Catching up on hoops

Rick Stansbury had a number of questions asked of him on the summer SEC basketball coaches teleconference. Mississippi State hoops fans have a number of questions of their own. What impact will transfer Arnett Moultrie have? How much will the touted freshmen play? How is Jalen Steele recovering?

However, the biggest and perhaps most important question anyone has was the first one asked on the teleconference.

How is Renardo Sidney doing?

"He is in Houston, and he's been working out with John [Lucas]. He's done well from what we've been told," Stansbury said. "We haven't been able to watch him play. I guess he's had a good summer. He'll be enrolled second term."

Lucas, of course, is the former NBA star who trains athletes in Houston. Sidney is expected to return to the MSU campus in July for second-term summer school.

The natural follow-up question is easy. Is Sidney getting in shape?

"He's progressing, so like I said, we're not able to watch him," Stansbury said. "As far as we understand, it's gone OK."

From the sound of things, MSU coaches will be just as anxious to see Sidney in July as fans will be to see him when the season starts.

While Stansbury is not positive how Sidney is progressing, he said he does know one thing for sure. As opposed to the previous summer, he knows who is actually on his team, and they are all eligible to play immediately.

"At least at this point, we know who we got going into the season," Stansbury said. "At this point last year, we didn't know who we were going to have going into the season, especially Dee Bost. Knock on wood, right now I think we know who we have in place."

Having the stability of no suspensions to plan around and knowing everyone on the roster makes thing easier for Stansbury and his staff. The head coach is also excited about the possibilities for what he thinks will be a very talented team

"We've got a mixture of some veterans a mixture of some youth added to that, so I think we have a chance," Stansbury said.

In addition to Sidney, also arriving in July will be freshman point guard Deville Smith, who was not able to enroll in June because of high school classes.

Stansbury was also asked to answer the questions about Moultrie, who will be a junior this year.

He offered a guarded but positive review of the big man.

"You never know until you turn the lights on and see how they're going to play, but we like the way he practiced last year," Stansbury said. "I think he's a very versatile player. He'll play on the inside and outside some. He brings some different skill level. I think his engine runs most of the time. I think he's a good piece and a good fit for us."

Now, Stansbury will continue on the recruiting trail and plan for his team's trip overseas.