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European Vacation – Basketball team heads to Italy for exhibition tour

By Thomas K. Stark

Mar 10, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Ben Howland during the second half of the fifth game of the SEC tournament against the Georgia Bulldogs at Bridgestone Arena. Georgia won 79-69. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Ben Howland during the second half of the fifth game of the SEC tournament against the Georgia Bulldogs at Bridgestone Arena. Georgia won 79-69. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016-17 Mississippi State basketball is headed for a European vacation – and hopefully a jumpstart towards coming together as a solid team for the upcoming season.

Coach Ben Howland begins his second season at MSU with only three returning players with game experience – senior point guard I. J. Ready, sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon and sophomore forward Aric Holman.  The remaining faces on the squad are newcomers, so the additional practice time and exhibition games could not come at a better time.

NCAA rules permit Division I teams to participate in a summer tour abroad once every four years.  Teams are allowed ten days for practice, and can play up to ten exhibition games while on tour.

The Bulldogs departed Tuesday morning for a twelve day tour of Italy. They had some trouble getting out of Atlanta which Gregg Ellis chronicled on Twitter….

Rough start but it should be a fun trip that will include the cities of Rome, Florence, Lake Como and Milan.  In addition to the sightseeing they will be doing, MSU will take part in four exhibition games against Italian competition that should pay  early dividends for a young team.  The team is scheduled to return to campus on August 14.

Mississippi State’s 2016 recruiting class was ranked as the #9 recruiting class by 247 Sports and included five players ranked in the top 100 high school players in the nation – center Schnider Herard, small forward Mario Kegler, shooting guard Eli Wright, point guard Lamar Peters and shooting guard Tyson Carter.  While there is obviously a wealth of talent on this team, the lack of experience plus time together as a team will be an early challenge for the team. The extra practice time and exhibition games as a result of this trip will no doubt give the Bulldogs a leg up on the upcoming season.

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