Mario Kegler to Transfer from Mississippi State
Reports say that Mississippi State forward Mario Kegler is looking to transfer from the Bulldogs program before his sophomore season.
A report surfaced late last night from Evan Daniels of Scout.com that Mario Kegler was looking to transfer from Mississippi State.
Just terrible timing. Mark this down as the second year in a row a highly touted player has transferred out of Ben Howland’s program. Last year Malik Newman, a former 5 star recruit, decided to bolt to Kansas after one season with the Bulldogs.
Mario Kegler was a consistent player for Ben Howland last year, starting all 32 games. The forward out of Jackson, Mississippi averaged 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in his 32 starts. While Kegler was inconsistent at times, he played a huge role for MSU at the small forward and power forward positions, and seemed to be a piece of the future.
Following failing to record a field goal in two games in the SEC Tournament, Ben Howland said:
"“We’ve got to get Kegler more looks. Maybe it was fatigue because we played him a lot of minutes, asked him to do so much for us.”"
The decision comes at an awkward time for Ben Howland. The departure of Kegler leaves a huge hole a front court that struggled last year with a lack of size and depth. Couple Kegler’s decision to transfer and incoming 4 star forward Garrison Brooks requesting release from his national letter of intent, things won’t get any easier for the Bulldogs next season.
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One of the bright sides of Kegler’s departure is the fact it should open up an opportunity for incoming 5 star guard Nick Weatherspoon to earn a starting role in 2017. With the versatility of brother Quinndary Weatherspoon, a starting line up of Lamar Peters, Nick Weatherspoon, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Aric Holman, and Abdul Ado is likely. Junior Xavian Stapleton should also have an increased role this season in the wake of Kegler’s departure.
Considering that Kegler was expected to have a large role in 2017, it is reasonable to question what his motives are.
After Newman’s transfer last year, reports came out that Newman was unhappy with his role in Howland’s system. Howland has yet to release a statement on the issue, but if something similar comes out with Kegler, it will be time to really start questioning why guys are unhappy with Howland.