A thorn to Mississippi State Athletics Director Scott Stricklin, who should have known better. Earlier this week, the MSU basketball team lost to Missouri in a most embarrassing fashion. The Bulldogs scored just 10 points in the first half and lost 78-36, the largest margin of defeat ever at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum. This loss emphasizes a horrible decision made last spring when Stricklin engineered the forced retirement of Rick Stansbury, the winningest coach in MSU history. New coach Rick Ray cannot be faulted; he inherited a team decimated by player departures, injuries and suspensions. Going into Saturday, MSU has won just seven of 23 games and may not win another.
Interestingly, Stricklin is the son-in-law of Bailey Howell, widely regarded as the greatest MSU basketball player of all-time. Howell could have told his son-in-law all about the perils of dumping a successful coach. Bailey's own coach at MSU, Babe McCarthy, was similarly rewarded for his success by being shown the door. It took MSU years to return to prominence after McCarthy's misguided dismissal. Clearly, it will take years for MSU to recover from Stansbury's departure, too. Now we are seeing the consequences of that "what have you done for me lately" decision. The once-proud MSU program is the laughingstock of college basketball.
Interestingly, Stricklin is the son-in-law of Bailey Howell, widely regarded as the greatest MSU basketball player of all-time. Howell could have told his son-in-law all about the perils of dumping a successful coach. Bailey's own coach at MSU, Babe McCarthy, was similarly rewarded for his success by being shown the door. It took MSU years to return to prominence after McCarthy's misguided dismissal. Clearly, it will take years for MSU to recover from Stansbury's departure, too. Now we are seeing the consequences of that "what have you done for me lately" decision. The once-proud MSU program is the laughingstock of college basketball.
