Mississippi State Basketball

Mississippi State scored a big win within its borders Tuesday by securing a commitment from class of 2016 shooting guard Tyson Carter.  

According to Courtney Cronin of the Clarion-Ledger, the Starkville, Mississippi, native decided to play for the Bulldogs after also considering offers from Arizona State, Memphis, Miami (Florida) and Ohio State.

Per 247Sports, Carter is a 4-star prospect who ranks as the No. 15 shooting guard in his class and the No. 91 player overall. He is also the No. 2 player from the state of Mississippi, and new head coach Ben Howland didn't allow the homegrown talent to get away.

Robby Donoho of WCBI-TV provided a photo of Carter's commitment at Starkville High School and pointed out that his father, Greg Carter, played at Mississippi State as well:

The Bulldogs are coming off of three consecutive seasons with 19 or more losses, and they haven't qualified for the NCAA tournament since 2008-09.

Although the past several seasons have been a struggle, the tide may be changing with Howland at the helm as he took UCLA to the Final Four three times.

Convincing an elite player to stay in the state of Mississippi is an example of how good Howland can be on the recruiting trail, and it seems likely the Bulldogs will be factors in the SEC sooner rather than later if he can keep this up.

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Combo guard Malik Newman has officially committed to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Jeff Borzello of ESPN confirmed the decision.

Newman's decision had been the subject of some debate.

On April 22, Ben Garrett of Scout.com initially reported the commitment was official:

But later in the day, Courtney Cronin of The Clarion-Ledger provided comments from Newman, who denied the report:

"No, I haven't committed," Newman told The Clarion-Ledger. "Right now I'm down to my final four schools - Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kansas and Kentucky."

[...]

"When I sit down with my parents, if I think Mississippi State is the right place, then that's where I'll pick," he said. "Like I said, right now I'm down to my final four schools. I don't really care what the media is saying. I think wherever is the best spot for me is where I'll pick."

Cronin also provided comments from Newman's father, Horatio Webster, regarding scholarship papers.

"Who the hell would fill it out for him?" Webster said. "The scholarship papers are on the dresser in my house."

Ultimately, though, Newman wound up heading to the Bulldogs. 

Newman is a 6'3", 174-pound guard who is ranked as the No. 5 player in the 2015 recruiting class. He's also considered the top shooting guard and top player from the state of Mississippi.

Newman has been incredibly consistent over the past two seasons, averaging 22.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2012 and 23 points and five rebounds per contest in 2013.

He also helped lead Callaway High School to back-to-back state championships.

He was voted as the 2013 MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year.

ESPN Insider offered the following scouting report:

He's most often defined as a scoring combo-guard, and while he has the ball skills and capability to play the point, he's in his natural habitat when he's looking for his own offense. Newman is a big shot taker and maker. He is a shooting guard by nature but can also make plays when he slides over to the point. He can get to the rim in addition to his deep range and it an under rated passer as well. He has excellent instincts to go along with a good feel.

You can see him in action below:

Over the summer, he had the chance to go into the film room with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in a feature for Bleacher Report:

There's no question that Newman can fill it up and likely will do just that in college for whichever team he chooses. He'll have some things to work on at the next level, and if he's done growing, NBA teams will want to see him continue to develop as a point guard given his size.

But Newman has the potential to be something special, which is why so many teams are interested in him.

Recruit star ratings and rankings via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

After a two-year hiatus, Ben Howland is returning to college basketball sidelines. On Monday, Howland and Mississippi State agreed to a contract that will bring the former Naismith Coach of the Year to Starkville, replacing the recently fired Rick Ray.  

The team's Twitter account confirmed the news: 

The team provided video from Howland's introductory press conference, as well as comments from Howland:

Michael Bonner and Hugh Kellenberger of The Clarion-Ledger provided more comments from the new head coach:

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported on one coach who Howland will likely add to his staff: 

Howland, 57, sat out the last two seasons after being fired by UCLA in 2013. He took the Bruins to the NCAA tournament in seven of his 10 seasons, including three straight Final Four runs from 2006 to 2008. The program struggled following that run, with UCLA missing the tournament twice and failing to reach the second weekend in any of his final five years.

Howland takes over a Mississippi State program that's struggled to hold its weight in the SEC. Ray went 37-60 in his three seasons, including a 13-19 mark in 2014-15. The Bulldogs have not made the NCAA tournament since 2009 and have not made a Sweet 16 run since their Final Four trip in 1996.

Evan Daniels of Fox Sports reported that the machinations of this hire have been in place for months. In Howland, Mississippi State lands a coach with a winning resume. Despite his downturn in Westwood, Howland's had success at every stop as a head coach and has five Sweet 16 runs under his belt. 

