October 2002 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

10/25/02
Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs will hold two intersquad scrimmages Sunday, Oct. 27 and Sunday, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. The scrimmages will be intertwined with team practice and will be opened to the public, free admission.

MSU begins the season with two exhibition games Nov. 8 and 11, hosting the Houston Jaguars and the Basketball Travelers. The Lady Bulldogs will play their first game of the season in the preseason WNIT, playing host to South Alabama Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

Source: MSU Media Relations

10/22/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State's Mario Austin and LaToya Thomas have been named to their respective preseason lists of candidates for the 2002-03 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Awards. The announcement of preseason candidates was released Monday by Jackie Bradford, President of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Mississippi State rates as one of only 10 schools nationally and three in the Southeastern Conference to have both a men's and women's candidate on this year's preseason Naismith Awards list.

Also named to this year's John R. Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team, Austin earned second-team all-SEC honors last season after leading coach Rick Stansburyıs 27-8 Bulldogs to the 2002 SEC Tournament championship and a second-round NCAA Tournament showing. The reigning SEC Tournament MVP paced MSU and rated among the league's Top-10 statistical leaders in both scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg) a year ago. Austin also ranked second in the SEC and 28th nationally in field-goal percentage (55.7%) last season. A junior from York, Ala., Austin enters the upcoming season needing 189 more points to become the 25th player in Bulldog hoops history to score 1,000 or more career points.

A three-time Kodak All-American for coach Sharon Fanning's Lady Bulldogs, Thomas has recorded many firsts for the Mississippi State women's basketball program among which earning her third consecutive preseason Naismith Player of the Year nomination. Last season, the Greenville, Miss., native moved into first place on the school's career scoring list for both men and women by accumulating 2,187 career points after her junior year campaign. Twice named ESPN's and ESPN The Magazine's Power Forward of the Year, Thomas ranked second among the nation's scoring leaders (24.6 ppg) en route to claiming her third consecutive SEC scoring title last season.

Now in its 35th year, the Naismith Awards program honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball. The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts.

Other male candidates from the SEC named to this year's Naismith Awards preseason list include Alabama's Erwin Dudley, both Matt Bonner and Brett Nelson of Florida, Georgia's Jarvis Hayes, and Keith Bogans of Kentucky. Female SEC candidates for the award also include Chantelle Anderson of Vanderbilt, Georgia's Kara Braxton, Shameka Christon of Arkansas, Florida's Vanessa Hayden, both Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson of Tennessee, and Temeka Johnson and Aiysha Smith both from LSU.

Source: MSU Media Relations

10/17/02
Women's Basketball
With just less than a month away from the start of the season, Mississippi State women's basketball is already picked in several preseason polls. No. 16 in Lindy's, No. 21 in Women's Basketball News Service and No. 23 in All-Star Girls Report.

"It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a top 25 team in the nation," said head coach Sharon Fanning. "My concern right now is on preparation so that in March we will exceed those expectations."

After experiencing much success over the past several seasons, the MSU women's basketball program is thirsty for more. The Lady Bulldogs continued their recent run at success in 2002 with their fifth consecutive postseason appearance, third NCAA appearance and second visit to the second round.

With the duo of three-time, all-America standout LaToya Thomas and Tan White, the addition of seven new faces on the squad, and the return of healthy players, MSU will be a team to reckon with in 2002-03. The biggest problem to face in the preseason will be finding a center to replace the graduated Jennifer Fambrough.

The Lady Bulldogs are experiencing a peak in the program with Thomas, who is culminating her acclaimed career, and rising star sophomore Tan White perfecting their groove together.

"All you have to do is watch a highlight tape to see how they have learned to play together," said Fanning, who is in her eighth season at the helm. "They have a good feel for the penetration paths and transition. Great players lead a team to success."

Coach Fanning is excited about the upcoming season with the addition of the fresh talent to the now-veteran squad.

"With four players returning from the starting lineup and good experience from the others, I anticipate that there should be improvement in this basketball team," said Fanning. "Last year I would look at the floor and see three freshmen and two sophomores that contributed a lot of minutes. Those are young players and hopefully the experience that they gained will carry over to more consistency this season."

MSU looks to utilize its depth and quickness to break into the top 25 and secure a championship in its 29th year of women's basketball.

Source: MSU Media Relations