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The Mississippi State Bulldogs finally got rid of head coach Rick Ray, who despite being a fairly good recruiter, was unable to get his team to compete in the SEC. Injuries, suspensions and just all around underwhelming performances by his teams led to his departure from the school, and Mississippi State believed that it was time to make a splash with his replacement.
Did they ever.
Former UCLA Bruins head coach Ben Howland is headed to Starkville to become the new man in charge of the basketball program at Mississippi State University.
The hiring seemingly comes out of nowhere, but rumor has it that it has something to do with Howland’s ties to Adidas and the Bulldogs being an Adidas school. CBS Sports even suggested that Howland was already headed to Mississippi State before Ray had been let go and his imminent arrival may have had something to do with the timing of Ray’s release.
For those of you wondering why Howland would choose Mississippi State, it should be noted that the Bulldogs aren’t all that far removed from being one of the better teams in the SEC year-in and year-out. Since 2002, teams not named the Kentucky Wildcats or Florida Gators have won either the SEC regular season title or SEC Tournament just nine times.
The team to do it the most out of those nine teams? Mississippi State. The Bulldogs won the SEC tournament in 2002 and 2009 and the SEC regular season title in 2004.
The area is a highly underrated recruiting base with Memphis and St. Louis to the north and the fertile recruiting grounds of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia nearby. Howland will have an opportunity to not only heavily recruit in these areas, but also some of the places from when he was at UCLA as well.
With Howland’s arrival, Mississippi State immediately becomes a team that can sneak into the 2016 NCAA tournament. They boast returning players like Craig Sword, Gavin Ware and Fred Thomas and will likely land a few big-name recruits due to Howland’s arrival. The Bulldogs strike immediate gold with this hire and should get back into top five of SEC contenders year-in and year-out once again.
Howland may be the first big coaching change the SEC sees this season, but rumors are also circulating that the Alabama Crimson Tide may be willing to throw the bank at Wichita State Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall. March Madness may still be upon us, but the teams that missed out in the SEC are looking towards the 2015-16 season with higher expectations and, more importantly, a little bit of hope.
Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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