Yep! We got him!

[MSUDawg99]

Per Aric Holman's HS coach...Owensboro's Aric Holman to sign with Miss. State, coach says http://cjky.it/1ShJjez via @courierjournal

https://twitter.com/SteveJones_CJ/status/601370677015371776

[RBritt]

Howland has done more in 2 months than Ray did his entire tenure. Can't wait to see next years team.

[Jacksondevildog]

This>>>
Howland has done more in 2 months than Ray did his entire tenure. Can't wait to see next years team.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I may initially undersold the impact Holman could have next season. He has a really nice skill set & better range than I thought. It's a small sample size but he was 24/46 52% last year from 3pt range. If we can get him in this summer & start working on his body add about 15lbs to him give him some core strength he will be a very valuable backup to Daniels at the 4. 2016-17 he will be by far our go to guy big man.

[Coach34]

Name and contacts is what it's about

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

Saw someplace where they said if we got him it would vault us to #19 class in country, #5 in SEC. Thinking from memory here... 1)Ky, 2)LSU, 3)A&M, 4)Fla, 5)MSU

[MSUDawg99]

I may initially undersold the impact Holman could have next season. He has a really nice skill set & better range than I thought. It's a small sample size but he was 24/46 52% last year from 3pt range. If we can get him in this summer & start working on his body add about 15lbs to him give him some core strength he will be a very valuable backup to Daniels at the 4. 2016-17 he will be by far our go to guy big man.

Let's get a good S&C coach on board. Do we know if/when that will be happening? Couldn't remember when ole boy was retiring (name escapes me ATM).

[BeardoMSU]

Ben has been killing it since day one. What an awesome and wonderful thing to have in a basketball coach, lol.

Next year is going to be reeeeaaaallly interesting. It seems we've got a great combination of skill, depth, and experience.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Looking good but still a long way to go. I've still got my modifier before "optimistic". Hope we can beat fifty percent in the SEC next season.

[tcdog70]

Hmmmm, wonder why some Coaches win games and go the Final Fours?? It's called recruiting. In basketball more so than any other sport. Two players added can take a team from the outhouse to the penthouse.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Holman actually signed his NLI & scholarship papers while he was on campus during his OV. Howland & staff are killing it & it's only going to get better in 2016.

[TXDawg]

Let's get a good S&C coach on board. Do we know if/when that will be happening? Couldn't remember when ole boy was retiring (name escapes me ATM).

If I remember correctly, Howland praised Richard Akins during his introductory press conference. Not sure if he's going anywhere. According to his bio on our athletic site, he's also the S&C coach for the women's team. I'm guessing that both Howland and Vic would have to want him gone for him to be replaced.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

If I remember correctly, Howland praised Richard Akins during his introductory press conference. Not sure if he's going anywhere. According to his bio on our athletic site, he's also the S&C coach for the women's team. I'm guessing that both Howland and Vic would have to want him gone for him to be replaced.

Coach Akins is retiring.

[Outside Dawg]

If I remember correctly, Howland praised Richard Akins during his introductory press conference. Not sure if he's going anywhere. According to his bio on our athletic site, he's also the S&C coach for the women's team. I'm guessing that both Howland and Vic would have to want him gone for him to be replaced.

He is retiring. Announced May 6th. https://twitter.com/bobcarskadon/status/595960397598883841

[MSUDawg99]

Holman actually signed his NLI & scholarship papers while he was on campus during his OV. Howland & staff are killing it & it's only going to get better in 2016.

Yeah I read that as well. & thanks Outside Dawg for the retirement date tweet.

S.S. replied to someone on Twitter recently that he thinks the schedule will come out in June, July or Aug I think??? Can't remember but I hate misquoting! When do season tix go on sale? Anyone know?

[TXDawg]

He is retiring. Announced May 6th. https://twitter.com/bobcarskadon/status/595960397598883841

Got it. Missed that announcement.

[maroonmania]

Howland has done more in 2 months than Ray did his entire tenure. Can't wait to see next years team.

Well, to be fair, Howland has a track record and something to sell recruits, Ray not so much.

