Mississippi State Basketball: Why Kanye Clary is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

This upcoming season will be the third for Mississippi State under head coach Chris Jans and his tenure has been successful to this point. While the Bulldogs aren’t exactly at the same level as SEC powerhouses like Alabama or Tennessee, they were in the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season and were competitive in this league. With what’s on this roster for this upcoming season, the Bulldogs may just be in great position for a third-straight appearance.

The headline for the Bulldogs is the return of Josh Hubbard, the thrilling combo guard who was Mississippi State’s leading scorer and best player as a freshman last season. While some significant talent departs the starting lineup, most notably Tolu Smith, the Bulldogs have a bona fide star leading this rotation. Other returners include Cameron Matthews, a solid forward with one season remaining, and a few decent sophomores, including center KeShawn Murphy.

With several other losses, it’s no surprise to hear that Mississippi State reloaded by using the Transfer Portal and could be even better this season. They grabbed 7-foot freshman center Jeremy Foumena from Rhode Island and stocked up on power conference talent. The additions include fellow big man Michael Nwoko from Miami, Georgia guard RJ Melendez, and Boston College combo guard Claudell Harris Jr. One of the most notable additions was Riley Kugel, who starred the last two seasons in the SEC at Florida and could be huge for the Bulldogs this season.

However, today’s specific focus falls onto Kanye Clary, someone that Mississippi State is very excited to welcome to town. A 5’11 point guard, Clary spent the last two seasons with Penn State. A bench player during their success during his freshman season, he took on a major role as a sophomore this past season. While he would miss nearly a dozen games, he’d average 16.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game when he was on the court.

Clary showed proficiency as a high-volume scorer and excels at both backcourt positions. He’s athletic, made nearly 38% of his 3-pointers, and showed improvement in virtually every aspect of his game. Like previously mentioned, he didn’t last the full season and was actually dismissed by the Nittany Lions despite being their leading scorer. We’re not focused too much on the past, solely seeing that at his best Clary can be a phenomenal athlete with the Bulldogs.

If he stays on the court, Clary is an absolute steal for this program. While the Bulldogs already have a stellar undersized guard in Hubbard, Clary helps offset some of the defensive focus. We’re not saying that Clary will necessarily match Hubbard’s production, but having a pair of offensive menaces in the backcourt will certainly be a headache for the opposition. You could argue that one of the forwards were more important additions, but none of these other newbies will score or play better than Clary this year.

Again, we’re counting on there being zero issues with Clary in Starkville, which certainly wasn’t the case in Happy Valley. Either way, this Bulldogs squad has a strong starting five boosted by these offseason additions and it’ll be interesting to see just how things play out. Can Mississippi State legitimately compete in the SEC title race? Does Clary take another step forward and become a key asset for the Bulldogs?