Tonight MSU plays South Carolina in Columbia. That got me remembering all the great times I had in college going to road basketball games. I never went to one in Columbia, but you get the drift.

One thing road basketball games will teach you: the Hump is a really nice arena. Went up to the Tad Pad several times, and that place is beyond awful. It leaks, there is no leg room. I’m not just saying it because it’s Ole Miss, it really is bad.

The Coleman Coliseum is one of the worst venues I’ve ever been to. It’s basically an airplane hanger, hard to get an unobstructed seat.

Went to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Had a good time in Red Stick, and the halftime show was cool, but the arena leaves a lot to be desired.

Went to Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. That is a nice place, although it is very unusual. We sat way high up and couldn’t see much. So it’s nice, but the seating has nothing on the Hump.

And I went to Beard-Eaves several times. Their wooden seats left your butt numb after 10 minutes. But Auburn’s new arena does beat the Hump, but what do you expect with $100 million?

It’s a lot of fun to make a road trip in college to watch the Bulldogs play. And in the winter months there’s really no reason not to if you’ve got the funds. I’m sure some die-hards made the trip to Columbia, and given the distance and turmoil around the team, they should be given a medal.

@dirty_panda

Now that the grills in the Left Field Lounge have been fired up, we’re going to talk about how the MSU baseball team has fared so far.

The pitching as expected has been very good. How good? Luis Pollorena has spent more time as a pinch runner than he has as a pitcher this year and Nick Routt has an ERA of 5.68, and yet the team ERA is 1.88. The biggest thing that the pitching staff needs to work on right now is their fielding- as they have committed half of the teams six errors. Of course, I can live with their fielding if they keep their ERA below 2.00, and it should be noted that on one of the errors, the runner was actually thrown out trying to take third base. Fans on the message boards are even suggesting keeping the rotation of piggybacking starters on into the SEC season.

What to make of the starters? Chris Stratton has been the best pitcher all -around- even though it has been essentially in a long relief role. It’s too tempting to me to not make him a starter- especially with the depth of the MSU bullpen. Routt has struggled, but he has also won many critical games for MSU over his career- most notably the regional championship game in Atlanta vs. Georgia Tech. He is also left handed, and he was also much better in his second outing vs. Kansas. The third spot is interesting- Kendall Graveman had a very solid outing vs. Washington State and then had an outing vs. Mississippi Valley State where his numbers were a little skewed by some poor defensive play by some players that were not regulars. You have Ben Bracewell who has pitched well, but is coming off of an injury and has shown signs of fatigue by the fourth-fifth inning. That may be something that MSU can live with on a Sunday, however. To me, Evan Mitchell has been the best. He has taken some very positive strides with his game and is a rather underrated player nationally. There is no doubting his stuff, and he can be dominating at times- and I believe he is just now scratching the surface of what he can become- which is a potential All-SEC starter.

Mitch Slauter has been very solid at catcher- as advertised, but Nic Amirrati struggled defensively which means that Hunter Renfroe is probably the clear cut number two catcher, and it also means that Slauter will have to carry the bulk of the starts- which is a concern because of the demands of the catcher position physically. Wes Rea has already become a fan favorite and has drawn good reviews about his defense. I think as time goes on this season, more and more fans are going to realize what a huge loss Rea was last year when he was injured. As it stands, Rea is hitting .360 and has a walk-off double to his credit. Adam Frazier has been solid hitting .345, and Daryl Norris has made some improvements offensively, closing his stance and he is also hitting .345. Matthew Britton had a rough debut at shortstop defensively, but has settled down and has been very solid to start his career and appears to have won the job.