In Mississippi State, Howland gets a reclamation project where the leash should be long. The Bulldogs aren't in a position to compete next season, and it'll probably take a few years before Howland has the opportunity to change the culture. Time is not something typically given in major-conference hires, so this looks like a perfect fit for both sides.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.

Mississippi State was in the market for a new men's basketball coach, and former UCLA boss Ben Howland agreed to take the position.

Continue for updates.

Howland Becomes 20th Head Coach at Mississippi State 

Monday, March 23

The team confirmed this evening that Howland will be their next head coach: 

On Sunday, CollegeBasketballTalk.com's Rob Dauster provided details on Howland's ties to the Bulldogs: "Ben Howland has emerged as a serious candidate to be the next head coach at Mississippi State, multiple sources told NBCSports.com."

Even before Sunday's buzz surfaced, ESPN's Andy Katz felt as though Howland would be an ideal fit in light of the other big-name coaches in Mississippi State's conference:

Former Bulldogs head coach Rick Ray managed just a 37-60 record in three seasons before he was fired Saturday. It seems, at least on the surface, that Howland would be a tremendous upgrade to give Mississippi State new life in the SEC.  

Howland coached UCLA from 2003 to 2013, and at one point, he led the Bruins to three consecutive Final Four appearances. That raging success came closer to the beginning of his tenure, but Howland still boasts a wonderful NCAA tournament resume.

Although it's been a couple of years since Howland last coached, he ought to be afforded plenty of leeway to build the Bulldogs.

Following another disappointing season in which the team finished 13-19, Mississippi State has announced the firing of head basketball coach Rick Ray. 

A full statement from school athletic director Scott Stricklin was released on his official Twitter account:

The Bulldogs have struggled during Ray's tenure, losing at least 19 games in each of his three seasons and failing to make the NCAA tournament. Their 6-12 mark in the SEC this season was the third worst, ahead of only Auburn and Missouri. 

However, the struggles weren't all Ray's fault; he took over a program that was in turmoil following the retirement of Rick Stansbury. This firing isn't being met with the kind of understanding usually associated with a floundering major-conference program, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN noted on Twitter:

Regardless of whether Ray really was given a fair chance based on what he had to work with after taking over, this is a results-driven business. Mississippi State hasn't had the results an SEC team can get away with, even during a rebuild. 

Ray's career has hit a small speed bump, but given how he cleaned up the mess in Mississippi State, it shouldn't take him long to get another job. Mississippi State will get a jump on trying to speak with some of the hot coaching candidates around the country. 

The Mississippi State men's basketball team defeated Missouri 77-74 on Saturday, but their returning flight home to Starkville was cut short due to an emergency landing in St. Louis.   

The plane's right engine lost power just 20 minutes after takeoff, causing the plane to turn sharply to the left and go dark momentarily, Mississippi State sports information director Gregg Ellis told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

The Bulldogs' official team Twitter account addressed the scary situation on Saturday evening, indicating that everyone was safe:

Ellis praised the job basketball operations director Adam Gordon did throughout the incident:

Graduate assistant Tanner Smith captured this image as the team relaxed on the subsequent bus ride:

The win over Mizzou marked Mississippi State's third-highest-scoring game of the season and improved its record to 12-13. With a potential postseason spot up for grabs, the Bulldogs play their next three contests at home, including matchups against the No. 24-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks and undefeated Kentucky Wildcats.

Up next for the Bulldogs is an SEC showdown with Ole Miss on Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum. The two teams engaged in a shootout on Jan. 28, which the Rebels won, 79-73.

The Mississippi State men's basketball team failed to win 10 games in the regular season for the first time since the 1986-87 season. 

The Bulldogs have been referred to as possibly the worst team in SEC history, such as in Brendan Prunty's article in The Star-Ledger.

To make matters worse, Mississippi State's active roster has been reduced to six scholarship players. Most recently, per Brandon Marcello's report in The Clarion-Ledger, Jalen Steele tore his ACL against South Carolina.

Yet despite the setbacks, Mississippi State—led by Colin Borchert and Craig Sword—beat Auburn in overtime in the final game of the regular season. Tonight's victory moved the Bulldogs—with a record of 4-14 in the SEC—ahead of Auburn—who fell to 3-15 in the SEC—in the conference standings. 

After the game, first-year coach Rick Ray tweeted a response to the notion that the Bulldogs were the worst team in SEC history.

 

Food for thought. It's kind of hard to be the worst team EVER in SEC history when you don't even finish last this season. Just saying.

