STARKVILLE — Injuries and slumps in play were behind most of the Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland’s starting lineup decisions last season. This time around, it’s likely to be a strictly matchup choice.
That’s the luxury Howland is confident he has as MSU prepares for the 2017-18 season: a lineup diversity that gives MSU the ability to both dictate play and react to opponents when necessary.
“There’s a lot of ways we’re going to be able to play,” Howland said. “We’re going to play small, but we could play big with twin power in there.”
The possibilities begin with the guards.
“The strength of our team is in the backcourt,” Howland said. “We have six guards that, really, all had great summers, starting with (Quinndary Weatherspoon), then looking at Xavian Stapleton, Eli (Wright), Lamar (Peters) and Nick (Weatherspoon), Tyson (Carter).
“What I may have to do is scheme the way we play to utilize those six guys and get them quality minutes, which means we’re going to have to play small lineups, we’re going to have to play four guards.”
Getting each member of that crew quality minutes may take some creative substituting and shifting, which Howland is already working on. For example, he mentioned the possibility of Quinndary Weatherspoon seeing time at point guard, shooting guard and small forward. It’s a creative way to keep last year’s leading scorer on the floor, after he averaged 16.5 points per game as a sophomore and was the team’s best 3-point shooter among those that shot more than two per game.
Even in a backcourt with more options than last year’s, Quinndary Weatherspoon will still be the key piece, and that versatility is a big reason why.
“I don’t worry about him being comfortable at positions,” Howland said. “He’s very comfortable out there playing. The bottom line is, he can guard three positions and, depending on what other teams do, guard four positions. But I’m going to give him a chance to push the ball, too.”
Quinndary’s brother, freshman Nick, could join him in moving around: Howland said he sees Nick playing point guard and shooting guard. Wright could also see time at multiple positions; Peters is being groomed as a point guard, but with both Weatherspoon brothers prepared to see time at the position, Peters seems bound for some limited spurts at shooting guard.
Carter said the offense out of the four-guard lineup will present problems for opponents, particularly one possibility in which Stapleton is playing at power forward.
One unintended consequence of the position shuffling could be prolonged stints on the floor. For example, it’s possible that Stapleton plays a standard shift at small forward then gets moved to power forward to exploit a matchup. Stapleton said the team as a whole has improved its conditioning over the summer, making it more prepared to take on that load.
Howland’s options in the frontcourt are also plentiful. Abdul Ado’s MSU career, after redshirting last season, gives MSU a double-headed monster alongside Schnider Herard. The tandem of Aric Holman and freshman addition KeyShawn Feazell gives MSU two options at power forward, in addition to E.J. Datcher trying to learn both positions.
The four of them give Howland several options and no shortage of fresh big bodies when MSU does go with its-four guard lineup, but it also opens the option of going big. Howland said he’s not afraid of playing Herard and Ado at the same time, possibly alongside someone such as Feazell, to create mismatches that way.
He’s even willing to break tendency to do it.
“I’m not fond of zone,” Howland said, “but I might make that adjustment to get best players on the floor at the same time.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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