MSU may very well have the most athletic outfield in the SEC. It’s a very unique group in that there are five guys who are all capable of playing any position in the outfield. CT Bradford is the leader- making several highlight reel catches in center field while hitting .310. Brent Brownlee is the veteran of the group and while he is hitting only .261 at this time, he has also saved several runs and hits with his defense. Hunter Renfroe is possibly the most gifted player on the MSU team and he has made a lot of strides since his freshman year and after hitting .154 has now started out hitting .313. Brandon Woodruff isn?t far behind Hunter in the talent category, and the former fifth round pick of the Rangers from Wheeler, Ms. has impressed with his natural swing but has only one hit in limited at bats. And finally, you have Taylor Stark who is the fastest player on the team, and is unfortunately off to a slow start at the plate.

Finally, I want to talk about two newcomers to the MSU program- Trey Porter and Will Cox. Porter is an academic walk-on who had a 3.9 GPA at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College after playing high school at East Central near Hurley, Ms. All Trey has done is lock down the DH spot and is leading the team in home runs (2), RBIs (5), and batting average (.409). His left handed bat gives the lineup a totally different dynamic that prevents other teams from matching up against MSU easily. Will Cox has long been one of my favorite recruits. From Amory, he grew up a MSU fan and wanted to play for the Bulldogs. He was only topping out at 85 MPH on his fastball and was told to increase his velocity. After putting in a lot of hard work, he got his fastball up to 89 MPH, and Butch Thompson and MSU decided to take a chance on him- it was a calculated risk as Will was one of the only juniors on the All-State team, is 6?4? with a projectable frame and he obviously has a great work ethic. However, of MSU’s pitching recruits last year- which included fifth rounder Woodruff, twelfth round pick Jacob Lindgren and former Alabama pitcher of the year Trevor Fitts, Cox was one of the least heralded. On Sunday Will Cox made his MSU debut- earning his first start ahead of his much more highly recruited teammates and pitched seven innings allowing three hits while striking out eight batters and walking none. And this is just the beginning for Will.

Again, I am thrilled to be here and Go Dogs!

We are proud to announce a new member to our writing team – Todd4State. If that name sounds familiar it’s because he uses the same name while posting on Six Pack Speak.

Todd4State is a graduate of Mississippi State, class of 2000. He is a very knowledgeable sports fan, especially about baseball. His father played for the Diamond Dawgs from 1973-76 and his uncle played major league baseball for the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals.

We are glad to have Todd4State on our team at Maroon and White Nation, and we know you will enjoy his posts..

Arnett Moultrie had some interesting comments today. In fact, he had some disturbing comments. I would say ‘shocking’, but that would mean I was shocked this type of attitude was part of the Mississippi State basketball team.

Read here for the comments made by Moultrie.

There’s no inner drive for this team?

Everyone has their own agendas??

He can’t turn to anyone on the team for leadership???

He has to turn to his high school coach for leadership and not coach Stansbury!!!?????

First off, he should have never made comments like this. And if I was Rick Stansbury I would bench him for Wednesday’s game for saying it. But these comments confirm what a lot of us thought about the team. They have no direction, no heart. They are lost and wandering in mediocrity, but they have great talent on the team – a complete waste.

This should be the end of the line for Rick Stansbury. I am 100% all for his firing. It has to be done. It would be nothing short of a miracle to turn this around. This is pathetic.

@mandwnation

There is a divisive name in Bulldog sports these days, and that name is Rick Stansbury. Any State fan that has ever heard of Coach34, will tell you that I’m not a fan of Stansbury, but few seem to know why. Simply put- I prefer a more authoritarian coach that commands discipline from his team and demands his players provide maximum effort. The amount of talent that teams have at Mississippi State will always fluctuate- but effort and discipline should not. That should remain a constant when wearing the maroon and white. And I havent seen that from Rick Stansbury coached teams. Over the years, the number of people that agree with me has grown tremendously. But there are still many people that support Coach Stansbury and would like to see him remain as head coach.

