MS State thoughts for 2021-22

[Jmsdawg]

Good morning everyone,
Unfortunately due to some obligations my username implies I’ve been otherwise occupied for the last couple of months. However I’m hopeful to be back on a more regular schedule now.
Coach McCray- Penson had a very good resume and results from her stint at ODU. I’m still hopeful she can turn things around and was very excited when she was hired. Unfortunately at this point I don’t see anything on or off the court to substantiate that hope. It is very disheartening how fast this has gone south.
However I don’t see the immediate benefit of her leaving and trying to bring in another coach at this time. Part of the hire last season was getting someone that could hold together what appeared to be a very talented team. That is no longer a hiring factor if we went a different direction now. Yes, there were signs of substantial issues during Coach Schaefer’s final season and I think some players would have been gone if he had remained the coach. He even addressed the issues multiple times in press conferences and suspended players similar to Coach McCray-Penson. The key difference is that he still managed to do very well. Now he goes to Texas and does well there in his first year. She takes a preseason top five team and everything completely falls apart. Honestly I can’t think of a single positive from the season.
As I said above, I wish her much success because her immediate success reflects Mississippi State’s success. There just seems to be a bevy of excuses from COVID to player attitude. Well this coming year she will have her players. I hope it translates to wins on the court. There is nothing I’d love more.

Mildog, missed you, glad you are back.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Thanks for the feedback. I think we all hope things get better. I said last spring before the hire I was rooting for Harris but agree that McCray-Penson had a good resume and background. I was optimistic and hopeful but my attitude went south pretty quickly and I did not defend what was clearly a terrible season for the team. COVID and player attitudes likely didn't help but she holds responsibility for taking a team that was thought to be top 10ish and failed to make the tournament. The subsequent exodus lets me know there were significant issues.

One year is way too short of time to give anyone and I would say the same thing about year 2 unless there is a complete insurrection or gross misconduct.

My posts have referenced my lack of faith in our AD and see this as an example of another hire that seemed to look good on paper (Moorhead) but in reality worked out to be a terrible fit. NMP still can turn things around but the program is now in worse shape than when Vic arrived. I am less than a fan of Cohen and was confused at his hire from the start. He has shown little to give me hope he's the right man for the job.

I personally think once she gets players who want to play for her and the exodus actually finish. Things my swing in more of a positive direction. She deserves a lot of blame for the horrible season. But looking at how everyone just jumped ship. She did not have the players respect or best interest.

 

[MSUrealist]

Trying to figure out what the MSU roster status is for 2021-22. There are the 4 freshmen recruits, the 3 Hayes sisters, 2 more with the transfers from Tulane and Temple, and 3 returning starters at the moment. That's 12 players without including the German player Kohl and then Caterrion Thompson. At the moment I think that gives only 2 or possibly 3 players over 6'. Seems like there must be a plan to add at least one more big to the roster for next year.

 

[militarydog]

Trying to figure out what the MSU roster status is for 2021-22. There are the 4 freshmen recruits, the 3 Hayes sisters, 2 more with the transfers from Tulane and Temple, and 3 returning starters at the moment. That's 12 players without including the German player Kohl and then Caterrion Thompson. At the moment I think that gives only 2 or possibly 3 players over 6'. Seems like there must be a plan to add at least one more big to the roster for next year.

I agree. Prior to leaving Coach Schaefer was bringing in L Ebo and D Gaston. Both were tall but also have size. He always maintained that he hoped P Taylor would eventually take over down low. When she had to quit due to injury that really impacted his plans. Mississippi State still hasn’t addressed this problem. They have to get a big body for down low that can push for starter minutes immediately.

 

[militarydog]

Coach McCray-Penson just hired Wes Brooks from Michigan and Tamisha Augustin from Arizona. Anyone have any insight on these hires?

 

[Nash83]

Coach McCray-Penson just hired Wes Brooks from Michigan and Tamisha Augustin from Arizona. Anyone have any insight on these hires?

Good P5 hires!

McCray-Penson hires two Power 5 assistants to fill coaching posts

With the parting of ways of Scepter Brownlee last week and the loss of recruiting coordinator Brittany Young to the head coaching position at Austin Peay, McCray-Penson has filled both spots. She got her assistant this week in the form Michigan’s Wes Brooks and also landed Arizona assistant...

247sports.com

 

[cancontent]

That's the second AC from Michigan to move on this season. Toyelle Wilson, their post coach is now the HC at SMU.

 

[azfan]

Coach McCray-Penson just hired Wes Brooks from Michigan and Tamisha Augustin from Arizona. Anyone have any insight on these hires?

Assistant coach Tamisha Augustin leaving Arizona for Mississippi State

Arizona Wildcats assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Tamisha Augustin is leaving to become the new recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State, according to 247Sports Robbie Faulk and confirmed...

www.azdesertswarm.com

 

[militarydog]

Here is the press release from Mississippi State.

McCray-Penson Announces Staff Addition Of Tamisha Augustin - Mississippi State

Ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, Mississippi State women's basketball head coach Nikki McCray-Penson announced the hiring of Tamisha Augustin as assistant coac...

hailstate.com

 

[SimpleDawg]

Nikki McCray Penson will not succeed in the SEC.

