| 1996 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jan | Feb | Mar | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1998 | Jan | Feb | March |
04/27/98 - The Clarion-Ledger's MSU sports writer Rusty Hampton has confirmed what I have been saying all along: G/F Derrick Jones will be transferring at the end of this semester, freeing up a scholarship. He also said signee Ontario Harper is expected to go to prep school. According to Rusty, this will free up two scholarships for next fall, one of which should go to former All-State guard Michael Gholar.
04/26/98 - MSU basketball players Tyrone Washington and Detrick White were seen at the MSU softball game signing autographs and mingling with the crowd young and old. The youngsters really were having fun talking to these two outstanding young men.
04/23/98 - A source of mine recently talked to one of Miss State's basketball players and was told by the player that signee Tyrus Boswell will qualify. The player also said signee Robert Jackson is deadly from the fifteen and sixteen foot range. This player has played basketball against Jackson.
04/21/98 - One of my sources talked to MSU basketball player Tyrone Washington yesterday and Tyrone told him he is working very, very hard so that he can reach his goal of being the best center in the SEC next year. He also wants to be drafted in the NBA Draft next year and is going to work as hard as it takes to achieve that goal. In case some of you were wondering what our basketball players are doing while you are sleeping at 6 a.m., they are working out doing their individual workouts.
I have personally talked to Todd Myles and Oral Roberts and they have both said similar things. They are going to work as hard as it takes to improve themselves for next season. As I have said once before, signee Tyrus Boswell also wants to come to summer school so that he can work on his game and be prepared for next season. Before you ask, Tyrus' academic status is the same as before: He is waiting to hear how he did on his latest test. As soon as I hear something, all of you will be the first to know.
Looks like our present and future players are excited about the upcoming basketball season.
04/18/98 - Look for Miss State to hold their final open scholarship for next year's outstanding crop of Mississippi HS basketball players. I have also heard Miss State coaches Rick Stansbury and Robert Kirby are out evaluating the junior class of basketball prospects. If you see them in your state, email me. I was also told by a reliable source that, as I stated earlier, MSU sophomore point guard Todd Myles will definitely be back next year.
04/17/98 - My sincere apologies to Colorado State signee David Fisher. I have talked to a couple of people who are very well informed about David and they told me he is no slacker and was not afraid of MSU strength coach Richard Akins' conditioning and strength workouts. In fact, he has had to work very hard to overcome several injuries. Just as Kevin Henderson said, Colorado State did a good job convincing Fisher he would contribute more in their league than he would in the SEC.
04/17/98 - How any of you wondered how former Bulldog basketball assistant coach Owen Miller is doing in the recruiting wars? This was his first year to be able to go out and recruit players. I was a little curious myself as to how well he learned recruiting from Rick Stansbury so I checked around and this is what I found out.
Player Facts:
Now what does this have to do with Owen Miller you ask? Well folks, these are the accolades that Owen's first ever recruit, Devin Brown, a 6-4, 205-lb 2/3 type player, received during his career. Not bad for a first year recruiting coach if you ask me. Surely we all have to agree that Coach Miller seems to have learn recruiting very, very well from Rick wouldn't you say? Who knows, maybe we will see him back coaching at Miss State some day.
04/16/98 - According to Kevin Henderson, of Mississippi Hoops, David Fisher chose Colorado State because they convinced him he would get very little playing time behind Tryone Washington, Oral Roberts, Tyrus Boswell and Robert Jackson.
04/15/98 - 6-9 David Fisher signed with Colorado State instead of the Bulldogs. According to one of my sources, David didn't think he could handle the tough workouts under MSU strength coach Richards Akins. Fisher said, according to my source, all his life if he didn't want to workout his coaches would not make him workout. Is it just me or is MSU lucky this guy decided to cast his lot elsewhere?
