Why Mississippi State Is One of the Top Rising Programs in the Nation
The biggest storyline for Mississippi State has been the departure of elite guard Malik Newman. On the bright side, Newman did not hire an agent, and Mississippi State is in the process of building a dominant basketball team. The 2015-16 season was not the one the Bulldogs have hoped for, finishing 11th in SEC with a 14-17 record overall and 7-11 in SEC play. Finishing under .500 should be a concern for Mississippi State, but they have a lot to look forward to in the future, led by their incoming 2016 class.
2016 Class:
4* SF Mario Kegler
4* C Schnider Herard
4* SG Tyson Carter
4* PG Lamar Peters
4* SG Eli Wright
4* C Abdul Ado
3* PF E.J. Datcher
Mississippi State has hauled in a whopping six four-star prospects, the most in the nation. These seven prospects give Ben Howland the #7 2016 class in the nation that is #2 in the SEC. All prospects, except Datcher, are ranked in the top-120, with Kegler in ranked at #42 on 247Sports. Not to mention, all seven players are signed to Mississippi State, so this class is locked as is and does not expect any more commitments than the seven shown above. The good news for these recruits is that the top two scorers for Mississippi State, forward Gavin Ware (15.4 PPG), and guard Craig Sword (13.0 PPG), are seniors and opens up playing time for the incoming freshman. Freshman guard Malik Newman (11.3 PPG), who did not have the ideal freshman season for being a five star prospect out of high school, has entered his name into the draft, but without an agent. If he does enter the draft, that only opens up more windows for this jam packed senior class.
Unfortunately, Mississippi State has no commitments from the 2017, 2018 and 2019 classes. This is a slight concern, but it is not too late to jump in the recruiting race for a big name junior or sophomore. It is a definite that the junior class will not be as good as the 2016, and even the 2015 class, were. Nevertheless, expect some of the 2016 prospects to get significant minutes under Ben Howland and perform at a high level.
2016 Class:
4* SF Mario Kegler
4* C Schnider Herard
4* SG Tyson Carter
4* PG Lamar Peters
4* SG Eli Wright
4* C Abdul Ado
3* PF E.J. Datcher
Mississippi State has hauled in a whopping six four-star prospects, the most in the nation. These seven prospects give Ben Howland the #7 2016 class in the nation that is #2 in the SEC. All prospects, except Datcher, are ranked in the top-120, with Kegler in ranked at #42 on 247Sports. Not to mention, all seven players are signed to Mississippi State, so this class is locked as is and does not expect any more commitments than the seven shown above. The good news for these recruits is that the top two scorers for Mississippi State, forward Gavin Ware (15.4 PPG), and guard Craig Sword (13.0 PPG), are seniors and opens up playing time for the incoming freshman. Freshman guard Malik Newman (11.3 PPG), who did not have the ideal freshman season for being a five star prospect out of high school, has entered his name into the draft, but without an agent. If he does enter the draft, that only opens up more windows for this jam packed senior class.
Unfortunately, Mississippi State has no commitments from the 2017, 2018 and 2019 classes. This is a slight concern, but it is not too late to jump in the recruiting race for a big name junior or sophomore. It is a definite that the junior class will not be as good as the 2016, and even the 2015 class, were. Nevertheless, expect some of the 2016 prospects to get significant minutes under Ben Howland and perform at a high level.