Apparently De'Runnya IS playing BBall all season

[bulldawg28]

Like I said, with offers like he had in football...basketball coaches weren't looking to waste a scholly on a guy that they'd likely lose to football. Doesn't mean he sucked at bball. And besides, just the fact that MSU and UAB offered bball means he is a better prospect than Cunninghamm. Cunningham is a glorified church league player

I laughed hard after reading this. Well played sir.

[MSUDawg4Life]

Like I said, with offers like he had in football...basketball coaches weren't looking to waste a scholly on a guy that they'd likely lose to football. Doesn't mean he sucked at bball. And besides, just the fact that MSU and UAB offered bball means he is a better prospect than Cunninghamm. Cunningham is a glorified church league player

Right. The guy was Mr. Basketball in Alabama. I'm quite sure that award doesn't go to somebody who can't play.

[Schultzy]

A true freshman coming into SEC hoops, not having picked up a basketball in months, that's a difficult transition. I would be surprised if he could play well under those circumstances.

Not impossible, but much harder than people realize. It's a different kind of conditioning too.

[msstate7]

Per Paul Jones:

" Bear played hoops his entire hs career and had one offer (UAB) and that was it. But he had football offers from MSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Louisville, etc."

Uab beat North Carolina this season. Just saying...

[Schultzy]

Right. The guy was Mr. Basketball in Alabama. I'm quite sure that award doesn't go to somebody who can't play.

Not trying to diminish it but don't they have seven mr. Basketballs in Alabama? One for each classification I think.

You still have to be really good to achieve that I'm sure.

[Coach34]

Like I said, with offers like he had in football...basketball coaches weren't looking to waste a scholly on a guy that they'd likely lose to football.

Basketball players get offers their Soph and Jr years- it wasnt established that DeRunnya was even considering college football until after basketball was over his Jr year

[mic]

This is starting to turn into a Hud type post and Thread..
First off if Bear plays fine. He will help the team with his depth and might even contribute in a bigger role down the stretch.
He isn't going to come in and play major minutes and score in double figures from the start.
And for the person who said he could learn the system in 30 minutes your an idiot. He couldn't even learn Stands X and O's in 30 minutes.
Honestly I want Bear working individual workouts right now with Dak and the QB's.
Let his body heal if it needs to.
And get ready for spring drills.
This is going to be a HUGE spring for our WR core to get on the same page with our Qb and take the next step with another year under Gonzo..

[Coach34]

I just think it's funny they think basketball coaches backed off a guy because of football when he never even played before his Sr season. The reason he played football was because nobody was offering him in basketball.

[Dawg61]

Not trying to diminish it but don't they have seven mr. Basketballs in Alabama? One for each classification I think.

You still have to be really good to achieve that I'm sure.

No they have only one Mr. Basketball for the entire state. DeRunnya "Bear" Wilson won that award last year. I'm sure it helped that he won 3 consecutive 5A State Titles but the fact remains that of every single HS basketball player in the entire state of Alabama Wilson was voted the best of all of them. Since 1986 26 of the 28 winners have played D1 college basketball. 19 of the 28 have played in the SEC and 3 have been drafted by the NBA. It's a big ****ing deal to win that award. MSU has the last two winners in Sword and Bear. I like this trend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Mr._Basketball

[MSUDawg4Life]

Hmmm. The other two Alabama Mr. Basketball winners to attend Mississippi State are Daryl Wilson and Craig Sword.

I guess some folks think they couldn't/can't play either.

[EAVdog]

He's a hell of an athlete, so by SEC Basketball standards he's probably better than half the players in the league. Receivers/Tight Ends have an easy transition to and from Basketball. It'll probably benefit his ball handling skills.

[fishwater99]

Hmmm. The other two Alabama Mr. Basketball winners to attend Mississippi State are Daryl Wilson and Craig Sword.

I guess some folks think they couldn't/can't play either.

Ouch...

[Coach34]

Craig Sword was a 4-star with offers from all over
Darryl Wilson was Alabama's all-time HS leading scorer


Nobody ever doubted these two guys

[whosyourdawgy]

Super D didnt have many offers because he was a prop 48 casualty. Williams rolled the dice on him. Did Craig Sword have a ton of offers? I don't remember.

[Dawg61]

Sword held offers from Bama, Auburn and Georgia and would have been more if he hadn't committed to State for the longest time. C34 is right that Bear's size hurt his interest in that he excels down low but he's only 6'5. My argument is that he's not a slow big guy with limited coordination. He's quick, runs the floor better than guards, tough, strong and can jump out the gym. Use him as a hybrid type player or VCU type player and he can create havoc. He doesn't have to be leaned on to create offense. He will create his own offense by cleaning up on offensive rebounds or simply beating his man down the floor. With Bear's speed MSU becomes more effective in an up-tempo style. Slow the ball down and make it half-court and he loses that advantage.