04/11/98 - Just thought you guys would enjoy reading about the caliber of a couple of our basketball players. A source of mine had the opportunity to visit with Tyrone Washington and Oral Roberts recently. My source has a 3-year old nephew who has a playschool goal. Well, to the delight of this youngster, Tyrone and Oral played basketball with him on his playschool goal. According to my source, it was a sight to see these two young men playing with this youngster and it made him realize the top-notch caliber of these two guys. After visting with them, he came away with the impression that they are two very super young people.
About the upcoming basketball season, they are both excited and feel they will have a better season next year. It was also mentioned that former MSU basketball star and up and coming NBA center Eric Dampier will probably sign a very large contract in the very near future.
Here's another viewpoint, with quotes, from another Bulldog fan who saw Tyone and Detrick White at a local restaurant in Starkville:
"I ran into Detrick White and Tyrone Washington in Little Dooey's on Wednesday night. It's nice to observe our kids in "public", out of the season, and see them being polite, well mannered kids. Tyrone wears one of the W.W.J.D (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets. It's nice to see that you can actually have a mix of a good player and a good human."
04/11/98 - The word is, MSU signee Ontrario Harper will have to work very, very hard in the classroom in April and May to become eligible. As far as the other three announced signees are concerned, all should make their grades and ACT scores, according to their coaches as reported in various articles.
04/09/98 - Correction: On my 4/7/98 Skuttle-Butt post I wrote that John Correro is the Bulldog Club Executive Director. I should have said Executive Director of the Alumni Association.
04/09/98 - Click here to read a small article about MSU's newest basketball signee Joe Marshall.
04/09/98 - Miss State is no longer recruiting NEMCC basketball player Tim Cole, according to several reliable sources.
04/08/98 - Miss State signed Juco 2-Guard Joe Marshall (6-1, 190) on the first day of the spring signing period. Joe, who will have three years of eligibility left, is a bigger, stronger version of present Miss State point guard Detrick White. Plus, he is a better shooter. During league play, Joe made over 47% of his 3-point shots. Another great thing about Joe is he is a penetrator who draws a lot of fouls as evidenced by his 97 free-throw attempts during 16 league games. Joe is also an excellent all-around player who can win games because he does so many things well. Look for Joe to have an impact early next season.
One of you has asked me if Miss State was going to have some kind of alumni package deal for next season's Hawaiian basketball trip. As of now, nothing has been mentioned. If you are interested, you may want to contact the Alumni Association and see if they are planning anything. If not, maybe your interest will generate some interest on their part.
OK, I admit it. I got a little carried away with my thoughts on Michael Gholar. Gholar, who is still working on his academics, is a tremendously talented athlete (although very raw) who played two sports in high school. Similar to all other two-sport athletes, he didn't do as well as he could have if he had concentrated on only one sport. I feel, based on many opinions from experts, non-experts, and players, he has a lot of talent which just needs to be refined. The kid can jump like former Bulldog Dontae' Jones and is an excellent outside shooter (maybe not in Darryl Wilson's class just yet). There is reason to get excited about him as well as all of our other recruits. Now, if he can only get eligible.
Did you know, if the NCAA maintain the same opening day for basketball practice as they had this year, that it will be the midnight after our homecoming football game. Now wouldn't that be an exciting day for MSU sports fans? First you tailgate with other Bulldog fans, then you go to the football game, then go out and eat with your friends and to top it off, you go to the first ever Midnight Madness under new head basketball coach Rick Stansbury. Contact the basketball office if you are interested in a Midnight Madness. Coach Stansbury wants to know what it will take to fill up Humphrey Coliseum. This might be a helpful way of doing just that. The only problem I can see is where Midnight Madness will be played since the Hump will not be ready until December 1st. Newell-Grissom may have to be used.
04/08/98 - Speculation is former Bulldog Marcus Bullard will be drafted in the top of the 2nd round of the upcoming NBA draft.
04/07/98 Look for Miss State to sign 2-G Joe Marshall and possibly one other player in the next day or two.
