Mississippi State Basketball: Are the Bulldogs one year away?

An elite recruiting class will headline Mississippi State’s 2016-17 roster, but this program is still a year away from reaching the NCAA Tournament.

When Ben Howland was hired at Mississippi State at the end of March 2015, the Bulldogs immediately jumped into the national conversation due to their excellent recruiting.

Howland, who made three straight Final Fours with UCLA from 2006-08, reeled in one of the most highly coveted prospects in the nation in Malik Newman and three other quality four-star talents. The new head coach was clearly building a foundation for the future even though the results of his first season on the job weren’t exactly pleasing.

The Bulldogs not only finished under .500 (14-17 overall) in 2015-16, but the gem of Howland’s first class, Newman, opted to leave the team for Kansas after injuries and unhappiness with his role.

Regardless, that certainly didn’t stop the Bulldogs from continuing to build their program upwards.

Quinndary Weatherspoon, who was the best freshman on the Bulldogs in 2015-16, is back in the fold, and once again, Starksville’s team has made waves on the recruiting trail. Their 2016 class consists of six (SIX!) four-star talents, including ESPN top 100 players Mario Kelger, Schnider Herald, Eli Wright and Abdulhakim Ado. Even Tyson Carter and Lamar Peters (the other two four-star prospects who aren’t ranked in the top-100) are going to have hefty roles this year.

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It’s only Howland’s second year on the job and he already has his core group in place.

Also, the SEC has the looks of a glorified mid-major in 2016-17. Beyond Kentucky, there are question marks regarding every team in the league, even the programs that have a shot to finish in the top-three.

Florida has a solid roster, but how will they perform in pressure packed situations given their lack of big game experience? Can Texas A&M possibly replace Danuel House, Jalen Jones, Anthony Collins and Alex Caruso? How good will South Carolina’s front court be? Are Arkansas’ new JUCO talents ready to step up?

The Bulldogs have a chance to break through and shoot up the standings.

However, that is highly unlikely to happen this year. Why? Their lack of experience.

Weatherspoon is going to be an elite scorer in 2016-17, I.J. Ready is back, Louisiana Tech transfer Xavian Stapleton is finally ready to go and the freshman have all the upside and potential in the world. But Mississippi State has just one upperclassmen on scholarship – Ready, who is a senior.

While having one senior is not positive for this campaign, this also means the Bulldogs are likely set for years to come.

Next season, Weatherspoon will likely be a potential First Team All-SEC type of player, the freshman will take huge leaps in their second campaign and Howland is already putting together another loaded recruiting class (Nick Weatherspoon and KeyShawn Feazell have verbally committed).

Rebuilding a program takes time, work and energy. It also means dealing with a lot of growing pains. With the way Howland has connected with high school products and the lack of great teams in the SEC, Mississippi State’s road back to the Big Dance has been accelerated. They just won’t make their first NCAA Tournament since 2009 this season.