March 2002 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

03/19/02
THE DUNK! ESPN couldn't show it enough on their highlight film. The reporters in Dallas couldn't stop asking questions about it. Derrick Zimmerman, a pro at answering reporters questions, was more than happy to help them out. After one reporter asked him to describe what he was thinking during the time leading up to the dunk and the dunk itself, here is what Derrick said. "The lane kind of parted like the Red Sea. The tall, skinny guy (Raynell Brewer) was waiting there. By the time I was in the air, he was getting ready to jump. I said to myself, 'he is too late.' When he got ready to swipe at it, my arm was already driving the nail down. I knew it was Showtime then."

A lot of you have been reading newspaper articles about Mario Austin saying he will be coming back to MSU next season and not go to the NBA. I was in the locker room, along with several other reporters, asking players questions after the Texas loss. While Mario is normally very intense on the basketball court, during press conferences, he usually answers questions with little emotion. The Mario Austin I talked to in the locker room after the Texas loss was a completely different Mario Austin than I normally see in the press conferences. That Mario Austin showed great intensity and determination in his eyes and voice when he stated that Mississippi State would be back in the NCAA Tournament next season. He told us that we could write it down and frame it because it would happen. He also spoke about what he was going to do to make himself an even better player for MSU next season. Folks, don't doubt this kid. He, along with MSU, will be back next season. And what a ride it is going to be.

03/06/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's Mario Austin and Derrick Zimmerman have been named to The Associated Press All-SEC Second and Third Teams, respectively, as announced Tuesday by the wire service.

The current SEC Player of the Week, Austin enters this week's SEC Tournament ranked ninth in the league in scoring (16.2 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.7 rpg), along with leading the conference in field-goal percentage (58.4%). Having also been named to this year's Coaches' All-SEC Second Team, the 6-9, 265-pound center becomes Mississippi State's first underclassman to garner either first- or second-team all-SEC honors since current Golden State Warriors center Erick Dampier earned first-team all league plaudits as a sophomore in 1994-95. A native of York, Ala., Austin also presently rates as the school's highest scoring sophomore player since Darryl Wilson averaged 16.2 points per contest during the 1993-94 campaign.

Zimmerman, a junior point guard from Monroe, La., currently leads the SEC in assists (6.2 apg) and ranks second in steals (2.2 spg), while also averaging 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per outing. In addition, the 6-2, 190-pound playmaker tops the Bulldogs with 25 blocked shots and 21 dunks on the year. Standing third and fifth, respectively, on the school's all-time single-season charts with 67 steals and 186 assists during the present campaign, Zimmerman ranks tied for fifth on MSU's all-time list with 139 career steals and eighth with 318 career assists.

This season marks the first time that Mississippi State has had two players garner all-SEC honors in the same year since Horatio Webster and Tyrone Washington earned the distinction during the 1997-98 season.

Owners of a league-best, five-game winning streak, coach Rick Stansbury's 23-7 Bulldogs enter this week's SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed from the league's Western Division. After posting a 10-6 SEC mark during the regular season and receiving an opening-round bye, MSU will take on the winner of Thursday's Florida-Auburn first round contest during quarterfinal-round action Friday evening in Atlanta. Tip-off for State's initial SEC Tournament appearance is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Georgia Dome. Again this year, the first-round games along with the tournament quarterfinals and semifinals will be televised by Jefferson-Pilot Sports.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State senior walk-on guard Corey Stidham has been named to the 2002 SEC Men's Basketball Academic Honor Roll, as announced Tuesday by SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer.

A former standout at Maben's East Webster High School, Stidham achieved a 3.23 grade point average in teaching/coaching during the 2000-01 academic year. The third-year walk-on from Mathiston is on target to earn his degree this May.

Stidham has made 18 career appearances for coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

03/05/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Along with receiving his second SEC Player of the Week honor of the season, Mississippi State sophomore center Mario Austin has been named second-team all-SEC by the league's coaches. The awards were announced Monday by the Southeastern Conference office.

A 6-9, 265-pound native of York, Ala., Austin earned his second player of the week honor after averaging 24.5 points and 11.0 rebounds last week in helping lead coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs to wins over Arkansas and South Carolina. In Wednesday's 89-83 home win over the Razorbacks, Austin came within two points and one rebound of matching his career highs in a 30-point, 13-rebound performance. He was 10-of-12 from both the field and the line, along with equalling his career high with four assists, in the win over Arkansas. This past Saturday at South Carolina, Austin scored 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 accuracy from the charity stripe, while also collecting nine rebounds in MSU's 64-57 road win over the Gamecocks.

