December 1997 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

12/29/97 - Saturday night, MSU signee Ontario Harper scored 22 points while helping Clinton defeat Yazoo City in the JPS/Pepsi Tourney. Clinton (No. 2 in the state) is now 14-0 for the season.

12/29/97 - Miss State (11-2) defeated Penn State 58 to 57 last night on a 25-foot three pointer by Detrick White (his only points of the night). Two things that are starting to concern me are terrible free-throw shooting (5-11) and lack of offensive rebounds (0). I know they won't help this year, but signees Robert Jackson and Tyrus Boswell will help the latter, but I don't know what we will do to correct the first problem.

BTW, look at Miss State's upcoming killer schedule:
January 4 - at Alabama, TBA
January 7 - at Arkansas, 8:05 pm ET
January 10 - Kentucky, 4:00 pm ET
January 17 - at Vanderbilt, 1:00 pm ET
January 21 - Georgia, 8:00 pm ET
January 24 - at Mississippi, 3:00pm ET

Considering who we are playing at home and on the road, I will be extremely happy to be 3 and 3 in the SEC after this monsterous 6 games.

12/28/97 - Miss State (10-2) lost to St. Joseph's (3-3) 65 to 58 last night, stopping Miss State's 7 game winning streak. MSU is now 5-2 on the road. We will play Penn State at 6:30 tonight.

12/26/97 - The Clarion-Ledger came out with their 1997 best of the best awards yesterday. And Miss State, even after the bad year last year, continues to dominate the state of Mississippi when it comes to signing the best players in Mississippi. According to The Clarion-Ledger, the three high school players selected 1, 2 and 3 in their Basketball Athletes Of The Year Award for 1997 are all MSU signees: Tang Hamilton, Marckell Patterson and Ontario Harper.

12/25/97 - Found this bit of info in the Bob Gibbons All-Star Sports Report:

In a couple of games in the Fork Union Invitational Tournament (a very talent-filled tournament acccording to Gibbons) MSU signee 6-8 power forward Tyrus Boswell scored 17 points in the first game and 19 points in the championship game which his team (Winchendon) lost 97-91.

12/24/97 - Just thought you would like to read about how former Miss State Assistant Basketball Coach Owen Miller's new team, The University of Texas-San Antonio, is doing. Click here to go to their website. Check out the schedule and if you have the chance to see UTSA play introduce yourself to Owen as a Bulldog fan. Even though he is at another school, he will always be a member of our Miss State Bulldog family.

12/22/97 - The latest word is Miss State is recruiting forward Michael Smith (6-8) of Bossier Parish (La.) CC.

12/21/97 - Miss State, now 10-1 for the season (5-1 for away games), defeated UT-Martin 80-60 yesterday. Tyrone Washington was not there due to the recent passing of his grandmother. There were almost 6,000 fans at the game. Don't be surprised if we have more games in Tupelo in future years. Several former Bulldogs were in attendance: Players Darryl Wilson, Marcus Bullard and former coach Owen Miller. I had the chance to talk to Owen and he said everything is going great at the University of Texas-San Antonio. They are 5-4 for the season. The team is very young. I was very impressed with the passion he showed while talking about coaching college basketball whether it be at Miss State or UT-San Antonio. The college that is smart enough to hire this guy as their head coach is going to get a great one.

12/21/97 - Here is a Old Dominion - Miss State game postgame review by a fellow Bulldog fan who was at the game:

MSU started very slow but really picked it up in the 2nd half. Our foul shooting again hurt us, but our key foul shooters hit their free throws when we needed them late. ODU was a good team with a couple of either very good or very hot outside shooters. Similar to the JMU game, we were able to hold off ODU's late attempts to take the lead. This was a very hard fought win for the Bulldogs. Our guard play was good and bad. They did an excellent job of feeding our post players. However, the big men had stone hands a few times, which led to a few turnovers. As for shooting, our backcourt left a whole lot to be desired. No one shot well from outside. Our outside shooting needs to get better. There were times last night when they weren't playing as a team. However, there were other times when the unit played very well together. I guess that's to be expected at this point in the season.

Individually:

Tyrone Washington- He completely dominated this game. I can't remember seeing a big man control a game like this since #25 last wore maroon and white. I was very surprised to see that he had ONLY 14 boards. It seemed like he got every loose ball under the basket. ODU's center was at least as tall as Tyrone, although he was not as thick. A couple of Washington's blocked shots were reminiscent of Dampier's trademark blocks that ended up behind the scorer's table. He was truly a man among boys last night.

Horatio Webster- Webster looked lost for about 3/4 of the game. However, he really turned it on down the stretch and played very well on both sides of the ball. He got very aggressive on the defensive end of the floor late in the game. He also made some key baskets in the 2nd half from outside.

