Sam Purcell previews State's season opener

After Chris Jans and the Mississippi State men’s basketball team took care of business in their season opener at Humphrey Coliseum on Monday night, it’s the women’s turn in the spotlight.

Sam Purcell enters year three as the head coach of the Bulldogs and will have a new-look team on his hands. The Bulldogs have All-SEC guard Jerkaila Jordan and third-year starter Debreasha Powe back but no other starters return this season.

A team full of transfers and high school and junior college recruits will make up this year’s team and they get it all started on Thursday against Memphis. Purcell previewed that matchup with the Tigers at a Tuesday press conference.

Opening statement:

“I’m really excited. To think that it’s year three with a new team and a new season, we couldn’t be more happy to open up here at home against two great teams. Obviously, our focus is on a Memphis team that’s going to be fun to watch on opening night. They’re top 40 in the country in tempo so our fans can expect a team that’s going to press. They’re going to try to make it ugly.

“Obviously, we’re familiar with them because we played them last year and we have a lot of respect. Their head coach has done a great job in the transfer portal bringing in some really good players. It should be an absolute dogfight that I’m asking our fanbase to come out like you always do and support this team that’s on a journey like no other.

“A lot of new faces, like everybody else in the country. We’re trying to create and find our identity and we’ve got a big challenge on opening day.”

Question: What do you think about your team going into the opening game?

SP: “I really love this team. I think one thing is we’re very unselfish but we’re almost unselfish too much. We’ve joked about it in practice that our fans might need to bring baseball gloves because we are slinging that ball. That’s in a good way. It’s not that we’re bad passers, we just love the home run pass. We love to thread the needle, we love to make the showtime pass and sometimes it’s a simple old school, jump stop and make the simple pass. (Memphis) lives off of turnovers and we’ve got to have 14 turnovers or less if we want to have a fighter’s chance.

“I’ve got a team that’s got a lot of pieces. We’ve got a lot of lineups we can put out there on the floor – we can go big, we can go small. I’m excited because I need to see it. Closed doors is one thing, but when the lights come on that’s a whole different thing. We’re ready and prepped for it, but let’s get this first one under our belt and go from there.”

Q: Is it advantageous to play a team that’s already played a game?

SP: “We’ve got to come ready to go. They’ve played South Carolina and we all watched that. There’s not going to be a scare factor. She did a great job of playing a preseason game that’s going to put them in position. We’re competitors. I know (Jerkaila Jordan) is especially. She lives for these moments. She came back for another year because she loves what Mississippi State is about. To be opening up this week, I think we’re tired of practice. We’re ready to play somebody else.”

Q: Has this offseason been any different for you than the last couple of years?

SP: “I’d definitely say it’s different. I think each year is different. It’s just the landscape of college athletics. Shoutout to my former assistant Michelle Clark-Heard getting a win (Monday) with Mercer. I’m happy for Cori Irvin as well who is playing a tough schedule. But we’ve got some new staff members. With the transfer portal, we’ve added some electric, exciting players but with that we’re trying to put together a team.

“This year reminds me of year one where there’s a lot of wow factor, but most importantly I’ve got to bring that wow together as one team.”

Q: How do you see the rotation in the post shaping out?

SP: “I’m really excited. If our post players do what they’ve been doing in practice when the lights come on, I think our fanbase is going to be excited as well. We’ve got three, well four, athletic bigs – because I count (Debreasha) Powe – where you’ve got to pick your poison. Nir (Montague) can stretch you out and shoot it as good as anybody in the country. During the closed scrimmage, (Montague)  hit two threes and she looked great. She can take it off the bounce.

“We’re all familiar with what Debreasha Powe can do and she’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. And you’ve got Madina – which everyone is going to know her name pretty quick – and Kayla Thomas who are bigs. They can do the dirty work. They do the things that in today’s basketball people don’t want. They post up in the paint, they do all the little things to make sure we’re successful.

“In this game in Memphis, we’re going to need a four-post rotation because Memphis is top 15 in the country in rebounding. That is a big concern of mine and it’s going to take a  group effort to keep them off the boards Thursday night.”

Q: Chandler Prater has been coming off of the Achilles injury. How much has she been able to participate?

SP: “Yeah. In the closed scrimmage she was at 20 minutes so it was great. Her body is unbelievable. It’s almost like a mini Jerk and I mean that in a positive way. Jerk is strong. Jerk is one of the strongest guards in the SEC and Chandler has that same frame. She’s committed to the process. But outside of her body and what she can do, it’s her voice for me.

“She’s consistent. She’s a glue piece. She talks. Her and Powe are the mothers of the team. They’ll take accountability, but most importantly when stuff hits the roof they’re the ones that will bring us in and make sure we’re together. She brings a lot to the table and I’m excited to see how her year plays out.”

Q: You’ve talked about wanting to get Kansas Chandler and what she did there, are you seeing the makings of that at all?

SP: “100%. She was at 11 points per game. I think she has one of the best midrange pullups. We had a situation in practice where it was a 2-on-1 and we were like, ‘shoot that!’ That’s part of what I’m talking about with that process. We’ve got to fail fast and learn quick. I’ve got a team that is unselfish so there’s times where I need Chandler to shoot that midrange pullup like she did at Kansas.

“Then there’s other parts where you realize she’s playing with a lot of great players that she’s trying to make sure she’s going out there and doing what’s needed to get a team win. That’s the part that I like. If she can be Kansas/Mississippi State, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Q: What’s it like to see teams like soccer and women’s golf setting a championship standard the last two years?

SP: “It’s culture. What people don’t see behind the scenes. Obviously, we all come out to sporting events, but they’re all friends. They all hang out with each other and support each other like no other, but we’re also all the time in the weightroom and training room. The commitment of our athletic department to give us the resources to compete at the highest end, you’re seeing not only women’s basketball but all sports succeed and that’s what makes this place so special.”

Q: The coaches here are close regardless of the sport, what is that relationship process like?

SP: “It’s what makes Starkville so special. This is a community and state that loves and supports each other like no other. We are the professional team because we have no professional teams in this state. To have a coaching staff and players that embody what this state is all about is pretty special. Being at four other universities prior to this, this is not the norm.

“It’s really cool when you have a support circle and a community that, yeah it’s easy to support when we win, but we also have each other’s back when we lose. It’s fun to be a part of.”