Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#17 Mississippi State Bulldogs

SEC

2003-04: 26-4, 14-2, 1^st

2003-04 postseason: NCAA 2^nd Round

By Joel Welser

The return of Lawrence Roberts has Bulldog fans expecting another regular season SEC championship and much, much more.  After an incredible season that ended prematurely with a second round loss to Xavier in the NCAA Tournament, Mississippi State is hungry to take the next step in Saint Louis. 

Who’s Out: The loss of starting point guard Timmy Bowers is huge.  Bowers averaged 15.0 points and 4.8 assists his senior season.  The ball will be in the hands of returning sophomore Gary Ervin this year.  Ervin is a dynamic and talented individual, but isn’t likely to put up the numbers or provide the leadership that Bowers was able to as a senior.  The Bulldogs lose another starter in Branden Vincent.  The 6-8 forward averaged 7.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during his senior campaign and will likely be replaced by Marcus Campbell.  Center Lincoln Smith didn’t see much action during his career at Mississippi State, but was another big body for head coach Rick Stansbury.  Walk-on Dennis Buse has also run out of eligibility. 

Who’s In: None of the newcomers need to start with Gary Ervin at the point, Winsome Frazier and Shane Power on the wings and Lawrence Roberts and Marcus Campbell up front.  That will allow the fresh faces to develop into the system.  Forward Walter Sharpe will probably be competing for quite a few minutes though.  Sharpe is a wonderful talent who is expected to have a great career in Starkville.  Charles Rhodes is another power forward who should see some time off the bench.  He averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds as a senior in high school.  Small forward Jerrell Houston is a fine athlete and still has some room to improve.  Junior college transfer Jamall Edmondson will see plenty of minutes backing up Gary Ervin at the point.  Ontario Harper did not play last year due to a knee injury.  In 2002-2003 he started all 31 games for the Bulldogs.  If he’s back in form, then he’ll get the chance to crack the starting five again this year.

Who to Watch: Lawrence Roberts is an early favorite for the Wooden Award, but there is little doubt that he’ll put up similar numbers to his 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds last year.  The key for Mississippi State is Gary Ervin.  The sophomore point guard has to replace Timmy Bowers.  Ervin played in all 30 games last year as a freshman, averaging 5.4 points and 2.2 assists.  Ervin has some experience, but it remains to be seen if he can consistently run the show all game long, day in and day out.  The 5-11, 170 pound Brooklyn product has an explosive move to the basket, which should create some passing lanes to the big guys under the basket.  He’s a decent scorer, but is best suited creating opportunities for his teammates, especially this year with four seniors expected to start around him. 

Projected Conference Rank: Gary Ervin will be a great player, but there will be some growing pains during his first year starting.  Luckily there is a lot of other senior leadership on the team, so Ervin won’t have to be that guy quite yet.  By March everything should come together and the Bulldogs will be looking to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.  A 3^rd place finish in the SEC will give Mississippi State enough momentum to at least advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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