Mississippi State senior Cameron Matthews embracing leadership role

Like the rest of his Mississippi State teammates, senior veteran Cameron Matthews spent countless time on his game this offseason. That included normal practice sessions this summer along with putting in his own work after practice, whether that be in the gym, weight room or in film study.

But his offseason preparations also went beyond the court. The Bulldog forward is the most experienced player on the roster this season and with that comes a lot of other responsibilities. In previous years, Matthews was able to lean on other guys for leadership. But this year, those eyes are on him.

“It was a little bit of the same,” Matthews recalled. “But just a different approach. I’m having more of a voice being an older guy here. In previous years I had guys like DJ (Jeffries) and Tolu (Smith) to work with in that role.”

On the court, Matthews is also one of the team’s most versatile players. Last season, Matthews led the team in assists (102), steals (73) and blocked shots (26). Considered as one of the team’s best defenders, Matthews also ranked second in rebounding (6.8) and third in scoring (9.4) a year ago.

Over the past couple of months, head coach Chris Jans has noted of Matthews’ focus to expand his offensive game on the perimeter, and how much that could change State’s style of play this year as well as help Matthews and his options at the next level.

“Just expanding my game more,” added Matthews. “Working on my feel of the game and my shot, and things like that. I am getting more comfortable with my shot this year.”

Another popular name this offseason has been junior forward KeShawn Murphy, one of Matthews’ closest friends on the team. With an improved Murphy, that could also change the outlook for the Bulldogs this season.

“Just him working on his game,” said Matthews of Murphy. “Getting his mind right because he’s going to have a bigger role this year. I’m excited to see what he’s got for this year.”

Of course, as a team, the Bulldogs will also feature a different style this season. In Jans’ first two seasons on campus, the focus was more on feeding Tolu Smith in the post and playing inside-out. But with the arrival of several talented guards from the transfer portal, the emphasis has changed.

“It’s going to be different,” Matthews said of the team’s playing style. “Without a guy like Tolu, we’re not going to be more inside and we will be perimeter-oriented, I feel.

“It’s just having more dynamic players in the backcourt. I feel like we have more guys that can go get their own. We have more people that can make shots.”

However, Matthews and company also realize the importance of defense and that thought process is driven home every day in practice by Jans and his staff. For Matthews, his versatility is also evident on that end of the court. In practice sessions so far, Matthews spends most of his time guarding on the perimeter.

“That’s kind of been my thing since I’ve been here,” noted Matthews. “Just guarding a different plethora of guys. So I am just sticking with what I know.”

In just over a week, a new Bulldog season will tip off on November 4th when State hosts West Georgia at Humphrey Coliseum. There will be plenty of new faces on the court and fans will get to see if this squad can return to the NCAA Tournament and do some damage in March Madness.

How quickly they build chemistry on the floor is always a question mark with each team, particularly this year. But so far, Matthews likes the early returns in that department.

“It’s more so about chemistry,” Matthews explained. “I feel like as a team, we like each other. That makes it easier to mesh together. We’re going to play hard like Coach Jans wants us to play. We got to get a group of guys that are willing to buy in to what he’s talking about. But we’ve also got talented players, as well.”