MSU men’s team gets praise from South Carolina’s Martin
It’s no secret that South Carolina head coach Frank Martin can be fiery at times.
When the Gamecocks’ sixth-year head coach entered the media room on Saturday afternoon following Mississippi State’s 7268 overtime win over South Carolina, no one could have been blamed for expecting a passion-filled explanation from Martin of how his team blew a 13-point lead and eventually lost.
Instead, the first words out of Martin’s mouth were words of respect for the Bulldogs.
“I’m really happy for (MSU head coach Ben Howland) and his kids,” Martin said. “I know how hard they have worked over the past three years.”
It has indeed been an uphill climb for Mississippi State to get back to its current standing within the college basketball world. This will be the first season in which the Bulldogs have boasted a winning record since the 2011-12 campaign. MSU has already matched that season’s 21-win total with at least three more games left to go.
Mississippi State is also on the NCAA Tournament bubble and the Bulldogs are threatening to get into the big dance for the first time since 2009.
How has MSU, in year three under Howland, finally been able to break through? Martin says it’s all about experience.
“They’re old now,” Martin said of Mississippi State. “These kids have been together for three years now. (Lamar) Peters is a year older. Nick Weatherspoon gives them a dynamic aspect. We did a pretty good job on him (Saturday), and he gets loose and shoots an off-the-dribble bomb to give them the lead, then the biggest difference on their team is (Abdul) Ado, because he can score at the rim. In the past, their bigs screen, rebound and defend, but they didn’t score at the rim. Now they’ve got all that fire power from the guard spot, and they’ve got a bonafide scorer inside. They’re old. (Quinndary Weatherspoon) has been around for three years. He’s a winner. Peters is a competitive kid, and he’s older now.
“(Xavian) Stapleton is an athletic kid. Eli Wright is a year older. He’s aggressive and an athlete. The young man, (Tyson Carter), every time he sees us, it’s like he absolutely loves our uniform because he never misses against us. (Experience) is the biggest difference.”
No one this season has been hurt more by State’s growth than South Carolina. With MSU’s Saturday win, the Bulldogs finished off the regular season sweep over the Gamecocks. Mississippi State also won at South Carolina 81-76 back on Jan. 31.
Both Saturday’s contest and last month’s game were tight and came down to the wire. Both times though, it was the Bulldogs celebrating when the final buzzer sounded.
Martin indicated that might not have been the case in the past with MSU. Yet now, with NCAA Tournament possibilities ahead of them, the Bulldogs are impressing opposing coaches, finishing and earning big victories.
“They know how to win these kinds of games now,” Martin said. “When you win these close games, your record looks a lot better than when you don’t win.”