EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Mississippi State Bulldogs (2001: 18-13)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

Rick Stansbury has grown weary of coming close.

In two of his first three seasons as the Mississippi State head coach, the Bulldogs have beaten on the door of the NCAA Tournament. But they've yet to kick it in.

"Naturally, you look back over the last three years, and there's two of those three years we'd like to have made the NCAA Tournament," said Stansbury, whose Bulldogs lost to eventual NIT tournament champion Tulsa in a quarterfinal in Starkville a year ago.

Even more difficult for Stansbury to swallow was that Mississippi State entered postseason competition last season with a No. 40 RPI, earning the Bulldogs the sobering distinction of owning the highest RPI of any school not selected to the NCAA Tournament.

Never mind that this will be one of Stansbury's younger teams, a roster that includes eight freshmen and sophomores. From a chemistry standpoint, overall basketball skill and ability to defend in the post, Stansbury thinks the Bulldogs have a chance to be better than a year ago.

And that was a team he thinks could have easily won 22 or 23 games and been a factor in the NCAA Tournament. But the Bulldogs simply failed to close the deal in two or three key games during the regular season.

Backcourt

The overriding key will be the development of junior point guard Derrick Zimmerman (4.6 ppg, 2.9 apg, 2.7 rpg). Gone is two-year starter Antonio Jackson.

The Bulldogs, who didn't sign any other point guards during the offseason, need for the 6-2 Zimmerman to continue on the same track he was on during their NIT run last season. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists during those three games. He also shot 59 percent from the field.

Paramount for Zimmerman is not allowing his confidence to wane. That was a problem a year ago. But he's a great athlete (40-inch vertical leap) and plays suffocating on-the-ball defense.

The most likely backup to Zimmerman is 6-3 sophomore Roy Goffer (2.0 ppg, 1.1 apg, .353 3PT). The 23-year-old Goffer served in the Israeli army for three years before enrolling at MSU. He started the final seven games at shooting guard last season, but will probably be needed more at the point this season. He can play both positions.

One returning senior perimeter player is 6-5 Michael Gholar, who averaged 2.9 points and 3.7 rebounds last season. Gholar struggled through injuries a year ago and shot just .291 from the field and .204 from three-point range.

Someone else to watch on the wing is 6-5 sophomore Ontario Harper (0.8 ppg), who Stansbury thinks can be one of the surprises this season. Stansbury is also hoping to get 6-2 sophomore guard Timmy Bowers a few more looks this season. Bowers (2.5 ppg, .240 3PT) has added strength during the off-season.

Freshman Winsome Frazier may wind up being the best of the Bulldogs' wing players. A dynamic athlete, the 6-4 Frazier averaged 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds last season while playing for Northwestern High School in Miami, Fla. He's a complete player who will pay dividends on both ends of the court.

Frontcourt

Mario Austin, a 6-9 sophomore, has All-SEC potential after showing it in spurts last season. The former McDonald's High School All-American averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and shot .478 from the field. He's an extremely effective scorer from 12 feet in and has an array of moves.

Austin has also lost some of his baby fat and will move to his natural position of power forward this season. Austin, unable to attend summer school last year, blew up to 280 pounds before he entered Mississippi State, and that slowed his progress.

Marckell Patterson, a 6-5 senior, is the Bulldogs' leading returning scorer. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists last season in a swingman's role.

Patterson led MSU a year ago with 21 double-digit scoring games. The Bulldogs struggled from the perimeter at times last season. Stansbury is counting on Patterson to make people pay from out there this season. The same goes for junior college transfer Michal Ignerski, a 6-9 junior who comes to MSU from Eastern Oklahoma State College.

Originally from Poland, Ignerski shot 47 percent from three-point range last season, while averaging 17.3 points. He will be a tough match-up for teams at power forward, but can also step out and play on the wing.

On the inside, Stansbury went out and signed a pair of 7-footers. One of those, 7-1 freshman Marcus Campbell of Albany, Ga., will contend right away for the starting center position. Having Campbell in the fold allows Mississippi State to move Austin to power forward. Departed senior Tang Hamilton was the starter there last season.

Clemson and Georgia both wanted Campbell, rated among the Top 50 high school prospects, but Stansbury was able to win the recruiting battle. The left-handed Campbell is nimble for a big man and equally skilled as a shot-blocker.

He showed his promise in late July in the Tennessee-Georgia High School All-Star game in Chattanooga, Tenn., playing against a team loaded with SEC signees, Campbell scored 23 points, 17 in the first half, and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds.

Stansbury also signed 7-2 freshman Wesley Holmes of Gallatin, Tenn., but Holmes is a redshirt candidate.

The odds-on favorite to win the center job is 6-9 sophomore Lincoln Smith, who redshirted last season after playing as a freshman. At one time, Smith weighed more than 300 pounds after playing high school football. But he's now down to 270, and while still raw as a basketball player, should make an impact this season.

Last year's starter at center, Robert Jackson, disagreed with Stansbury as to what his role should be in the offense and left the team. Jackson, who quit toward the end of last season, is transferring to Marquette.

Bottom line

This Mississippi State team needs to find an identity, something the last couple never did.

There's plenty of potential with the young players, and Stansbury just keeps bringing talented prospects into the program. But developing that talent will be critical.

The best-case scenario is that Zimmerman plays with great confidence all season and develops into a prime leader and that Austin explodes into one of the top power forwards in the conference. He certainly has the ability.

Depth in the backcourt is a concern, not to mention a lack of proven players who can consistently make big jump shots. Is it too much to ask Ignerski and Frazier to be those guys this season?

Stansbury, whose contract is up after this season, needs to get this club over that proverbial hump. The inexperience will show early, but talent should prevail to again put the Bulldogs in position for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Whether this is the year they finally kick the door in remains to be seen. Competition is awfully tough in the SEC's Western Division.