Busting Brackets
Fansided

Coaching Carousel: Mississippi State in Talks With Ben Howland

By Chris Godfrey

facebooktwitterreddit

It’s only been a day since the Mississippi State Bulldogs parted ways with their head basketball coach, Rick Ray. After three seasons at the helm, Ray failed to produce a single winning record in Starkville. The once proud program that consistently challenged for NCAA Tournament bids under previous coach Rick Stansbury, has fallen behind the pack even in the currently weakened SEC.

Ray issued this statement via Instagram in response to his firing…

After parting ways with Ray, Mississippi State wasted very little time before attaching themselves to a very familiar name in the coaching ranks. Several sources are now reporting that former UCLA head man, Ben Howland, is in serious discussions to become the next head coach of the Bulldogs. Howland did have interest in possibly moving on to UNLV, but it looks like the Rebels will be retaining Dave Rice. He currently looks to be on a fast track to Starkville.

Howland has found success at each of his three previous coaching stops, having been named the coach of the year in the Big Sky (Northern Arizona), Big East (Pittsburgh), and Pac-10 (UCLA). His most notable achievement was the stretch of three consecutive Final Four appearances from 2006-2008 while he was with UCLA. Even before his time at Westwood, he was the national coach of the year in 2002 at Pittsburgh.

Howland fell out of favor at UCLA after a 2013 season that saw his Bruins win the Pac-12 regular season championship, but ended with a loss in their opening NCAA Tournament game. After three straight Final Four bids, the Bruins went five seasons without making it to the tournament’s second weekend (a period that saw the program missing the tournament on two occasions).

Howland was let go after that 2013 season, and stayed away from the game despite being mentioned as a possible name for openings after last season. This year, it seems that he’s wasting little time before settling back in with a more relaxed gig with the lowest expectations he’s seen since his days at Northern Arizona.

Live Feed

Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football
Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football /

South Bound & Down

  • Baseball 40-40 club: Which MLB players have hit 40 HRs with 40 SBs?FanSided
  • "Horns Down" will not be a Penalty in the SECSouth Bound & Down
  • Arkansas vs. LSU Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4Betsided
  • UTSA vs. Tennessee Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4Betsided
  • Alabama Football: Power Ranking the SEC after week threeBama Hammer

    • The success that Howland has had at any of his three previous head coaching stops would be enough to make him the mayor of Starkville (well, maybe the deputy mayor to Dan Mullen). Bringing in a known commodity such as Howland would continue a recent trend of strengthening the coaching ranks in the SEC. Auburn, tired of being a perennial doormat, turned to Bruce Pearl last year to revitalize their program. The dividends have been almost immediate for the Tigers, a competitive first season and a stable of new recruits on the way have things looking up for War Eagle. Similar results could await Mississippi State if they do, in fact, land Howland.

    Unfortunately, the cupboard looks to be bare for Howland upon arrival, and the state of Mississippi normally doesn’t have prospects lying around late in the recruiting cycle. The job of restoring order at The Hump may take a year or two, but the Bulldogs haven’t been relevant since 2009. What’s the rush? Howland would at least see Craig Sword and Gavin Ware return, the top two scorers from this year’s Bulldog team. A marked improvement from them could be enough to make a move towards the middle of the conference while other teams continue to retool their programs.

    At the moment, Howland to Mississippi State is still at the negotiating table, but this news gives fans of the Bulldogs hopes for a resurgence that would rival what they’ve seen on the football field over the past year.

    Hope is a beautiful thing, and Howland would certainly bring that and a lot more.

    Next: Big East, Big 12 Prove to Be Overrated

    More from Busting Brackets

    Home/NCAA Basketball News