Detrick White- Detrick had another solid performance. He scored most of his points on drives to the basket. He has extremely quick feet. On most occasions, he left his defender standing at the 3 point arc wondering what had happened. His foul shooting must improve. In addition, his 3 pint shooting was awful, along with the rest of the back court.

Todd Myles- Surprisingly, Myles sat most of the 2nd half. He was pretty much a non-factor last night.

Bart Hyche- Bart saw a lot of action late in the game. He went in twice before the stretch run when he was in and out several times for his free throw shooting. Williams seemed very pleased with his play on both of his earlier appearances, making sure to walk over to him and applaud him when he was subbed out. After the game, Williams walked off the floor with his arm around Bart. Bart also hit some very big free throws. During his first appearance, he hit a 3 pointer. If Williams' reaction to Hyche's play is any indication, we may be seeing more of him in the future.

MSU had 20-30 fans at the game. Most seemed to be from the Richmond area (about 1.5 hours away). Others in attendance included Ward Griffith's parents (who were also at the JMU game) and MSU pitcher Brett Wheeler. Mr. and Mrs. John Hughes were also there.

12/21/97 - A source of mine found a Tyrus Boswell picture that was taken in 1996. You can find it here.

12/20/97 - MSU basketball player Detrick White practiced Friday and appears to be OK and should be able to play today. No word on whether Tyrone Washington will play. Oral Roberts was playing center for the first team unit at practice Friday.

12/19/97 - Would someone please post on my SportsOnly Miss State Basketball Recruiting Message Board how to get to the Tupelo Coliseum and also how to get to the mall (Barnes Crossing). There are many great places to eat and shop at and around Barnes Crossing. Thank you in advance - Gene Swindoll

12/19/97 - With the tremendous help of Tyrone Washington, Miss State defeated Old Dominion 62 to 57 last night. Tyrone had 14 points, 14 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. He also played great defense. What makes this game even more remarkable is he lost his grandmother Tuesday night. She passed away after listening to the Tuesday night game. Mrs. Fair raised Tyrone and he thought of her as his mother. According to Coach Williams in his postgame show, Tryone will not be playing in this Saturday's game due to his grandmother's passing. We are all praying for you and your family, Tyrone. God Bless you from all Bulldog fans across the internet.

12/18/97 - It appears the Bulldogs are once again recruiting Florida CC two-guard Michael DeGruy. Michael, who was Street & Smith's College Basketball Pre-Season First Team Juco All-American, is a consensus Top 12 player in the juco ranks this year.

12/18/97 - Isn't the internet great? Here is a Miss State - James Madison game report from a fellow Bulldog fan who was at the game:

There were about 40 MSU faithful there. 20 or so, including myself, took a chartered bus from DC. There were 4 MSU students there who were on their way back from skiing. Whit's grandfather was also there.

Detrick White played very well. Todd Myles is going to be one of the best players Mississippi State has had in a while. He has great presence on the court. I was impressed just watching him bring the ball up the court. Tang Hamilton didn't play much, but I think he will also be great. His build reminds me of Robert Horry. Tyrone Washington did a great job defensively and had a few key offensive boards and put backs. Horatio Webster disappointed me. His scoring was there, but he has got to crash the boards much better if he wants to play in the NBA. Bart Hyche's lack of PT surprised me, especially down the stretch when we needed foul shooters. Derrick Jones' lack of PT also surprised me.

Speaking of foul shooting, we were pretty bad at the line down the stretch. Let everyone badmouth Whit Hughes, but he had 2 huge free throws with seconds remaining. He also hit a very big 3 late, which was one of the biggest shots of the game. He was a clutch shooter when we needed it.

12/18/97 - Here are some comments from a couple of Bulldog fans who listened to Keith Easterwood Tuesday night:

"On last night's "Talk SEC" call-in radio show out of Memphis, Keith Easterwood, who flat knows basketball, said Tyrus Boswell is a "man-child" who is scoring & dominating the boards at Wichendon. He said Tyrus could jump out of the gym and could go up and put both elbows on the rim. He also said he is stepping outside and shooting the three with accuracy. Easterwood said he and Robert Jackson could both play immediately at MSU and that Tyrus will definitely play at the next level. He also said that Tyrus was excited about getting to MSU, and that Rick Stansberry is one of the best, as we already knew."

"I was listening to the talk show Talk SEC tonight and the guy who covers basketball (Keith Easterwood) said that Tyrus Boswell going to prep school has helped him significantly. He said Tyrus has improved his jump shot out to 20 feet and is very consistent out to that range."

12/17/97 - Miss State (8-1) defeated a good James Madison (3-2) team by 4. Whit Hughes made 2 free throws with just seconds left in the game to give the Dawgs a 4 point lead. JMU came back to get within 2, but the Dawgs held them off to post the road victory. Tyrone Washington and Oral Roberts fouled out late. Detrick White led the Bulldogs with 20 points, followed by Horatio Webster's 18. The Bulldogs are now 3-1 on the road (any road victory is great).

