STARKVILLE — During his days at Madison Central High School, Xavian Stapleton didn’t care where he played basketball at the next level. He just wanted to play.
Coming from a team he helped lead to a runner-up finish in Class 6A in 2012-13, the 6-foot-6 guard didn’t have many offers from programs within power conferences — including Mississippi State — so he selected Louisiana Tech.
“I always wanted to go there (MSU), but even if it didn’t happen, I just wanted to play basketball,” said Stapleton, who also had offers from Middle Tennessee State, Southern Mississippi, Florida Gulf Coast, and Tulane.
Stapleton now finds himself playing for the school in his home state. After one season at Louisiana Tech, Stapleton has transferred to MSU. He made the decision last weekend. Sources say Stapleton also has signed a financial agreement that will be made official in the next couple of days.
Stapleton visited Starkville last Friday after visiting Alabama and Iowa State. He averaged 6.7 points and 2.1 rebounds last season. He will have to sit out this season per NCAA rules. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.
MSU, which finished 13-19 (6-12 in the Southeastern Conference) last season, is expected to see an improvement with the addition of several big-time freshmen, healthy returning players, and first-year head coach Ben Howland.
Stapleton will be on the sideline for all of it, but he won’t take the year off.
“My thoughts are to just go in there, work hard, get better, follow coach Howland and the system he runs,” Stapleton said of his plan for the next year. “By the time I come back, I’ll be bigger, stronger, faster, and ready to attack.”
With five seniors and Malik Newman more than likely headed off to play professional basketball after this season, Stapleton will have a chance to make an immediate impact next season. He’s looking forward to it.
“I think with the players we’ve got we can do something special for the program in the next couple of years,” Stapleton said. “I just look forward to going up there and getting better as a player and getting my team better.
“Those guys leaving and Malik probably leaving, that will leave a lot of positions open. (I’m) prepared to come in and step up. I think I’ll be one of those players who will come in and step up, get into the lineup, and try to take Mississippi State to the (NCAA) tournament.”
Should I stay or should I go?
Stapleton was ready to return to Louisiana Tech after the 2014-15 season ended in April. But his thinking changed after Michael White, a former Ole Miss standout, left to take the job as head coach at Florida. White’s decision was enough to push Stapleton away from the Conference USA school.
Louisiana Tech finished 27-9 (15-3 Conference USA) last season. It lost to Alabama-Birmingham in the second round of the conference tournament. Louisiana Tech lost to Temple 77-59 in the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament.
Stapleton said his family, which resides in Flora, came to most of his home games last season. Flora is more than two hours from the Louisiana Tech’s campus in Ruston, Louisiana, which is about the same drive time to MSU.
Stapleton feels his decision will give his family a better opportunity to watch him play live.
“It will be good for them to be able to come up there and be able to see me play. My two little daughters, it will be real big for them also,” Stapleton said.
Class finalized
Stapleton’s transfer fills MSU’s final scholarship for the 2015 signing class.
A scholarship came open after Oliver Black decided to leave the program. Stapleton joins five-star guard Newman, four-star power forward Aric Holman, four-star guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, and three-star power forward Joe Strugg.
The Bulldogs will have 13 players on scholarship for the 2015-16 season.
Newman, Holman, and Weatherspoon are already on campus, but Strugg has yet to find his way to Starkville. The final summer school session starts today, and Strugg won’t participate, meaning he will have to wait until August to join his new teammates.
Ben Wait is a sports writer for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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