The Mississippi State Bulldogs men’s basketball has a first year head coach.
Rick Ray took over a program with some winning history but a roster in transition. On top of that the Bulldogs have been besieged with injury after injury. Despite an incredibly inexperienced and limited roster, Mississippi State jumped out to a 2-0 start in the SEC. MSU is now 2-1 in conference play and 7-8 overall.
John Adams and I talked to Rick Ray on the “News Sentinel Sports Page” talk show about his team to this point, the future of the program and the upcoming game versus Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Some of those quotes are below.
To hear our entire interview with Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Rick Ray, click the video to the left.
Rick Ray on Alabama’s big run that led to a blowout loss in the last game:
“I thought we kind of shut it down and got defeated right then and there.”
On Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin:
“He just has an unbelievable balance to his life. Cuonzo has been dear to me because he taught me how to have balance in my life.”
On Knoxville’s Jalen Steele of Mississippi State:
“He’s just by far our best shooter. He’s just a guy who’s a prolific shooter.”
How close his current team is to the team he thought he would have entering the season:
“Nothing like it. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life, let alone heard of anything like this.”
On the lack of experience his team has:
“There may be a team in the nation that might be younger than us, but there’s definitely no team in the nation that’s less experienced.”
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