TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mississippi State freshman point guard IJ Ready suffered his second injury of the season Wednesday night.
With 9 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first half, Ready’s head hit the Coleman Coliseum floor after he took a charge on Alabama center Carl Engstrom The Little Rock, Ark., native didn’t return to the game.
Ready finished with one assist, one rebound, and a missed field goal in six minutes in the 80-61 loss.
“I’m sure not having IJ out there made a difference, but it shouldn’t allow for us to be losing by 20 plus like we were tonight,” MSU coach Rick Ray said.
Ready, who is averaging 6.4 points and 3.5 assists per game, sat out four straight games after injuring his hamstring Nov. 14 in a 78-55 victory against Kennesaw State.
Ray said after the game he believed Ready suffered a concussion, but he wasn’t sure if that was the diagnosis. He said he was unsure if Ready would be able to play at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum.
Wilson makes basketball debut at MSU in home state
De’Runnya Wilson made his men’s basketball debut for MSU in the second half.
Wilson, who is on football scholarship but intended to play both sports for the Bulldogs, didn’t score in four minutes. Wilson, who wore No. 12, participated in his first full practice with the program Tuesday.
“I just wanted to get him out there and put some guys out there late in this game that would play hard,” Ray said. “What we’re asking De’Runnya Wilson to do is completely unfair to him because he has no idea what he’s doing.”
Wilson, the Alabama high school basketball player of the year out of Wenonah High School in Birmingham, said throughout the recruiting process he wanted to play football and basketball at MSU. However, Ray was hesitant to make any comments about Wilson’s status after MSU beat Rice in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31.
Sword continues to struggle against Alabama
Ray is convinced Craig Sword is putting too much on his shoulders when he plays in his home state.
Sword, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who leads MSU in scoring, had 12 points and five turnovers in 29 minutes.
“I really think it’s become a thing where Craig Sword isn’t playing his best basketball when he plays Alabama,” Ray said. “He’s played three games against them, and as a Alabama native, he tries to prove something against them instead of just playing his game. When he plays Alabama, he gets away from who he is as a player, and that is a explanation for the five turnovers.”
Sword was MSU’s only perimeter player in double figures, but he had trouble finishing at the rim against Alabama’s bigger frontline. The Montgomery, Ala., native felt the Bulldogs lost their 10th straight SEC road game due to a lackluster effort in shoot-around Wednesday morning.
“We simply didn’t come ready to play hard tonight,” Sword said. “Last season, we let games like this linger to multiple games after that. We have to just put this one behind us and never remember it again. We can’t let this carry over to the next games.”
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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