[BeardoMSU]

Well, to be fair, Howland has a track record and something to sell recruits, Ray not so much.

That is true, but I think the biggest difference will show from day one of the season when we see what Ben does with Ray's players. I'm supremely confident that Ben is going to transform those guys into legit SEC players.

[thf24]

I'm supremely confident that Ben is going to transform those guys into legit SEC players.

Agreed. I think Fred is going to blow people away compared to the past three years. I'm also looking forward to seeing what he can do with Daniels.

[PSYCHO(thesis)DEFENSE]

I may initially undersold the impact Holman could have next season. He has a really nice skill set & better range than I thought. It's a small sample size but he was 24/46 52% last year from 3pt range. If we can get him in this summer & start working on his body add about 15lbs to him give him some core strength he will be a very valuable backup to Daniels at the 4. 2016-17 he will be by far our go to guy big man.

I'm really excited about adding Holman, & I badly want him to be instant impact for us to get to where we're capable of in 2015. If he can be enough of a defensive presence to keep our perimeter defenders from getting sucked in by penetration, we are vastly improved. That's something I don't think Daniels can bring to the table.

I'm not sold on Daniels being the answer at the 4. I was under the impression he played the stretch 4 for us early last year in the non-conf schedule, gave up too much on the boards, & moved back to the 3. I could have been trying to read too much in what I was seeing, but I did get this impression. That being said, I'm sure Howland's 4 will be much different from Ray's 4, and have complete faith in his ability to mold Daniels into what he wants him to be.

Also curious as to how concrete Howland's 4 will be. Oliver Black & Daniels couldn't be more different in terms of skill set, so does this make Black the de facto backup 5 behind Ware?

Depth chart aside, I am beyond impressed w/ what this coaching staff has done in the time they've been given. Can't wait to see what they can do w/ a full year.

[chef dixon]

Lets be real, he may not be blowing everyone away next year, but he's probably already better than Zuppardo and Daniels.

[chef dixon]

Need to have at least 2 impact guards come in for next years class. Likely going to lose Malik, Sword, Fred after next year and Dunlap now apparently gone. Weatherspoon and Ready will be our only 2 on the roster.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Need to have at least 2 impact guards come in for next years class. Likely going to lose Malik, Sword, Fred after next year and Dunlap now apparently gone. Weatherspoon and Ready will be our only 2 on the roster.

Lamar Peters & Malik Crowfield are visiting together in June.

[Johnson85]

Oliver Black & Daniels couldn't be more different in terms of skill set, so does this make Black the de facto backup 5 behind Ware?


I think Black is the de facto backup 5 because what's the other option? NDoye? Zuppardo? If we had pulled another 5 in, maybe Black could have played primarily at the 4, but I don't see how we can do that with the current roster, except in relatively short stretches where Black and Ware play together.

[MSUDawg99]

Mark your calendars for Fri. Nov. 13th for a double header game with both the men's & women's teams playing games that day. It's the day before the Bama game.

[whosyourdawgy]

Little surprised Dunlap was first one transferred. I like the kid and think he can shoot. We just won't win many games with a 6 foot shooting guard in the lineup. But I would much rather have him on the roster than Ndoye. Please let Howland find us one more to rid the roster of non SEC talent. Fallou was good for 3 fouls in 3 minutes and not much else. He has height and thats it. I would love to add a fundamentally sound Euro post player, whoever that may be that is being thrown around. Damn, I'm just excited to see what Howland and staff will do with the next recruiting class with an entire year to recruit them.

[Madisonmd]

Zuppardo thought to be back up at 5 due to his inability to guard a 4. Black and Ndoye could be looking at the waiver wire.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Zuppardo thought to be back up at 5 due to his inability to guard a 4. Black and Ndoye could be looking at the waiver wire.

Only problem with that is Zuppardo doesn't have the strength to play the 5.

[Madisonmd]

Only place he can play. They are looking for him to take opposing big guy out on perimeter and hit an occasional shot . minutes will be limited .

