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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Anchor of the 09 Class

MSU got a huge, but expected commit from Shaunessy Smith yesterday. Smith is the anchor of the 09 class. Here are a few words from Mr. Veazy on Mr. Smith's commit. Now, we need a some big men to round out the class.-Arliss

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so happy that Shaun Smith, Romero Osby,Ravern Johnson, and Phil Turner will be playing together next year!

-Mississippi Dog

Anonymous said...

I am glad that we are able to keep the best Mississippi kids coming to MSU. I believe that although out of state players are necessary to compete we need as many high level instate players as possible as they have a true appreciation of the what this program means to the state.

captaindawg

Anonymous said...

Should have taken the money that went to football pay raises and started the practice facility.

Anonymous said...

Shaunessy Smith is a very talented basketball player.....Big time pick up.

Anonymous said...

one month countdown starting in a few hours...

Tom said...

Can't wait. Remind me when practice begins.

Anonymous said...

Not sure when practice starts, but it should be within the week.. Maybe this weekend? Sooner the better!!

Tom said...

Practice starts 17 October. Read Veazey's online chat the other night and noticed he commented that Dee Bost is impressing folks. That's good to hear.

How about Romero? Anybody know?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've heard Bost is a very underrated guard who could turn some heads. Osby will get some PT I'm sure. Holcombe is who I'm looking forward to seeing! He could come right in and start if all the hype is true.

Oct.17 counting down the days...

Tom said...

By the way, I stumble on to a very nice Bulldog Blog last night. Here's the link:

http://bulldogmaroonwhite.wordpress.com/

I was searching for an update on Sir Charles and found not only a good update on Charles, but also one on Jamont.

Anonymous said...

According to the Ravern Johnson interview(Genes Page) ......Romero Osby is a big, physical guy in the post, good shooter, versatile, and will be hard to stop.

Also, Ravern indicates that......Jacquiese Holcombe plays very hard, very good/determined defender, and goes hard on defense all of the time. Also, Goes hard for the rebounds.

Note: Word is contiuously that Holcombe is a very good defender.

Tom said...

Any news on Barry's ankle?

Anonymous said...

Tom,

Stansbury said on the news a couple of nights ago that it was coming along fine..

Anonymous said...

We had alot of recruits at the Vandy game this past weekend. Considering the caliber of player there we would have an outstanding class if we could get them. I'm hoping for a big fall signing period.

captaindawg

Anonymous said...

Whos the best quarterback on campus? Dee Bost or Zac Smith

Anonymous said...

We are potentially the best ever football team with a lead late in the game to run the clock out.

Anonymous said...

Do we match up with UT? Dee vs. Maze, Ravern vs. Scotty, Jarvis vs. Chism, Kodi vs. Smith, Holcombe vs. Prince.

Stewart lost me after his 0-fer Memphis, Kodi is gonna breakout in a big way, Jacquise is gonna be our James Posey, and Ravern the "Hawk" Johnson will go off on Scotty.

Anonymous said...

Randy is to prissy, if he would quit posing for the camera while shooting his jumper he might get it off in time.

Anonymous said...

Romero Osby is a big time talent and works very hard. Very intelligent kid.

He and Brian Johnson.....Both are in the mix.

Also, Elgin Bailey is continuing to progress. Will help a lot.

Anonymous said...

Daily Journal(North East Mississippi)

BULLDOG BASKETBALL:Younger guns need to step up for Bulldogs
10/15/2008 5:36:40 AM
Daily Journal




BY BRAD LOCKE
Daily Journal

STARKVILLE - Barry Stewart doesn't really have time to look back. He's too pumped about the future.

The Mississippi State junior guard and his teammates will begin preseason drills on Friday, and they'll do so without last year's stars, Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes, both of whom are chasing elusive NBA dreams.

Nor will the Bulldogs have Ben Hansbrough, who transferred to Notre Dame.

That matters not to Stewart. Because he sees loads of potential in the young pups that head coach Rick Stansbury will have to lean on heavily this season.

"They're doing what they're supposed to do, and they're listening, and that's key for a young guy," Stewart said. "I've been watching all of them, all of them look like they can add something to the team this year. We haven't had practice yet or games, but right now all of them look like they're doing pretty good."

Among the promising youngsters are sophomore Kodi Augustus, sophomore Ravern Johnson and freshman Romero Osby, but the most scrutinized players might be freshmen Twany Beckham and Dee Bost, both of whom will vie for the point guard role.

"Those guys are way ahead of schedule right now," assistant coach Marcus Grant said. "All the new guys, they have a really high basketball IQ, so they're able to pick up on things quicker than we thought they would."

Stewart, who scored 11.5 points per game last season, will likely spend some time at the point, too. But he'll be the shooting guard and won't have to play any more at the No. 3 position, which he had to do last year.

The big question, of course, is where the offense will come from. Gordon and Rhodes averaged a combined 34.6 points per game last year.

That's where Jarvis Varnado comes in. The junior had a breakout year in 2007-08, averaging 7.8 rebounds and an NCAA best 4.6 blocks; he made the CollegeInsider.com Defensive All-America team.

This season, the 6-9 Varnado will be asked to do more on the offensive end. He scored 7.9 points per game last season.

"Everyone knows what a defensive force he was last year, but he also has some offensive capabilities," Grant said." We didn't see a lot of it last year because we had Charles Rhodes. But this year we're going to rely on him. He'll probably be our best low-post scorer this year."

All this speculation begins getting answered at the first practice, and then further with the Bulldogs' Nov. 15 opener against Centenary.

MSU's foray into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where it lost to eventual national runner-up Memphis, should boost the Bulldogs that have experience.

"Our goals are going to be the same: get to the tournament," Stewart said. "We know we lost lot from last year, but you've got to set your goals high."

Women get going
MSU's women also start practice on Friday.

Coach Sharon Fanning's team is coming off a 16-15 season, 4-10 in the SEC. Four starters return from that squad - senior Robin Porter, senior Marneshia Richard, junior Alexis Rack and junior Tysheka Grimes.

Rack is the top returning scorer at 11.5 points per game. Grimes averaged 11.0 per game.

"The last couple of years we have talked about youth and playing freshmen and sophomores," said Fanning. "Now we are to the point to where we have a solid group of experienced seniors and juniors."

Among the newcomers counted on to provide depth are Pontotoc's Di'Amber Johnson and a pair of Congo natives, Rima Kalonda and Armelie Lumanu, both of whom are juniors and played previously at Southeastern Illinois College

Anonymous said...

Did we sweep bama last year? Lets make it 3 in a row for football too.

Anonymous said...

OU just got a commitment from a player who is very similar to Keith Gallon. I hope that this means our chances with Gallon just got better.

captaindawg