Mulkey, Neighbors, Blair, Harper, Taylor, and Dawn will smoke us next year.

Coach Yo, Elzy, and Pingeton might have arguably better rosters. Our roster is weak sauce past Taylor, Hayes, Jackson, and Carter.

That's 9 teams. We'll beat Auburn, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Florida. That's about it. Let's be realistic now. SEC is gonna be insane next year and a few coaches are gonna lose their jobs. Since 3 coaches got fired this year I expect Curry, Neubauer, and McCray to be the 3 culprits next year.

 

[DeeHusky]

Nikki McCray Penson will not succeed in the SEC.

Mulkey, Neighbors, Blair, Harper, Taylor, and Dawn will smoke us next year.

Coach Yo, Elzy, and Pingeton might have arguably better rosters. Our roster is weak sauce past Taylor, Hayes, Jackson, and Carter.

That's 9 teams. We'll beat Auburn, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Florida. That's about it. Let's be realistic now. SEC is gonna be insane next year and a few coaches are gonna lose their jobs. Since 3 coaches got fired this year I expect Curry, Neubauer, and McCray to be the 3 culprits next year.

Still at it huh? Lol

 

[SECbbfan24]

Mulkey will smoke us next year.

 

[TC22]

The SEC is going to be insane but it’s so much fun. I‘m a SC fan and glad we have the talent we have because we are sure going to need it. Im just going to enjoy it while I can.

 

[militarydog]

The SEC is going to be insane but it’s so much fun. I‘m a SC fan and glad we have the talent we have because we are sure going to need it. Im just going to enjoy it while I can.

“I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.”
I can relate to that statement.

 

[MSUrealist]

Nikki McCray Penson will not succeed in the SEC.

Mulkey, Neighbors, Blair, Harper, Taylor, and Dawn will smoke us next year.

Coach Yo, Elzy, and Pingeton might have arguably better rosters. Our roster is weak sauce past Taylor, Hayes, Jackson, and Carter.

That's 9 teams. We'll beat Auburn, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Florida. That's about it. Let's be realistic now. SEC is gonna be insane next year and a few coaches are gonna lose their jobs. Since 3 coaches got fired this year I expect Curry, Neubauer, and McCray to be the 3 culprits next year.

This is a perplexing comment. When one looks at the newcomers vs. those who transferred then it looks like the roster has been improved....and yet so many people were adamant that last year's roster was one of the best in the SEC or even the nation. Something doesn't compute.

 

[SimpleDawg]

This is a perplexing comment. When one looks at the newcomers vs. those who transferred then it looks like the roster has been improved....and yet so many people were adamant that last year's roster was one of the best in the SEC or even the nation. Something doesn't compute.

6 players left, probably one more. Roster is worse. Not seeing what doesn't compute.

Who does the rest of the nation care about on our team next year besides Hayes, Jackson, Carter and Taylor?

 

[TC22]

Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss and Kentucky and South Carolina have rosters that can compete for a Conference Chamionship. I would add MSU to that. Everybody else needs To fill holes in their roster to compete. Gonna be interesting, that’s for sure.

 

[SCspur]

Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss and Kentucky and South Carolina have rosters that can compete for a Conference Chamionship. I would add MSU to that. Everybody else needs To fill holes in their roster to compete. Gonna be interesting, that’s for sure.

Less so on Missouri and Kentucky more on Georgia and maybe Tennessee to be next after SC. If Mulkey indeed lands at LSU I could see her bringing a coupe of her players and landing some transfers as well. A&M needs a center. Arkansas has pieces but still no size. I’m not sold on Miss St yet. I’ll have to see what they do this season. Honestly I think SC could go 16-0. The team went 14-2 this year and could’ve even been undefeated. With the talent on board next year I think our second unit will be the ones doing a lot of damage in the SEC.

 

[Jmsdawg]

This is a perplexing comment. When one looks at the newcomers vs. those who transferred then it looks like the roster has been improved....and yet so many people were adamant that last year's roster was one of the best in the SEC or even the nation. Something doesn't compute.

Simple, it is not the players that are the concern, it is the coaching! Holly Warwick had great talent but still did not win as many games as the talent warranted and it got worse each year. I fear NMP may do the same at MSST, I realize last year was different but it was a disaster. I do have hopes NMP and staff will produce next year, if so I think MSST season could be much better next year. Fingers crossed but NMP has to produce next year!

 

[militarydog]

6 players left, probably one more. Roster is worse. Not seeing what doesn't compute.

Who does the rest of the nation care about on our team next year besides Hayes, Jackson, Carter and Taylor?

I’m not ready to declare it a complete disaster yet but I’m leaning more towards this not working out. Honestly the first sign of concern I saw was the South Florida game when J Mingo-Young completely lost her cool right before half. However in prepping for this comment I looked back at the schedule to find where everything completely fell apart and saw the numerous layoffs due to games getting cancelled and such. I think that added to the frustration for me. In fairness to Coach McCray-Penson there were some holes, especially regarding lack of size down low and problems with attitudes the season before she arrived.
In contrast she has done very well in the offseason to date. She vastly upgraded her staff and the addition of A Hayes was a homerun. A Jones and J Jordan were also key. If nobody else leaves and she can get some size then I’m willing to hold on predicting there is no successful path forward. Her previous body of work supports she can do it.