12/17/97 - Miss State signee Ontario Harper was selected as The Clarion-Ledger player of the week. Ontario averaged 18 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in two games last week. He is averaging 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for the season.

12/13/97 - Future MSU Bulldog: In his latest game, MSU signee Robert Jackson, despite being double-teamed, scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

12/13/97 - Former MSU Bulldog: Did anyone notice the great game Erick Dampier had the other night? He scored 19 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Congrats, Erick.

12/12/97 - According to reliable sources, combo forward/center Quentin Smith has quit the team for personal reasons. I'm sure many of you will want to read something into this, but please don't. Players quit teams all the time. I'm not sure which one, but he will be transferring to another school. I, along with every other Bulldog fan, wish only the very best for Quentin and hate to see him go.

12/12/97 - The info I have on Bart Hyche is, he is a valuable member of this year's team and will get playing time this year, just not as much as in the past because of the talent level of the new guards. My sources say Bart continues to work hard in practice and wants to help his team get into the NCAA Tournament.

12/08/97 - For you analytical buffs out there, here is something you can chew on:

According to Hoop Scoop (an excellent pay site), Miss State, if you rank MSU's recruiting based on the average rating per recruit, is ranked 12th nationally. When you compare the top two signees of all colleges, MSU is ranked 5th nationally, along with six other schools. When you compare the top three signees, MSU is ranked 8th, along with two other schools. To go even farther, if you rank the four top recruits (top two from each year) in the last two recruiting classes ('97 and '98), Miss State would rank 13th nationally, along with Florida and Georgetown. There were no other SEC teams that have recruited better than Miss State the last two years if you take into consideration the top four recruits. That sure says a lot about the job Rick Stansbury, Greg Carter and Richard Williams have done the last two years.

12/07/97 - Here are a few observations from Saturday's basketball game. Remember guys, I am without a doubt no expert like Bulldog Backer is, but it is fun to give an opinion now isn't it?

Trey Moore was exceptional yesterday, scoring 18 points.

Derrick Jones played with confidence on offense, but must learn to guard his man better.

Whit Hughes, while not a good scorer, hustled (what else is new?) on both ends and played very good defense.

Tyrone Washington played very good defense and shot the ball with confidence. Needs to shoot better at the foul line.

Todd Myles handled the ball very well and had one great penetrating move to the basket. Needs to do this more to open it up for everyone else.

Detrick White played good defense on Oklahoma's outstanding guard Corey Brewer and made several great offensive moves to the basket. Can't wait to see how good Detrick is with a little more experience.

Oral Roberts, while playing only 8 minutes, scored 8 points. Looked very good at the free-throw line.

Horatio Webster, not scoring as much as he has the last few games, played with a lot of effort on both ends of the court.

Bart Hyche. Why didn't he play? No one hustles any harder than Bart while on the court. If he has lost his minutes due to the emergence of White and Myles, that's fine, we just want to hear it from a coach.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with both teams yesterday. It was one of the most intense games I have ever seen. The defense was outstanding. I fully expect both of these teams will make it to the NCAA, and if they continue to play with the effort they exhibited yesterday, will have 20 win seasons and do well at tournament time. BTW, Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera is a Whit Huges with better scoring skills. I was very impressed with how hard he played.

Folks, our team and coaches are taking our basketball team to the next level. Now, we, the fans, have to do our part and attend the games. For the caliber team we have, it is down right embarrassing to only have 5,728 at a game of this magnitude. Where in the world were the other 3,500 fans?

12/06/97 - Players to watch at today's game against Oklahoma:

Ryan Humphrey - 6-8 power forward, consensus All-American in High School, has it all and very explosive.

Corey Brewer - Guard, excellent player.

12/06/97 - Against Northwest Thursday, Northeast's 2G Tim Cole put on a show for a host of college coaches in the second half scoring 28, including 14 in a row (4 straight 3's capped by a dunk) during a 3 minute stretch. He finished with 42. The list of coaches included Jeff Norwood of USM, MSU's Rick Stansbury, as well as coaches from the University of Miami, FL & last year's final four Minnesota. There were several others my source couldn't identify.

12/04/97 - The People's Bank and Trust Company, the Bulldog Club, and the local Lee County Alumni Association are sponsoring two days of events with the big game at the Tupelo Coliseum.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, December 19, 1997:
3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Bulldog basketball practice - open to the public.
5:30 p.m. - Autograph session and a chance to meet the players.
6 - 7 p.m. - Reception includes light hors d'oeuvres and cash bar and features guest speakers - Richard Williams and Larry Templeton.

Saturday, December 20, 1997:
3:30 p.m. - MSU vs UT Martin

I'll post more info (cost, who can attend, etc.) about this great event in the next couple of days. Going to this event will be a great way for all you Bulldogs to show your support for our Basketball Bulldogs.

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