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….
Weather delay in Atlanta. Of course ...
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 2, 2016
Maintenance delay. Of course. Trying to find a gate to pull into to fix it. Of course ...
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 2, 2016
Pilot - "Folks, thanks 4 your patience but the plane is broken & we're bringing in a new one. I'm just not sure where it is." I kid you not.
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 2, 2016
"Same plane. It's fixed." We're hosed.
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 2, 2016
Now it the cargo door on the new plane is broke and the pilots are no longer eligible to fly. My gosh. I have no words.
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 3, 2016
Wait. What? We are moving. Yes! We are moving. I kid you not. Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Clause. #sixhourslate
— Gregg G. Ellis🏴☠️ (@GreggGEllis) August 3, 2016
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.