[Coach34]

Only place he can play. They are looking for him to take opposing big guy out on perimeter and hit an occasional shot . minutes will be limited .

We sure do already know alot about the guy who had ACL surgery and isnt even cleared to play yet

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Only place he can play. They are looking for him to take opposing big guy out on perimeter and hit an occasional shot . minutes will be limited .

I agree on the limited minutes.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I agree on the limited minutes.

I get the feeling from listening to Howland that he probably won't even try to get Zuppardo another year back after this one- he'd rather just fill it with a better freshman in 2016. That's just how it sounds to me anyway.

[MabenMaroon]

Hey folks, before you get all gung ho about Coach Howland cutting this guy or that guy from the team, please keep in mind that Coach Howland has a well earned reputation for developing players and for having a keen eye for potential. Also both Coaches Zeigler and McKray are well known for their development of talent.
It could well be that they see something far above and beyond what we were able to see with Oliver Black, Fallou Ndoye and Travis Daniels. He has already said in one interview that Ndoye runs the floor real well and that is rare for big men. He has also said thatboth Black and Daniels just need to work on their hand skills. I have a strong feeling that our basketball coaching staff has the ability to teach the necessary skills to these players and the others already on the squad that will develop them into contributors or even better than that ball players. Coach Ray sure as hell didn't have a clue on how to develop his players but was damned good at getting them injured. Coach Ray obviously didn't see the potential in Fred Thomas but Coach Howland sounds excited with his potential. So maybe he is seeing something in these players that a lot of y'all are considering culls. Who knows, with the current coaching staff's tutelage they develop into solid SEC players or beyond. If there is potential there with any of them, I am sure that Coach Howland recognizes it and will get the max out of them.
One thing that is probably not very productive for the program, is all of this discussion of who should be cut or culled, especially on a free message board that can be easily read by any one of them. I for one am going to fully defer any and all judgement of existing team members to our new coaching staff.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I understand your thinking but Coach Howland himself said they're still looking to add more talent to the roster. To do that they'll have to let a current player go. It's the facts of college sports. We're not doing anything that the coaching staff isn't doing. I do try not to name names of guys who aren't going to be here until the school makes it official. Like Maurice.

[Coach34]

2 things are very obvious:

1. Our coaches realize this years team could be pretty good
2. Our coaches realize we need to add more talent.

They lower level guys are going to get run off. Dunlap wont be the last one

[MabenMaroon]

I understand your thinking but Coach Howland himself said they're still looking to add more talent to the roster. To do that they'll have to let a current player go. It's the facts of college sports. We're not doing anything that the coaching staff isn't doing. I do try not to name names of guys who aren't going to be here until the school makes it official. Like Maurice.

I understand that aspect and am not against us cutting folks loose when better talent is available. And I have no personal preferences or emotional attachments to any of them at all. ( got over that a long time ago when free agency took over the pro sports teams I follow ). Just would hate for us to be bantering around a name (s) of someone that Coach Howland might think has potential he likes or wants to work with. Case in point is Maurice, that was a surprise to many on this and other boards. That was the primary thought of my wordy diatribe.

[whosyourdawgy]

Maurice wasn't a surprise to a ton of folks. He's a 2 guard and he's 6 foot tall and doesn't have a 45 inch vertical like someone else we know. He said nice things about Maurice too. But he's gonna improve this team for next season w Malik. And has said that he will do what it takes to make us better. Ndoye by all accounts is a great young man. He's just not nor ever will be SEC caliber big man. If one of these others in discussions above wants to come to MSU, Ndoye will not be here next season. I have not heard the Oliver Black talk. I personally actually see potential with him. Tremendous athlete and has defensive abilities we could definitely use. I hope that talk is just that. But again if Howland can get another big that he thinks is better, I trust what Howland does. I personally liked Dunlap and wish he'd of had more of a chance to show what he could do. I hope he shows out wherever he ends up. Bottom line is this. Talent was lacking on our team outside of our returning seniors. Howland and co with help from Ray too mind you (w Q and Strugg and Malik too) and in a matter of 2 months this team is much better and whatever they decide is best, I won't question it one bit.