STARKVILLE — Trivante Bloodman glanced around the court and grinned.
With the Mississippi State men’s basketball team owning a 20-point lead in its exhibition game against Delta State last week, Bloodman couldn’t suppress the smile.
“I know you all saw me smiling out there,” Bloodman said after the game. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’m just seeing our team play with a lot more confidence, and we just have a totally different atmosphere around our team. It’s going to be a fun season.”
That was Bloodman’s takeaway from a 72-51 victory against Delta State. At 5:30 tonight (SEC Network+), MSU will have a chance to start backing up its senior point guard’s confidence when it plays host to Western Carolina in its season opener at Humphrey Coliseum. The Catamounts will find the Bulldogs are a revamped, confident bunch with third-year head coach Rick Ray’s most complete roster entering a season in his tenure at the school.
“We are excited about getting prepared for our first official game,” Ray said. “I thought we did some great things against Delta State and we did some things I’m concerned about. Western Carolina will pose a challenge, but mostly we are just ready to get this season started.”
The Bulldogs, 24-41 in Ray’s first two seasons, have reason to be confident. Not only does MSU return all five starters from a year ago, it also has built a roster with more size, speed, and athleticism. Gone are the days of Ray trying to figure out how to win a game with six scholarship players. Now MSU has a veteran starting five and a bench filled with talented newcomers.
“I thought our newcomers played with a lot of confidence the other night,” Ray said. “Demetrius (Houston) was aggressive and really looked for his shot, and Fallou (Ndoye) looked comfortable in the post.”
Houston, a freshman from Montgomery, Alabama, had 12 points in the exhibition, while Ndoye, a 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman, added 11. Both are key additions to a team that has relied too much on starters like Fred Thomas and center Gavin Ware in the past. With more bodies in the fold, the Bulldogs are able to play Ray’s preferred up-tempo style, which includes a full-court press that yielded 25 turnovers against Delta State.
“I thought our defensive intensity was great to begin the game,” Ray said. “We started 22-2, somewhere around there, and then we relaxed a little. That’s natural with a big lead, but we have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Ware, a 6-foot-9 post player from Starkville, scored 19 points against Delta State.
While Ray’s roster is more complete, the Bulldogs will fight through injury concerns early, as point guard I.J. Ready is out until mid-December after back surgery and Craig Sword, last season’s leading scorer, will miss at least tonight’s game with the same ailment.
“He will likely be cleared to play,” Ray said, “but we are probably going to err on the side of caution and hold him out because the basketball season is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Western Carolina finished 19-15 a year ago. Senior James Sinclair averaged 11.9 points per game last season. The Catamounts will have to replace five seniors who combined to score 5,121 career points.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker @BWonStateBeat
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