McCray-Penson looking for improved rebounding from Bulldogs

Mississippi State has to get better on the boards their coach says

JaMya Mingo-Young stands at 5-foot-8 per the Mississippi State women's basketball roster. The sophomore guard is listed as taller than only two other Bulldogs. However a quick glance at the MSU statistics through four games this season reveals what might be a surprise to many.

Young is State's leading rebounder, averaging 7.3 per game. That's almost a full rebound per game more than the next-closest Bulldog – sophomore forward Rickea Jackson. 

MSU head coach Nikki McCray-Penson certainly won't complain about Mingo's ability to go get the basketball. State's first-year leader simply wants everyone else to make sure they are doing their part too.

"I’m challenging Rickea, I’m challenging Madison (Hayes), I’m challenging Sidney (Cooks), Jessika (Carter), (and) Yemiah (Morris)," McCray-Penson said on Thursday. "They have to rebound for us. Right now we’ve got JaMya leading us in rebounding. She’s a guard and she’s a go-getter. But we have to pursue rebounds. Even when two or three players are on us, we have to have a second effort to rebound the basketball."

The 13th-ranked Bulldogs have actually out-rebounded three of their four opponents this season. And the one team they didn't was Troy, who MSU rolled past 103-76 on Monday. So why all the focus on rebounding?

Well the Bulldogs sit at 3-1 for the season. That lone loss came in upset fashion down at South Florida. And while MSU won the overall rebounding battle 48-47 that day, the Bulls made a living on collecting their own missed shots. South Florida got 23 offensive rebounds, turned that into 25 second-chance points and shocked State 67-63 in overtime. Imagine what a key rebound here or there could've meant for MSU in that game.

It ended up not costing the Bulldogs, but it was noteworthy Troy had a 10-rebound edge on MSU earlier this week. The Trojans, like the Bulls before them, were also strong on the offensive glass, collecting 20 of their missed shots and turning that into 11 points. It might not have hurt State against Troy, but allowing opponents to continually get second chances could certainly haunt the Bulldogs down the road, as it did at South Florida.

So exactly what is McCray-Penson going to do about it? How does a coach go about coaching rebounding, where sometimes it's simply a matter of getting the lucky bounce off the rim?

"It’s just putting them in positions where we know where the rebounds are coming," McCray-Penson said. "(There have been situations where) we’re in ball screens so we’re detached from our player. Now we have to get back to our man because we’re helping too long here. And we’re thinking, ‘OK, hey I’ve got your man, you’re supposed to get mine.’ It’s a lot of miscommunication right now that’s leading to those missed opportunities. 

"But sometimes we’ve just got to go get it. It’s just putting them in situations where if this (certain thing) happens, you’ve got to get her man to box out. If this (certain thing) happens, she rotates and helps you. You’ve got to go box this person out now. It’s just putting them in scenarios that could potentially happen in-game to where we’ve got to go box out. Because sometimes we think this person has my man and that’s not the case and we’re turning and watching."

Friday provides another opportunity for State to take strides forward when it comes to grabbing critical boards. MSU hosts Southern University (0-4) at 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. Yes, the Bulldogs want to win of course. They'd also prefer to get a strong rebounding effort in the process.

"That’s an area we’ve got to get better at," McCray-Penson said. 

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