Coach Stansbury has done a solid job through the years as State’s head coach. He is a really good guy. As a detractor, I could go on all day about us constantly having one of the easiest schedules in the SEC (10th this season in strength of schedule), our lack of NCAA Tourney success, only 1 at-large NCAA Tourney berth the last 6 years-as well as many other things. Those have been discussed ad nauseum about Stansbury. But it is not just on the court results that are rubbing people the wrong way. Regardless of which side of the debate you are on currently, everyone has to be extremely concerned with how the program is being perceived. Too many times “perception is reality”, and our reality is pretty embarrassing right now. The national media has nothing really good to say about our program currently. In the last 2 seasons alone, we have been called a “dumpster fire” by ESPN talking head Doug Gottlieb. The Sporting News called us “the NCAA’s most dysfunctional program”. Just this week on Memphis sports radio Sonny Vaccaro called us “the most unorganized, dysfunctional good team in America”. And then Saturday morning, before an important game vs Alabama, Jay Williams on ESPN called us “heartless”. And after a very uninspiring 17 point loss Saturday- I have to agree with him.

State is once again playing Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day as we reach the end of the SEC as we sit at or near the NCAA bubble. This has become the norm lately- with us being left out most of the time. This team had much higher expectations and most people are really shocked to see Mississippi State at 6-8 in the SEC with two games left. And it’s not just State fans- it’s nationwide. Lounging on the Bubble is Mississippi State’s constant trend.

What’s even more worrysome is that other schools within the conference- Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi are turning their programs around with young teams. Those 4 basketball teams start 3 Sr’s- COMBINED. And we are currently 3-4 vs these teams while they are very young. State is likely to lose 4 starters and possibly other team members when all is said and done due to exhausted eligibility, the NBA draft, and other issues. And for a team that seems to have no depth- that is not very promising for the future.

Since 2006- year after year under Stansbury is marred by transfers, suspensions, sporadic play, weak schedules, and drama.. Dumpster fire, dysfunctional, heartless, unorganized…how much longer should this go on? Do you trust Rick Stansbury with your basketball team in 2013???

We are proud to announce a new member to our writing team – Coach 34. If that name sounds familiar it’s because he uses the same name while posting on Six Pack Speak.

Coach 34 is a graduate of Mississippi State, class of 1993. He has been a high school coach for many sports including football, basketball, baseball and powerlifting.

We are glad to have Coach 34 on our team at Maroon and White Nation, and we know you will enjoy his posts..

Hank Flick was the PA announcer for football and basketball at Mississippi State for 32 years, but was fired by Greg Byrne in April of 2009. His football presence was lukewarm, but his legendary call, “Welcome to the Hump foooor Hoops! For an evening of bas-ket-ball, MISSISSIPPI STATE STYLE!!” was a staple at MSU basketball games. He gave the players nick-names and really gave the job some personality.

Hank Flick is a class act. He would never say anything bad about Mississippi State, and he certainly wouldn’t put a curse on the basketball team (if he could). So before the hate mail comes pouring in, this is a figurative ‘curse’, not a literal one.

MSU made the 2009 NCAA Tournament…Flick was still the PA announcer. On April 1st, he is fired. Consider the seasons we’ve had since then…

2010 – After returning almost all of the ’09 team, State messes around and goes into the SEC Tournament off the bubble, outside the field of 64 (or 65, or 68, whatever). They make their way to the championship game against #1 Kentucky and have them on the ropes. And then this happens.

2011 – To start the year off, Renardo Sidney had to sit out the first nine games while finishing out a NCAA suspension. Dee Bost also had to sit out 14 games for pulling his name out of the NBA draft too late. Then the infamous incident in Hawaii led to Elgin Bailey leaving the team. State ended the season 17-14. No NIT or anything.

2012 – MSU comes out firing (except for the Akron game) beating Texas A&M, Arizona and West Virginia, looking like a top team while battling Baylor and finish 13-2 in the non-conference. After a 6-3 SEC start, State lost five straight games and 6 of 8 to end the year. Stansbury is on the hot seat big time after missing the NCAA Tournament.

Many people may also refer to this time frame as the ‘curse of Renardo Sidney.

@mandwnation

What can you say about this game? State needs to win. The Bulldogs pulled one out against the Tide in Starkville (56-52) way back at the beginning of SEC play. Both teams are on the bubble, it should be a hard-fought contest.