 

[SimpleDawg]

I’m not ready to declare it a complete disaster yet but I’m leaning more towards this not working out. Honestly the first sign of concern I saw was the South Florida game when J Mingo-Young completely lost her cool right before half. However in prepping for this comment I looked back at the schedule to find where everything completely fell apart and saw the numerous layoffs due to games getting cancelled and such. I think that added to the frustration for me. In fairness to Coach McCray-Penson there were some holes, especially regarding lack of size down low and problems with attitudes the season before she arrived.
In contrast she has done very well in the offseason to date. She vastly upgraded her staff and the addition of A Hayes was a homerun. A Jones and J Jordan were also key. If nobody else leaves and she can get some size then I’m willing to hold on predicting there is no successful path forward. Her previous body of work supports she can do it.

Only thing we agree with is that it's not gonna work out.


Everyone had layoffs and dealt with Covid.
Just because she didn't get a situation that was perfect doesn't mean it wasn't a great situation she walked into, and shouldn't have produced right away.
Her body of work consists of Old Dominion. What is so special about what she did at such a weak conference that inspires confidence?
Jordan and Jones are nothing special. She didn't vastly upgrade her staff, Augustin is better than Brownlee tho. So?


If we're better next year, it's gonna be only slightly. Nothing dramatic. With a stronger SEC, it'll only be worse for her. Guess what, in the SEC there are lots of better coaches than Nikki McCray Penson.... not many wins on that schedule.

 

[MSUrealist]

6 players left, probably one more. Roster is worse. Not seeing what doesn't compute.

Who does the rest of the nation care about on our team next year besides Hayes, Jackson, Carter and Taylor?

6 players left. Cooks, Morris and Wiggins combined to contribute 10.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg per game, so primarily we are talking about MSU needing to replace Hayes, Matharu and Mingo-Young. The incoming Hayes sisters alone are a pretty good match for those three, then you have Jerkaila Jordan and Ashley Jones also coming in as transfers and they should be solid contributors. Plus there are the 4 players in the signing class. And while you say an additional player may transfer, keep in mind that one or two additional players may sign. The bottom line is that as things stand at the moment, MSU has upgraded their roster, not gotten weaker. It feels like you just hadn't posted anything negative about MSU in a while so you were grasping for straws with your post about the roster getting worse.

2021-22 Women's Basketball Roster - Mississippi State

The official 2021-22 Women's Basketball Roster for the Mississippi State Bulldogs

hailstate.com

 

[SimpleDawg]

6 players left. Cooks, Morris and Wiggins combined to contribute 10.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg per game, so primarily we are talking about MSU needing to replace Hayes, Matharu and Mingo-Young. The incoming Hayes sisters alone are a pretty good match for those three, then you have Jerkaila Jordan and Ashley Jones also coming in as transfers and they should be solid contributors. Plus there are the 4 players in the signing class. And while you say an additional player may transfer, keep in mind that one or two additional players may sign. The bottom line is that as things stand at the moment, MSU has upgraded their roster, not gotten weaker. It feels like you just hadn't posted anything negative about MSU in a while so you were grasping for straws with your post about the roster getting worse.

2021-22 Women's Basketball Roster - Mississippi State

The official 2021-22 Women's Basketball Roster for the Mississippi State Bulldogs

hailstate.com

You're gonna be singing another song when Jordan and Jones and Hayes turn out to be this year's Cooks, Mingo, and Wiggins.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

You're gonna be singing another song when Jordan and Jones and Hayes turn out to be this year's Cooks, Mingo, and Wiggins.

I tend to agree any sort of rebuild just got tougher and I don't really see the additions we have being enough to get us back to being competitive with the top of the league. I still maintain we've not seen the last of the defections of the 20-21 roster. It will not be a fast or easy climb to get back in the top third of the league and may never happen under NMP. Kim will have LSU in the top 2 or 3 very soon. It's a zero sum game with these as someone moves up, someone has to move down. Auburn, Vandy, LSU all made changes for the future. There isn't any way to know if they will work out of course and all were necessary ones but we will need to show drastic improvement to stay competitive.

 

[SimpleDawg]

I tend to agree any sort of rebuild just got tougher and I don't really see the additions we have being enough to get us back to being competitive with the top of the league. I still maintain we've not seen the last of the defections of the 20-21 roster. It will not be a fast or easy climb to get back in the top third of the league and may never happen under NMP. Kim will have LSU in the top 2 or 3 very soon. It's a zero sum game with these as someone moves up, someone has to move down. Auburn, Vandy, LSU all made changes for the future. There isn't any way to know if they will work out of course and all were necessary ones but we will need to show drastic improvement to stay competitive.

Yeah.... can't see how anyone can reason our roster is better than last year. By any significant difference.

NMP is really up against an SEC that's getting stronger by the day. Reminds me when the SEC west became stacked in the early 00s in football, and Jackie Sherrill became obsolete and forced into retirement.