04/07/98 - Here is the Babe McCarthy Tip-Off Club Awards Banquet info I promised you:
Miss State radio announcer Jack Cristil was the emcee. After his opening remarks in which he introduced everyone at the head table and the players' tables, he introduced Miss State Athletic Director Larry Templeton. Larry talked about how much retiring head basketball coach Richard Williams meant to him and Miss State.
After Larry's remarks, Jack Cristil came back to the podium and introduced Coach Williams.
Coach Williams talked about how much his university meant to him and thanked many of the people who have helped him achieve so much during his twelve year tenure as head basketball coach.
After thanking everyone, he handed out the player awards:
McKie Edmondson won the Babe McCarthy Memorial Award for the second straight time. He is the first to do that since Mark Peters.
After the awards were presented, a very good 1997/1998 highlight film (we expect nothing less from Bennie Ashford). After the highlight film, a Richard Williams an excellent highlight film was shown.
At the end of the Banquet, new head basketball coach Rick Stansbury promised he and the players would work hard to continue the excellence Coach Williams has achieved. He thanked the players, players' parents, high school and junior college coaches for helping Miss State achieve all that it has.
Other tidbits:
I apologize for not having pictures of the Banquet. I have a new camera and I am learning how to use it. All of my pics of the Banquet turned out blurry.
04/07/98 - Derrick Jones will transfer to either Tulane, New Orleans or Samford.
04/07/98 - Michael Gholar will be a dominating force in SEC basketball very soon in his career. This guy is a truly awesome talent, folks. He jumps like Dontae and shoots like Darryl. Add him, Tyrus Boswell, Robert Jackson and Joe Marshall to what we already have and you have a team to be reckoned with next year. How about a dunking contest between Oral, Tyrus, Tang and Michael at Midnight Madness (we are going to have a MM aren't we coach?) next season?
04/07/98 - I will have a complete report on the Babe McCarthy Tip-Off Club Awards Banquet tomorrow. Here are a few tidbits of info I heard while walking around after the Banquet. Joe Marshall will sign Wednesday. David Fisher has not committed to MSU as of now. Michael Gholar has told a friend of mine he will sign with State. My friend was not sure if it will be on signing day or later. The word on Gholar is he has almost unlimited shooting range and is a truly awesome talent. Northeast MS CC 2-G Tim Cole will not sign with MSU. It seems, according to my sources, Miss State has seen some things about Cole they aren't impressed with. Todd Myles, who former coach Richard Williams called a great talent who only needs to regain his confidence, told me he will be back next year and is going to work very, very hard over the summer to improve his game. Coach Williams said Todd is one of the nicest people he has ever been around. Coach Williams also mentioned that Oral Roberts would be a force in the SEC next year. He also said Marckell Patterson will be a player that is going to be heard from next year.
04/06/98 - I forgot to mention that MSU signee Ontario Harper was named 1st Team All-State by The Clarion-Ledger.
04/06/98 - The Babe McCarthy Tip-Off Club Awards Banquet is tonight. I will post information tomorrow morning.
04/05/98 - I'm still not sure if we are actually getting a visit this weekend from Farmerville, La. guard Sergerio Gipson, but, just in case, here is a little more info about him. He is 6-3, 185, with a 15 ACT score. Besides Arkansas and MSU, he is looking at LSU, La. Tech, and Tulane.
04/04/98 - According to the Arkansas newspaper online, Sergerio Gipson, a player rumored to be leaning to Arkansas, is visiting Miss State this weekend.
04/03/98 - MSU signee Robert Jackson was chosen 1st Team All-State. He averaged 17.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg and shot 59.4% from the field.
04/03/98 - The charges against former MSU basketball player Marcus Bullard have been dropped by the District Attorney due to the search being declared illegal.
04/02/98 - The word is Miss State signee Tyrus Boswell is seriously considering attending summer school at Miss State this summer to get a jumpstart on his college classes and college basketball career. I hope all of you are as excited about the upcoming basketball season as Tyrus seems to be. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a Midnight Madness next season?