STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland experienced chemistry problems early last season.
The signing of five-star Callaway High School guard Malik Newman in May completed Howland’s first recruiting class at MSU. The buzz when Newman arrived suggested he would come in and take the team over, have a successful freshman season, and leave school early to go to the NBA.
Howland said that affected MSU throughout November and December.
“We had new players coming in and there was definitely some jealousies I thought early on toward Malik from the older kids, and that was a problem for us,” Howland said Wednesday. “I don’t feel any of that now. I feel like everybody’s on the same page.”
MSU will try to kick off Howland’s second season at MSU on a strong note at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Delta State in an exhibition game at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU will open the regular season against Norfolk State at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in Starkville.
Newman battled injuries and averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 29 games. With seniors like Craig Sword, Fred Thomas, and Gavin Ware, who had three years in the program, MSU struggled to find consistency.
“It was like, ‘This is my team, I’ve been here, this is about me,'” Howland said.
Howland said many of the seniors were looking past their final season and focusing on what they were going to do after MSU.
After the season, Newman went through the NBA draft combine, but decided not to leave school. Instead, he elected to transfer to Kansas. He is sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
This season, MSU will look to replace six of its top eight leading scorers with a lineup that features three upperclassmen: senior point guard I.J. Ready, sophomore guard/forward Quinndary Weatherspoon, and sophomore forward Aric Holman.
Howland will look to scholarship freshmen Lamar Peters, Eli Wright, Mario Kegler, Tyson Carter, Abdul Ado, Schnider Herard, and E.J. Datcher to provide key contributions. Holman played with Wright at Owensboro (Ky.) High School.
“We kind of know each other,” Holman said. “Last year when we came in, we really didn’t know those guys. We still built a relationship with them. These guys that came in this year, we played against them, we played on teams with them, so it was easier to get along with them.”
MSU build chemistry on a four-game trip to Italy in August. Howland feels his players bonded and developed relationships.
Although he said he had good kids last year, Howland said it took some time for the older players to bond with the younger players and to get used to Newman being on the team.
“By the end of the year, I thought we had become a good, close-knit group, which is why we started playing better. Guys (were) buying into their roles, learning and improving,” Howland said.
n In related news, Howland said Ready had an endoscopy Wednesday that discovered a hiatal hernia.
A hiatal hernia occurs when part of the stomach pushes upward through the diaphragm. The diaphragm normally has a small opening (hiatus) through which your food tube (esophagus) passes on its way to connect to your stomach. In a hiatal hernia, the stomach bulges up into the chest through that opening, according to WebMD.
Howland said the hiatal hernia has been causing Ready’s acid reflux. Ready was diagnosed with mononucleosis in Italy and played part of one game before missing the next three.
“It’s actually a positive,” Howland said. “I was worried that this was still remnants of mono. Talking with doctors, they assured me it wasn’t. He practiced the last two days, full practices and was fine. He didn’t have any issues where he had to stop and got nauseous or started throwing up like he had before. That’s a real positive.”
Howland said they are still waiting on a NCAA ruling about Ado and probably won’t get one for a couple of weeks. The NCAA hasn’t cleared Ado’s paperwork from Nigeria. He won’t be able to play or practice with the team until he is cleared.
Howland said sophomore guard Xavian Stapleton will be able to practice with contact beginning Dec. 1. He said Stapleton’s workload will increase every week.
Stapleton, who transferred in from Louisiana Tech last season, tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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