STARKVILLE — Mississippi State confirmed Tuesday night that junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon will return for his senior season.
All four MSU players — Quinndary and Nick Weatherspoon, Lamar Peters, and Aric Holman — who declared for the draft or contemplated entering it will return to school.
Quinndary Weatherspoon averaged a team-high 14.4 points per game to go with 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He was a second-team All Southeastern Conference selection and the winner of the Howell Trophy, given the best collegiate men’s basketball player in the state of Mississippi.
The decisions, which came prior to the deadline of May 30, leave MSU with only the departures of transfers Eli Wright and Xavian Stapleton to replace. Reports indicate Wright will transfer to St. John’s, while Stapleton hasn’t announced his next move.
Former football player Durr signs with NFL’s Colts
STARKVILLE — Former Mississippi State cornerback Lashard Durr will get an opportunity to earn a roster spot with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
MSU confirmed Durr signed with the franchise Tuesday afternoon.
As a senior, Durr had 10 tackles, one interception, and three pass breakups.
The announcement comes after former MSU safety JT Gray signed an undrafted free-agent deal with the New Orleans Saints.
Men’s basketball team will play BYU in 2018
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland promised a more difficult non-conference schedule for the 2018-19 season. Tip time and TV will be announced at a later date.
On Tuesday, MSU took a step in that direction when it announced it will play BYU on Dec. 29 at Humphrey Coliseum. It will be the first time the schools will meet in basketball since 1995 and 1996.
The matchup comes a year after the schools’ football teams completed a home-and-home series.
BYU went 24-11 this past season (11-7 in the West Coast Conference) before losing to Stanford in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
MSU finished 25-11 this past season and lost to Penn State in the semifinals of the NIT.
Dates for Road Dawgs Tour announced
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State fans who want to see new football coach Joe Moorhead speak on MSU annual Road Dawgs Tour are going to have plenty of opportunities beginning with a May 10 stop before a May 14-17 stint.
Different MSU coaches and administrators will join Moorhead at each stop, including women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer and athletic director John Cohen.
The annual fan-friendly event and celebration of MSU Athletics is a collaboration by the MSU Bulldog Club, MSU Alumni Association and local alumni chapters. It will feature 10 stops, including six stops in Mississippi — Vicksburg, Cleveland, Starkville, Tupelo, Meridian, and Biloxi — and four other stops in the region — Memphis, Tennessee; Huntsville, Alabama; Houston, Texas; and Atlanta.
The tour begins with stops at the Vicksburg Convention Center and the Grammy Museum in Cleveland on at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. May 10.
At 7:30 a.m. May 14, there will be events at the Leo W. Seal Jr. Football Complex. The tour will continue at 11:30 a.m. that day at Tupelo’s First Methodist Church and at 7 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
The tour stops at the Golden Nugget Casino Grand Ballroom in Biloxi at 6 p.m. May 15 and at 7 p.m. May 16 in Houston, Texas. The tour ends with stops in Huntsville, Alabama, and Atlanta at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on May 17.
For more information on each stop on the tour, visit http://www.alumni.msstate.edu/roaddawgs.
Parking guidelines for Alabama-MSU baseball series this weekend
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s annual spring graduation ceremony will take place Friday through Sunday at Coleman Coliseum. During that time, the Alabama baseball team will play host to Mississippi State Bulldogs at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the parking for both events overlapping, Alabama would like to advise fans on parking issues that may arise this weekend.
On Friday, all ADA and D Lot hangtags will be allowed access to regularly assigned parking areas.
Access to the main Coleman Coliseum Lot will be restricted to only those with designated parking passes until the start of the 4:30 p.m. graduation ceremony. At that time, the lot will be opened and available to the public until it’s full. After the lot is full, all traffic will be re-routed to the Soccer Parking Lots where shuttles will be in-service and dropping off at Coleman Coliseum’s East Drive. Buses will run until approximately 9:30 p.m.
On Saturday, all ADA and D Lot hangtags will be allowed access to regularly assigned parking areas.
Access to the main Coleman Coliseum Lot will be restricted to only those attending the graduation ceremony that begins at 6 p.m. At that time, the lot will be opened and available to the public until it’s full. After the lot is completely full, all traffic will be re-routed to the Soccer Parking Lots where shuttles will be in-service and dropping off at Coleman Coliseum’s East Drive. Buses will run until approximately 9:30 p.m.
Dispatch staff writer Brett Hudson contributed to this report.
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