Howland sees Bulldogs go through first practice
Mississippi State head men's basketball coach Ben Howland bowed his head and showed his hair on Tuesday afternoon following the Bulldogs first practice of the 2016-17 season.
“I want a picture taken,” Howland said. “There's going to be a lot less (hair) at the end of this season.”
Howland's humorous photo opportunity revealed a startling truth about his team. MSU will only go as far as its freshmen take them this season.
Don't misunderstand though. Howland was excited to get to work with what he believes is an incredibly talented bunch.
“A lot of these kids, really all of them, are from winning programs,” Howland said. “They're coming from places where they won before and won at a high level.”
One of Howland's seven scholarship true freshmen is former Starkville High standout Tyson Carter. Like his coach, Carter is thrilled to tip things off. Carter says he and his teammates are ready to kick off a fresh, new era of Mississippi State basketball.
“It's exciting,” Carter said. “This is what we've been waiting on all summer.
“It's a lot different for us (freshmen) to be playing basketball in the SEC (instead of high school), but we're ready.”
Howland said Tuesday's practice wasn't anything unique. The first workout was all about making sure the Bulldogs have the fundamentals down.
“We're just starting by putting in the basics,” Howland said of Tuesday's practice. “It's just basic fundamentals. That's where all sports start.
“We're trying to put in the foundation of our defense, our transition defense, our halfcourt defense, how we're going to play ball screens, how we're going to play in the post and how we're going to jump to the ball and help each other when defense breaks down. Offensively, it's trying to execute, be unselfish, work the ball, take good shots, make good passes, try to get something early before the defense is set. It's just those basic fundamentals and starting from the ground up.”
This isn't Howland's first experience with his group. The team had 10 practices over the summer prior to a preseason trip to Italy in which the Bulldogs went a perfect 4-0.
“We had a little head start in the summertime with those practices, but it wasn't a lot,” Howland said.
Carter said the experience of getting ready for Italy, then going on the trip, gave the Bulldogs a leg up before practice ever started on Tuesday.
“Our team chemistry is good,” Carter said. “None of us really knew each other before we got here. Now, we feel like we know each other pretty good. We practiced a lot this summer and spent a lot of time around each other, then the Italy trip brought us a lot closer.”
MSU will be back at it today. Howland knows the clock is ticking before MSU's season opener on Nov. 11.
“I wish we had 50 practices before our first game, but we only have 30,” Howland said. “There are 29 to go. That includes our exhibition game and our scrimmage, so we really only have 27 practices left.”