— Rick Ray (@RickRay1) March 10, 2013

 

And while many Bulldog fans want to grade last year's decision to hire Rick Ray, nothing about the new coach can be said with any certainty. Ray inherited a team with only one returning starter and lost numerous players throughout the season to injury.

Fans will have to wait until next season before they can even begin to come to any realistic conclusions on Rick Ray.

Mississippi State will play South Carolina in the SEC men's basketball tournament on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The full tournament schedule can be found here.

Quantel Denson, a 6'8" center from Mineral Area Community College, committed to Mississippi State Friday according to Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. Denson made his decision after taking an unofficial visit to Starkville last week.

Denson chose MSU over Missouri, Western Kentucky, Marquette and Oklahoma State. He is considered a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.

The JuCo transfer was originally apart of Missouri's 2012 recruiting class, but was dropped after he was arrested for being involved with a robbery of his coach's dorm room at Hutchinson Community College. Denson transferred to Mineral Area Community College in Park Hills, Missouri after his release.

Denson averaged 6.5 points and four rebounds as a freshman at Hutchinson.

This is Mississippi State's second junior college transfer commitment of the week. Tuesday 6'8 wing Travis Daniels from Shelton State Community College picked the MSU Bulldogs.

Last year Daniels averaged 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game as a freshman at Shelton State.

Brad Winton of JuCoRecruiting.com told The Clarion-Ledger about Daniels, “He is very skilled around the rim and jumps well for his size. He has great hands and moves very well in transition. He is at his best when he has the ball 15 feet and in. He has the ability to take bigger defenders off the dribble and score in traffic.

The Bulldogs also have a commitment from three-star point guard I.J. Ready from Little Rock, Arkansas. Ready is considered the 48th-best point guard and the 189th-best player in the 2013 class by 247Sports.Com.

Coach Rick Ray has only been at Mississippi State for five months, but he has already done a lot to change the culture of the program. Including kicking junior's Shaun Smith and Kristers Zeidaks off the team for repeated violations of team rules.

It will be hard for Ray to compete for recruits like John Calipari does at Kentucky or Billy Donovan does at Florida, but getting experienced junior college transfers is a very smart way to go.

Mississippi State's coach Rick Stansbury and the university evidently didn't feel the first-round exit from the NIT was good enough. Jeff Goodman of CBS sports is reporting that the two will part ways on Thursday afternoon.

Mississippi St coach Rick Stansbury will "retire" this afternoon, sources told CBSSports.com. Stansbury being obviously forced out.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) March 15, 2012

Stansbury has been the coach for the Bulldogs since the 1998-99 season. He's compiled a 293-165 career record, has two SEC tournament championships (2002, 2009), one regular-season championship (2004) and five Western Division championships (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010).

In total, he led the team to six NCAA tournament appearances, but he never made it out of the second round. Mississippi State has also not made the tournament since 2009.

What it means

Generally when things like this happen, it means that the school is looking for a jolt. As Goodman pointed out, this "retirement" can be interpreted as a mutual decision at best and more likely a case of Stansbury being asked to take a graceful exit.

The program has been stuck for the last few years, especially in conference play. Since going 12-4 in SEC play in the 2007-08 season, the Bulldogs have compiled nothing but 9-7 or 8-8 records, which are hardly indicative of a progressing program. 

What's next

Any specific names are purely speculative at this point, but the kind of people that fans of the Bulldogs should be looking to are younger coaches of some of the better small-conference schools. 

It is hard to imagine they'll land the kind of big names that may be out there are season's end, but an up-and-comer is a distinct possibility.

We'll have to see how the NCAA tournament and even the NIT develop to see what names catch fire and become available. 

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It is being reported that Rick Stansbury will be stepping down as head basketball coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs.   

According to a series of tweets via Bulldawg Junction (@TheJunction), a press conference is set for 1 p.m. Thursday to address "retirement" plans for head coach Rick Stansbury from his position at MSU.  

The school is apparently in the process of working out the final details of coach Stansbury's departure from the school and possibly coaching altogether, though true intentions by either party are not yet clear.  

Stansbury has been head coach at MSU since 1998 and recently lost in double overtime in the first round of the NIT to UMass.  This coming after the Bulldogs were upset by a less-talented Georgia team in the Southeastern Conference tournament.  

Coach Stansbury has had some success during his time in Starkville, but has never been able to make it past the second round of the NCAA tournament, his last appearance coming in 2008.  

In a bit of a surprising move, details of the so-called retirement are sure to be interesting as the press conference unfolds.