WATCH: Sam Purcell details recruiting class and the week ahead
Mississippi State Bulldogs women’s hoops head coach Sam Purcell met with the media on Thursday to detail the program’s newest additions from signing day along with his outlook on a big non-conference matchup with Southeast Louisiana.
The case for SELA
Southeastern Louisiana made their mark on the women’s hoops scene last year when they went on the road to the eventual national champions in the LSU Tigers and only lost by eight points in Baton Rouge. The Lady Lions later went on to win the Southland conference and make the NCAA tournament before losing to Iowa in round one.
Purcell called this a “tournament game” on Thursday, and noted that this would be one of the best games on the slate this weekend.
“This is definitely a team that we’re not sleeping on,” Purcell added. “It’s going to be a great early test, and I know this – there’s no better feeling than to play at home…We’re going to need that energy that our fan base provides for four quarters.”
Recruiting Class
Purcell and State rounded brought in some top talent from the amateur ranks in his second year at the helm. Obviously, with Purcell’s portal record thus far, it’s reasonable to expect more to join them, but 6-foot-7 center Rocio Jimenez (Dominican Republic), Top-50 prospect Tahj Blooom, in-state star Anaisha Carriere and utility guard Shakirah Edwards all inked letters to bring their talents to Starkville.
Purcell was particularly excited for the chance to develop Jimenez, noting that she’s already got something you can’t coach – size.
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“All I heard about when I took the job was (Teaira McCowan),” said Purcell, “and now we’ve got (Teaira) junior.”
Purcell also added that she isn’t quite a finished product, and that there are already developmental plans in place for Jimenez to take extra steps in her game when she arrives. The key point with her arrival, though, is that she did reclassify to this year’s class, and will join the team to begin working out before season’s end. Purcell said she will more than likely redshirt her freshman year, so State fans can expect to see her with plenty of time under her belt by the time she gets real minutes.
Purcell also added that McDonald’s should throw some NIL money together for the Teaira junior line, but I’ll save that for a column somewhere down the line.
Other roster updates
Purcell also added that Meloney Thames, the transfer from Jones College, has elected to leave the program and find a new home for her skillset. Thames was an NJCAA All-American Honorable mention guard in the 2021-2022 season and averaged over 20 points per game for Jones during her tenure there.
