A look at Mississippi State's 2023-24 basketball depth chart after preseason injuries

For the most part, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans was enjoying a quiet yet productive offseason. Jans and his staff had put together a deep roster for the 2023-24 season and the Bulldog mentor has noted often that you must have depth because it is not if injuries will happen but when.

Such as been the case for Bulldog basketball over the past couple of months. Earlier on Thursday, the Bulldogs received the toughest blow so far when Jans reported that All-SEC center Tolu Smith will be sidelined with a foot injury for the entire non-conference schedule.

If his rehab goes well, Smith should be back at the start of conference play. But no matter how one spins it, losing Smith for that long will sting. In State’s pre-SEC slate, the Bulldogs will have solid tests against Arizona State, Washington State, possibly Northwestern, against North Texas and road trips to Georgia Tech and Rutgers. All of those teams outside of Georgia Tech will be contenders for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Not only is Smith out for awhile but earlier this week, Jans said sophomore forward KeShawn Murphy was going to be sidelined until Christmas. Murphy, who also suffered a foot injury, could have been able to play some minutes at center in Smith’s absence. But that is obviously not an option anymore.

So how will things shape up with the lineup for the Bulldogs in November and December? Well, that answer is simple, at least in the post. While the transfer addition of center Jimmy Bell went under the radar for the most part, that will no longer be the case when the Bulldogs tip things off next month.

From our practice observations, it didn’t take long to see that Bell was an upgrade over last year’s backup center in Will McNair. Last season, Bell started all 34 games for West Virginia and averaged 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds a game, which ranked 14th in the Big 12.

But now Bell will be asked to produce more, particularly from a minutes standpoint. Bell, who also spent two seasons at St. Louis, averaged just 18.5 minutes a game last year and without a doubt, that number will have to increase in State’s non-conference schedule.

Only time will tell but State will likely need Bell for 25-27 minutes a game at center. The depth behind him is just freshman Gai Chol, who will be thrown to the fire quickly. Hopefully, Chol can give the Bulldogs 8-9 productive minutes and then State could piece together the remainder of minutes. Possibly State will use smaller lineups or even use Cameron Matthews at center, if need be.

All in all, State does have enough talent and production at the other spots to survive Smith’s absence on the floor. And Bell should be solid in his role. But one key will be how long it takes Smith to get back to game shape and that is always a factor.

Of course, with Smith’s work ethic, he will be back as soon as he possibly can and will also work overtime to get back his conditioning. But State is going to need other guys to step up and fill that scoring and rebounding void, whether it be at center or the other four positions on the court. Smith has been one of the league’s top rebounders during his career and he averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 boards a year ago.

Hopefully and knock on wood, Jans and his staff will not have to make any more adjustments from an injury standpoint. Much like the team had to do last February and March, the early portion of the 2023-24 schedule will be about adapting and doing whatever it takes to win on both ends of the court. Thankfully, that is one of the top attributes to Jans and his coaching style.

UPDATED PROJECTED DEPTH CHART – Mississippi State 2023-24 roster

PG: Sr. Andrew Taylor or Sr. Dashawn Davis, Fr. Josh Hubbard
SG: Sr. Shakeel Moore, Sr. Dashawn Davis and Jr. Trey Fort, So. MJ Russell
SF: Sr. DJ Jeffries, So. Shawn Jones, Fr. Adrian Myers
PF: Sr. Cameron Matthews, Jr. Jaquan Scott
C: Sr. Jimmy Bell, Fr. Gai Chol