MSU men’s hoops signs state’s top-rated player

Mississippi’s top high school basketball player is now a Bulldog.

Keondre Montgomery, from Forest Hill, signed with the Mississippi State men’s program on Tuesday as he joins MSU’s signing class of 2020 and fills one of the holes on head coach Ben Howland’s squad.

“Keondre is a great addition to our basketball family and already possesses an excellent offensive skill package," Howland said in a school release. "He’s an outstanding three-point shooter, a strong finisher at the basket and can create for others. When I watch Keondre on film, I see his love for the game of basketball. He plays hard on both ends of the floor and plays with a good intensity level. I look forward to seeing his continued growth and development as a player in our program.”

Montgomery is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports. The 6-foot-6, 190-pounder can play both at shooting guard and wing.

Montgomery brings a track record of success to MSU. Last year, he scored a whopping 28.1 points per game for Forest Hill and also averaged 8.5 rebounds, four assists and 2.1 blocks per contest. Forest Hill ended up with a 28-5 record last season.

“Keondre has a high motor, plays with a lot of passion and led us in every statistical category last season," Forest Hill head coach Jerry Currie said. "Offensively, he’s an extremely gifted scorer that can score at all three levels. ‘Dre is a knockdown three-point shooter, has a great midrange game and can finish at the rim. However, one of his best offensive attributes is his passing ability. He has a real knack for setting teammates up for easy scores. Last summer, he started working on his low-post game and consistently took smaller guards to the low block all season.”

With the signing of Montgomery, the Bulldogs have now inked the state of Mississippi’s top two high school prospects. Three-star small forward Cameron Matthews out of Olive Branch has also put pen to paper with MSU.

Montgomery and Matthews are two of currently five new Bulldogs who will be a part of next season’s roster. Other new Mississippi State players include four-star point guard Deivon Smith out of Georgia and three-star small forward Andersson Garcia out of Tennessee. Also, small forward Jalen Johnson announced last week that he is coming to Mississippi State as a grad transfer after playing last year with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.

The addition of Montgomery to the bunch leaves the Bulldogs with two spots open on its roster for the upcoming season. It’s possible one of those could be filled by guard Robert Woodard II. Woodard has declared for the NBA Draft, but has not signed with an agent so he could return to State. However some projections have had Woodard as a first-round NBA Draft choice which would seem to diminish the chances of a Woodard return.

While Woodard could ultimately choose to remain in maroon and white, a large chunk of last year’s State roster has already totally moved on. Tyson Carter was a senior last year. Meanwhile Reggie Perry has entered the NBA Draft and signed with an agent, thus ending his collegiate eligibility. Also, Nick Weatherspoon has decided to pursue a professional career, while KeyShawn Feazell, Prince Oduro, Elias King, Devin Butts and E.J. Datcher all entered the transfer portal.