Nick Weatherspoon is no stranger to the Mississippi State basketball program.
Playing at Velma Jackson High School, he is aware of what the MSU program is all about. He has also seen first-hand what it can do for a talented player. Weatherspoon’s older brother Quinndary is a sophomore guard/forward for the Bulldogs.
So when it came time for Nick to make a decision about where he was going to play collegiate basketball, he decided to stay in state and play with his brother. Nick officially committed to MSU Sunday via Twitter.
“I picked them because I like their style of play, coach (Ben) Howland has developed some guards, my brother is there and I just saw myself at home while I was up there,” Nick Weatherspoon said Sunday night.
Nick Weatherspoon is rated as the nation’s No. 5 point guard prospect and the state’s No. 1 overall prospect by 247Sports and 247Composite. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard chose MSU over North Carolina, Kansas and Ohio State among others.
Nick Weatherspoon took an official visit to MSU this past weekend and he said he made up his mind Sunday morning. He told Howland of his decision before he left and he said Howland was so excited that he started screaming.
“It went real well,” Nick Weatherspoon said. “I got to see some of the things on and off the court. He was telling me how he was going to use me and showing me some film. The last day I was there, I was thinking about it and it being the place for me.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon made a name for himself with the Bulldogs last season as a freshman. Playing in the shadow of five-star guard Malik Newman, Quinndary Weatherspoon was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Freshman team.
Nick Weatherspoon said he and his brother are really close and that was one of the deciding factors in him committing to MSU.
“He talked to me a lot,” Nick Weatherspoon said. “He was telling me how the program goes and how coach Howland made him better and how he can do the same with me.”
Nick Weatherspoon averaged 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists as a junior last season at Velma Jackson. He shot 52 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line.
Nick Weatherspoon has always liked former UCLA standout and current Oklahoma City Thunder player Russell Westbrook. Howland coached Westbrook at UCLA. Howland developed Westbrook into one of the best point guards in the country. Westbrook was selected fourth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, later known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Westbrook played two seasons at UCLA before opting to turn professional.
“I know me and Russell Westbrook have some similarities,” Nick Weatherspoon said. “I know that he can make me do some of the things Russell did.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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