Alabama has had discipline problems of late, with starters JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell serving suspensions. Mitchell will not return this season, but Green (their leading scorer) will play today.

The biggest question may be: will Rodney Hood play, and can he be effective? The second biggest: is State going to lay down to get off up the mat?

If the Dawgs can’t win this one, they may find themselves out of the bracketology pool on Monday.

Hopefully it will turn out like this game: [article], [video].

@mandwnation

OUT

G – Gary Ervin – He averaged 6.5 PPG, 3.7 APG and 1.1 SPG as the 6th man in ’04 and starting PG in ’05. Transferred to Arkansas were he averaged 9.7 PPG, 4.3 APG and 1.2 SPG in ’07 & ’08.

G – Ben Hansbrough – 8.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.9 APG in ’07 & ’08 for MSU. He went on to great things at Notre Dame were he averaged 18.4 PPG for an exceptional team in 2011, his senior year.

F – Reginald Delk – Averaged 9.3 PPG and shot 44.5% in ’06 and ’07 at State. He transferred to Louisville where he had little to no success. He only had 1.6 PPG his junior year and 6.4 his senior year.

F – Romero Osby – 4.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, .447 FG% in ’09 and ’10 at MSU. Transferred to Oklahoma where he is having a really good year in 2012: 12.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 47% FG.

C – Robert Jackson – Played 3 years for State (’99, ’00, & ’01), averaged 12.3 and 11.3 PPG his sophomore and junior seasons. Transferred to Marquette and in the 2003 season he had 15.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and shot 56%.

IN

G – Brian Bryant – Juco transfer. 4.9 PPG his junior year, 6.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 2.0 APG this season.

G – Jamall Edmondson – Juco transfer. Averaged 4.7 PPG as the 7th man in ’05, and then 11.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.8 APG as a starter in ’06.

F – Shane Power – Spent ’01 & ’02 at Iowa State (25-6 his freshman year), averaged 13.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.2 SPG his sophomore year. In two years at State (’04-’05) he had 10.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, and has the MSU record for best 3-point % (41.7).

F – Lawrence Roberts – Great player at Baylor with 15.9 PPG and 9.3 RPG in ’02 & ’03. Left after a murder on the team. 1st team All-American at MSU in ’04, had 16.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.5 SPG and a FG% of 48 in two years.

F – Arnett Moultrie – At UTEP in ’09 & ’10, had 9.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG. At Mississippi State this year, he averages 16.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, with a 55% FG.

@mandwnation

The hot topic this week, last week, and (for some) many weeks prior has been the possibility of ending Rick Stansbury’s tenure as the Mississippi State basketball head coach.

Many people say, ‘He is the coach, there is no need to discuss it’. Others say, ‘wait until the end of the season’. They claim, ‘no one has a right to talk about this except the administrators’. Or if something negative is written ‘it makes MSU look bad, and hurts recruiting’. And if anyone wants to discuss it, they are ‘hurting the program, hurting the team’.

I have to disagree. Why do we discuss Rick Stansbury’s job status? It’s because we care. Because we love Mississippi State and want the best for it. If there is something wrong, we want to correct it.

If thousands upon thousands of people wanted Stansbury (or any other coach) to resign, but they stayed silent, how would the administration know? As long the program is selling tickets and staying competitive, there’s no reason to fire a coach. But when the fans and alumni voice their opinion, the administration knows what their most valuable asset (the fans) thinks.

If we were to wait until the end of the season to discuss it, and he was fired a month after the season, that wouldn’t leave much time for a re-hire would it? No, the coaching carousel would have stopped and MSU would be asking the button-presser to start it back up again.

Whether you want Rick Stansbury to stay forever, you want him gone today, or you’re somewhere in between, you likely just want the best for Mississippi State. An open discussion is a good thing…it’s a big decision, and we want to look at all angles so the proper decision will be made for the Bulldog family.