STARKVILLE — The offseason ending soon for Mississippi State men’s basketball was one of momentum. MSU had every reason to feel like it had plenty of it, given returning nearly the entire roster from a year ago under the direction of an energetic new strength coach, Collin Crane.
The only shame: most of it came without its most prized new addition.
Nick Weatherspoon’s enrollment was delayed until earlier this month while he was waiting to be cleared by the NCAA. His enrollment came earlier this month, making official MSU’s landing of the top prospect in the state as rated by 247 Sports.
“It was very challenging mentally, but I stayed in the gym, getting better, working on my shot,” Weatherspoon said. “(Nick’s brother, MSU junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon) told me to stay focused. He told me when I got here, everything was going to be tough, so he told me what I needed to do to be ready when I got up here.”
By all accounts, his work before enrollment paid off: forward Aric Holman called him, “phenomenal.”
He continued, “He’s a very good worker, he knows the game and he’s ready to learn. He’s not concerned with anything outside of basketball, he’s just ready to be here and win games.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon added, “I’m excited about having him. I know the last two years we played together we won state championships and only lost four games, so I’m excited to see what we’re going to do at the college level.”
While Nick Weatherspoon has wasted no time impressing his teammates while on the floor, he knows he has more off-court work to do to get ready for a full season of college basketball. One of those areas is the one he couldn’t truly replicate from outside of the program.
“I’m still catching up in the weight room,” he said. “I’m on a different program trying to get bigger like those guys. I’m still on the catch-up plan, but I’m not far from it.”
Ado impressing early
The last two months have brought nothing but good news for the MSU frontcourt: freshman KeyShawn Feazell a matter of weeks before two highly rated recruits, Reggie Perry and DJ Stewart, pledged to the Bulldogs’ class of 2018.
Then there’s the addition that isn’t truly an addition. Abdul Ado is preparing for his first season on the roster after the NCAA ruled the native Nigerian ineligible due to transcript issues. With that redshirt year complete, Ado is showing his potential to teammates.
“I’ve never seen that dude take a play off,” Quinndary Weatherspoon said.
Holman added, “My eyes get big every time. You have Abdul that no one has seen and it’s shocking.”
Ready’s replacement
Among the biggest holes to fill for MSU’s upcoming season is that of its lone senior from a year ago, point guard I.J Ready. Ready’s injury and subsequent time missed hurt his numbers for the final year of his career, but his impact as the team’s calming presence has yet to be overstated.
Quinndary Weatherspoon has one idea of who can fill those shoes.
“I’d have to say (Xavian Stapleton),” he said. “He gets the team going, he brings a lot of energy to the team.”
Stapleton, a junior guard in after a year at Louisiana Tech, gave MSU 7.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last year.
Injury update
Quinndary Weatherspoon said his wrist is at 85 percent after offseason surgery. He said he is able to do all basketball-like activities and is working toward being able to participate when the team’s practices introduce light contact next week.
“I felt (pain) at first when I started back, but the pain wore off,” he said. “I want to play, I want to try to play pick up, but I have to tell myself I’m not ready for that yet. I’m just trying to stay focused with my rehab and know I’ll be back better than ever.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, averaging 16.5 points per game, 15.1 against conference opponents.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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