment for classes. There's a lot of benefits. And then here's the hard part: they never get in a box score but they're a huge part of the reason of why we have success on gameday. They have to take on personalities of the opposing team. So, if it's Angel Reese, whoever I put as Angel Reese that day has to be an unbelievable rebounder. They might not want to do that but for us to win they're helping my kids get the right mindset by taking on personalities."
Competing against State's roster every day in practice is a sacrifice. Just ask graduate assistant Luke Carns, who has been with Purcell since his days as a student manager at Louisville while Purcell was an assistant coach.
Carns and the other practice squad members are asked to simulate the upcoming opponent's sets in addition to taking on their personalities. It's a tall task to learn a new system on the fly every week, but their hard work leaves the Bulldogs prepared for the challenge of the Southeastern Conference.
"It's honestly hard in a way because you're trying to learn a team's sets," Carns said. "That team could be running 100 sets and you're trying to tell your guys who have never run that set in their life to remember to run 12 sets. You're telling guys who might be right-handed that they need to go left. You're going to be this player, but you've got to go left.
"I think the sacrifices our guys make on a day-to-day basis just help our team succeed. They might not be comfortable doing certain things, but they're sacrificing for the benefit of our girls and seeing them succeed. Especially that LSU game, our girls were prepared because our guys worked them every day in practice."
That daily grind is all worth it for Carns, who aspires to make a career out of his beloved sport of basketball. Carns' strong relationship with Purcell has inspired him to chase those dreams, as Purcell trusts him each and every day.
"He really empowers me," Carns said. "Just talking about getting into coaching and all that, he's always been there for me. I've been lucky enough to have been at Louisville with Jeff Walz and Sam at the same time. Not a lot of people can say their first grad assistant job being out of undergrad is at a place like Mississippi State. He's really empowered me to kind of chase my dreams to maybe be a trainer or maybe stay in scouting and analytics and stuff like that, so he's really empowered me."
D.J. Mays, a freshman from Atlanta, is in his first season with the practice squad and has already found a home with the Mississippi State women's basketball program. Mays' playing career ended after high school, but he's still motivated by the sport to one day make a career out of it.
"I did play in high school, [but] I can't really say I had the best run in high school," Mays said. "Coming in, I was training a lot during the summer. I honestly felt to myself, like how far will basketball take me? Basketball has kept me in the loop somehow, some way. Of course, my dream was to go to the NBA and seeing how that's playing out sometimes you just have to be real with yourself. I'm still here in the loop around basketball, so I feel like if it's been keeping me in the loop for this long, I think that it will take me somewhere."
It helps to work under someone like Purcell, who Mays describes as being more of a father figure than a coach. Purcell brings an energy to practice that rubs off on the entire building, making things fun for Mays and the rest of the guys.
"So far, it's been nothing but fun," Mays said. "It's been absolutely amazing just being able to work with this team and the staff and everything like that. The energy Sam gives off is just so contagious. I can't see a more contagious coach here in the SEC or just anywhere. The energy he brings and then speaks, he's just so motivational. Honestly, he's more of a father figure than just a coach."
With all the work done with nobody watching, it's rewarding to walk through the tunnel into a packed Humphrey Coliseum. Mays and his fellow practice players take a sense of pride in being a part of each Bulldog victory, even if it goes without recognition.
"It's insane," Mays said. "It's absolutely crazy walking into the gym seeing every seat filled. Being able to have an impact on that in practice behind the scenes is absolutely crazy. Just knowing that I was one of the people who prepared you to win this game, and then we win the game, it's a different feeling."
