SEC Champion Bulldogs Honored In Season-Ending Awards Banquet
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Honoring the school's first outright SEC championship team in more than 40 years, the 2003-04 Mississippi State Bulldogs were recognized Monday during their 26th annual Babe McCarthy Tip-Off Club Awards Banquet held on the MSU campus.
Along with claiming State's first outright regular-season league title since 1962-63 by posting a school-best 14-2 SEC mark, the 26-4 Bulldogs also made school history by competing in a fourth consecutive postseason tournament and earning a third straight NCAA Tournament berth under the direction of AP's SEC Coach of the Year Rick Stansbury. MSU's third consecutive 20-win campaign was also highlighted by garnering a school-best No. 2 tournament seeding in the NCAA Atlanta Region played in Orlando, Fla., as well as compiling a school-first undefeated road record (12-0) in both non-conference and SEC regular-season competition. Ranked as high as fourth nationally in The Associated Press poll for two separate weeks during the regular season, the team's season-ending No. 8 national ranking in the AP Top 25 marked State's highest final ranking in the wire service poll since 1962-63.
Statistically, the 2003-04 Bulldogs topped the SEC in rebounding margin (+8.0) for the fourth consecutive year, finishing the campaign ranked third nationally behind only NCAA Champion Connecticut and Gonzaga. In addition to pacing the conference in steals (9.3 spg; 16th in NCAA) for the second straight season, MSU also led the league in scoring offense (77.3 ppg; 23rd in NCAA), scoring margin (+10.7; 15th in NCAA) and rebounding offense (41.0 rpg).
Individually, senior co-captains Timmy Bowers and Branden Vincent led the way by each collecting three awards during Monday's banquet festivities. Ranking as the all-time winningest basketball player in school history and the first MSU player to participate in four postseason tournaments, Bowers earned the team's Most Assists Award after ranking as the SEC's third-leading playmaker (4.8 apg) this past season. The All-SEC First Team selection from Gulfport capped the night's events by being presented the team's prestigious Babe McCarthy Memorial Award, presented annually to the Bulldog player who best exemplifies the highest traits of character, leadership, desire and hustle. Bowers, who ranked as a national finalist for this year's inaugural Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, completed his sparkling four-year collegiate career ranked 12th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,300 career points, in addition to standing 10th in assists (301), fourth in steals (161) and second in made 3-pointers (197).
Also receiving a Senior Award, along with Bowers, five-year veteran Lincoln Smith, walk-ons Dennis Buse and Errol Bennett, and senior manager Erick Casto, Vincent was the recipient of the team's Best Defensive Player and Most Improved Player Awards. The former Okaloosa-Walton Community College standout by way of Marrero, La., finished 2003-04 ranked fifth in the SEC in rebounding (7.6 rpg), offensive rebounds (3.0 orpg) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg). Vincent concluded his two-year State stint by posting double-doubles during each of MSU's NCAA Tournament games against Monmouth and Xavier.
Junior Lawrence Roberts, the consensus SEC Player of the Year in his first season with the Bulldogs, brought home the team's Bailey Howell Rebounding Award and Best Offensive Player Award after recently being named the school's first-ever Wooden Award All-American and becoming State's first AP All-American First Team selection since NBA Hall of Famer Bailey Howell (1958-59). Having ranked as the SEC's No. 7 scorer (16.9 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (10.1 rpg; 11th in NCAA) this past year, Roberts became the first Mississippi State player since Rickey Brown (1979-80) to average a double-double during an entire season. The former Baylor transfer and Houston native also ranked tied for fourth nationally in 2003-04 with an SEC-leading 16 double-doubles on the year.
Junior swingman Shane Power, who was this year's recipient of the inaugural SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, claimed MSU's first-ever Best Three-point Field Goal Percentage Award after establishing a new single-season school standard by hitting 48.1 percent of his 3-pointers this past season. Fellow junior starter Winsome Frazier collected his second straight Best Free Throw Percentage Award after shooting 79.1 percent from the charity stripe on the year. Redshirt freshman Michael Boler rounded out this year's award winners by earning the team's Academic Award with a 3.63 cumulative GPA in biological sciences.