STARKVILLE — Mississippi State coach Rick Ray didn’t rush Roquez Johnson back after he injured his left knee last week in a game against Southeastern Louisiana in Tupelo.
Ray’s patience with Johnson’s recovery allowed the senior forward to provide 10 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes Thursday night in a 68-55 victory against Florida Gulf Coast University.
“Roquez is a guy that just does all the little things that are so important,” Ray said. “Roquez has to play well because he’s just one of three front-court players, but he’s playing aggressive all the time he’s out there.”
In a 68-62 victory against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 13, Johnson left the game after nearly 12 minutes after hurting his knee. He didn’t return. Johnson’s loss forced an already thin frontline to play Dre Applewhite at power forward position. Johnson returned to the bench late in the first half with a large knee brace and an ice bag wrapped around the left knee. Ray said after the game he was unclear the extent of his injury and the length of time Johnson would be out of the lineup, if at all.
In a 78-65 victory against Florida A&M on Tuesday, Johnson didn’t score in four minutes, but Ray saw a resurgence by Johnson against FGCU’s smaller frontcourt. The result was Johnson’s sixth double-figure scoring game of the season.
Junior college transfer Daniels will practice with MSU;
expected to redshirt
MSU has added junior forward Travis Daniels to its practice roster.
Daniels, who was academically ineligible for the fall semester, was dressed for his first game of the season Thursday after enrolling at MSU. He passed the one class he needed to enroll at the school, and is eligible to play in the spring.
Ray said the Bulldogs will have Daniels take a physical exam so he will be able to practice with the team when it returns from its holiday tournament this weekend in Las Vegas hosted by UNLV. Ray said it is highly likely Daniels will redshirt to allow him to have as much eligibility remaining when the 2014-15 season begins.
“I just don’t think it’s fair to play him and then have just a year and a half of eligibility left,” Ray said. “If he were a freshman, I’d play him, but I’m always going to do what’s best and be fair for my kids in this program first.”
Daniels was part of a three-man recruiting class of early signees that included three-star talents I.J. Ready and center Fallou Ndoye.
Daniels, a 6-foot-9 forward from Shelton State Community College, chose MSU over Wichita State, Western Kentucky, and Southern Mississippi. He is a former Amateur Athletic Union teammate of Johnson and Craig Sword. Daniels averaged 11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season.
Thomas asked by coaching staff: be aggressive and shoot
MSU sophomore guard Fred Thomas made three 3-pointers after a heartfelt conversation with Ray. The talk, according to Ray, ended with the Jackson native realizing he will please his coach by being aggressive on the court.
“Fred is a such a great kid because he told me he doesn’t want to take bad shots, so that tells me he’s ultimately worried about pleasing me,” Ray said. “If you are being aggressive on both ends of the floor and still taking a couple bad shots, then take those bad shots. Don’t worry about pleasing me.”
Thomas had 10 points off the bench on 3-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in 31 minutes. The sophomore guard said losing his spot in the starting lineup to Dre’ Applewhite doesn’t bother him because he knows his production will determine how many minutes he plays.
“We all know on this team we’re going to get playing time, so why worry about how many shots or minutes you’re getting?” Thomas said. “There’s no issue with that for anybody on this team. It’s all about getting victories, and nothing else matters.”
MSU will play South Florida at 7 p.m. Sunday in its first game in Las Vegas. It will play the winner of the Santa Clara-UNLV game at a time to be determined Monday.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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