For his efforts this past week, Austin becomes the first Bulldog player to win the SEC's Player of the Week honor twice during the same season since former MSU standout Darryl Wilson accomplished the same feat during MSU's Final Four campaign of 1995-96. Former all-SEC forward Greg Carter also earned the league's player of the week award two times during the 1990-91 season.

On the season, Austin enters this week's SEC Tournament ranked ninth in the SEC in scoring (16.2 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.7 rpg), in addition to leading the league in field-goal percentage (58.4%). The former McDonald's All American by way of York's Sumter County High School becomes Mississippi State's first underclassman to garner either first- or second-team all-SEC honors since current Golden State Warriors center Erick Dampier earned first-team all league plaudits as a sophomore in 1994-95. Austin also presently rates as the school's highest scoring sophomore player since Wilson averaged 16.2 points per contest during the 1993-94 campaign.

With a team-high six double-doubles to his credit this season, Austin has posted nine 20-point scoring efforts on the year. Along with his career-high 32 points against Kentucky in MSU's league season-opening win over Kentucky, he has become the first Bulldog player to score 30 or more points twice in a season since Wilson did so during the 1994-95 campaign.

Owners of a league-best, five-game winning streak, the 23-7 Bulldogs enter this week's SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed from the league's Western Division. After posting a 10-6 SEC mark during the regular season and receiving an opening-round bye, MSU will take on the winner of Thursday's Florida-Auburn first-round contest during quarterfinal-round action Friday evening in Atlanta. Tip-off for State's initial SEC Tournament appearance is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Georgia Dome. Again this year, the first-round games along with the tournament quarterfinals and semifinals will be televised by JP Sports.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

03/02/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- With the second seed in the SEC's Western Division for the taking, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-7, 9-6) conclude their 2001-02 regular season and draw the curtains on the Carolina Coliseum era by taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks (16-12, 6-9) Saturday afternoon in Columbia. Tip-off for the final regular-season game to be played at USC's Frank McGuire Arena is slated for 2 p.m. ET, with the inter-divisional contest set to be regionally televised by Jefferson-Pilot Sports.

Owners of a No. 14 national ranking according to CollegeRPI.com and a No. 29 strength of schedule rating, coach Rick Stansbury's 22-7 Bulldogs can secure the SEC West's No. 2 seed heading into next week's SEC Tournament with a road victory over South Carolina. MSU could also get the second seed by virtue of a Mississippi home loss to Alabama on Sunday afternoon in Oxford. Should State and Ole Miss tie for second place in the SEC West, the tiebreaker would go to the Rebels. Having won four consecutive league games for the first time since 1998-99 after Wednesday's entertaining 89-83 home victory over Arkansas, the Bulldogs are now 9-6 in conference play and have locked down their first winning SEC season since going 10-6 in league action during the team's Final Four campaign of 1995-96. The last time a Mississippi State squad claimed five straight SEC wins came during the first five conference games of the 1993-94 season under the guidance of Richard Williams.

Looking to further solidify their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1995-96, the Bulldogs enter the final weekend of regular-season action ranked among the national leaders in team field-goal percentage (49.1%; 4th in the NCAA) and rebounding margin (+7.5; 15th). During the team's current four-game winning streak, MSU has outrebounded three of its last four opponents by 22 rebounds or more, including a commanding 46-21 rebounding advantage over Arkansas.

Having started the same lineup of Michal Ignerski, Michael Gholar, Mario Austin, Derrick Zimmerman and Marckell Patterson during each of the last 16 games, including all 15 SEC contests, MSU is powered by the inside game of Austin, who ranks among the league's Top 10 leaders in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage as a sophomore after a dominating 30-point, 13-rebound performance earlier in the week versus Arkansas. Patterson, a senior swingman with 1,123 career points for State, needs 22 more points to move up two more notches and into 17th place on the school's all-time scoring chart.

Guided by first-year head coach and former Wake Forest head man Dave Odom, the Gamecocks are 16-12 overall and 6-9 in the SEC after dropping back to-back road decisions to Auburn and Georgia within the past week. South Carolina, which will move into its new USC Arena this November, is paced by the senior backcourt tandem of Jamel Bradley and Aaron Lucas, who average 13.8 and 10.2 points per game, respectively, and have combined for 134 treys.

Mississippi State owns a slight 6-5 all-time series edge over South Carolina since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1991-92. The Bulldogs will be looking for their first win in Columbia since the 1993-94 campaign.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department