Volume 1; Issue 11 August 2013 A Look Inside: The Weight Room wo years after the men’s basketball team pulling competitions to see who finishes first. began working out in its brand-new $11.2 “We get our best workouts with the Prowler when Tmillion practice facility, the team added the we make it into a competition,” he said. latest workout equipment inside the 57,611 square Also new to the weight room are three plat- foot Mize Pavilion. forms known as Vertimaxes. Players attach Entering his 31st year on the Mississippi State bands almost anywhere on their upper or lower strength staff, Richard Akins said the players have body, put a belt around their waist and jump been on an eight-week cycle program to focus on to increase explosion and quickness. Whether explosion and strength during this time of the year it’s two-legged jumps, one-legged jumps or to avoid epi- box jumps with bands sodes such as attached to the waist, last year’s three ankles, wrists or some- season-ending where else, the bands can ACL injuries. be tightened to make it “They know even harder to jump. The exactly what players do different drills weight they’re on the Vertimaxes at the going to have end of their workouts when they come when they are already in every week, fatigued in sets of 20 and it’s bumped reps. Stepping off the up every week, platform with the bands and it challeng- still attached, players can es them every work on dribbling drills week, but these to increase hand and foot kids have really coordination. done a tremen- Similar to the Vertimax, dous job with it coming in and doing what they need the Tiger Belt works not only on explosion, but on to do to get better,” Akins said. cardio conditioning also. A black belt goes around According to Akins, the most hated new piece of the player’s waist and hooks to a thick, blue, stretchy equipment is the Prowler Sled. The Prowler works band for the player to work on jumping drills and the gluteus maximus and hamstrings, while focus- lateral movements. ing on leg drive and hip strength. By pushing the sled forward on the court, the muscles that control Getting Quicker jumping are strengthened. To work the hamstrings The team also added new ankle bands to quicken even more, the players can backpedal with the sled. the players’ first step, working the hip area. You may recognize the Prowler Sled as the same Akins usually picks one of these new workouts sled used by most football teams. While the sled a day for the players to do, combined with a lot of itself is not new, the ability to workout with a sled medicine ball work and the machine workouts. on a gym floor recently became available. Before He also said the focus on explosion is not a dif- this year, the basketball team would go over to the ferent mentality, but the new “toys” allow for more football weight room to use the sled. improvement in that area. “We worked the same muscle groups when we Making It Fun didn’t have them, but any time that you’re training Another component of the sled comes in the form kids, the more variety you can have, the better off of a 25-foot long, 2.5-inch round rope which at- you are. I’m the first one to tell you, lifting weights taches to the sled. Players work their upper body by every day can get very mundane, and so you try pulling the rope. Akins said he adds some fun to the to spice it up a little bit with different ways to do grueling workouts by having the players race in rope things.” Memorable Moment: 2002 MSU vs. Kentucky Five seasons had passed since Mississippi State’s attempts. On the other hand, magical run to the 1996 NCAA Final Four. And those Kentucky couldn’t miss. five years seemed like an eternity for Bulldog fans. Refusing to quit, the Bulldogs Still, Head Coach Rick Stansbury had Bulldog began to inch their way closer in basketball on the upswing. A roster full of talented the second half. One shot fell. And players returned from the 2000-2001 squad that was then another. And then another. playing its best basketball at the end of the season. After two rim-rattling Derrick Zimmerman Had a buzzer beater against Tulsa not been waved off, dunks, the sellout crowd at The Hump was on its feet Mississippi State would’ve been playing in the NIT and louder than ever. Amazingly, this huge Wildcat lead Final Four. had shrunk to three with 10 minutes remaining. MSU started the 2001-2002 season on fire, winning Center Mario Austin kept MSU in the game with 25 its first 11 contests before entering conference play with second-half points and 32 overall. But with the Bulldogs a 13-1 record. trailing by three and only seven seconds remaining, the The Bulldogs had their doubters, however, as many 6-9 sophomore did something he hadn’t done in his pointed to a relatively weak strength of schedule and entire career. noted that MSU was soundly defeated by Cincinnati With the game on the line, Austin drained a wide in its only non-conference matchup against a ranked open three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the opponent. game at 65 apiece. Austin was completely unguarded. Mississippi State entered Southeastern Conference Nobody expected him to be attempting a three in the play with something to prove, and arguably the toughest most important situation imaginable. Not even Austin test of the season would come first in the form of the himself. sixth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. “It was luck,” said the winded center after the game. Bulldog fans packed Humphrey Coliseum to the roof “I didn’t really have much time to think about it.” for one of the biggest home games in MSU history. The But the game didn’t end there. The Bulldogs got Wildcats boasted star power with reigning SEC Player a defensive stop as time expired to send the game to Jacoby Davis of the Year Tayshaun Prince and hadn’t lost a game in overtime, where physical defense and clutch free throw Fr. Guard Starkville in more than a decade. shooting decided the victor. Charlotte, N.C. UK absolutely dominated the first half, racing out to a Mississippi State went 7-for-8 from the charity 21-2 start before heading into the break with a 40-24 stripe and only allowed four points in the extra period. Q: What is your favorite thing lead. Seemingly no shots were falling for the Maroon Maroon-clad fans stormed the court as MSU completed about going to MSU? A: Going to all of the football and White, as they made only one of their first 15 the improbable 74-69 win. games and hearing the cowbells. Compliance Update Non-Conference Slate Announced Q: What are you doing before Questions of the Month Year two of the Rick Ray era Loyola will visit MSU on Dec. heading back to school? officially tips off on Friday, Nov. 8 1, which will give Bulldog fans A: Spending time with my Q: Once an individual has been family and working hard to be identified as a “Booster”, how long when Mississippi State plays host the chance to celebrate the 50-year the best player I can be. does he/she retain this identity? to Prairie View A&M. anniversary of the historic NCAA A. Forever. In all, the Bulldogs play 13 non- Tournament “Game of Change” Q: Where is your favorite place Q: How is Progress-Toward-Degree for conference games, including nine outing that took place between the in Starkville? Division I student-athletes eligibility at the Humphrey Coliseum. MSU two in 1963. Last year in Chicago, A: Abners defined? will also play at the BancorpSouth the Ramblers claimed a 59-51 A: Once prospective student-athletes Arena in Tupelo, Miss., on Dec. victory. Q: What do you hope to have cleared initial eligibility to accomplish this season? compete, they must continue to meet 13 against Southeastern Louisiana, Headlining the exciting home academic and amateurism benchmarks while also playing two games in the slate at the Hump will be Florida A: To be a Newson Academic to stay eligible for competition. These Award winner, an All-SEC are referred to as “continuing eligibility” Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic Gulf Coast, last year’s NCAA Academic Honor Roll, and be or “progress-toward-degree” rules. Dec. 22-23. Tournament darling. The Eagles on the All-Freshman Team. The rules’ purpose is for student- In addition MSU travels to Utah will visit on Dec. 22. athletes to continually be on track to earn their degree. State on Nov. 23, where the Aggies Times and games selected for TV have posted a 65-10 home mark the will be announced at a later date. Click here for the monthly archives last four years. Rising Coaches Elite provides aspiring coaches valuable learning opportunities Raphielle Johnson - NBC Sports.com While it doesn’t receive the level of three five-day evaluation periods give them a chance attention that areas such as recruiting and player to not only observe players but also communicate development do when discussing college basketball with each other. While that could be simply a matter during the summer, the art of networking can be vital of catching up with old acquaintances, there’s also the for those who are looking to improve their professional ability to exchange ideas on a number of topics.