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I.J. Ready: Chew on This!

Leader on the Court page 5

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

The

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Reflector

131st YEAR ISSUE 37

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

James Meredith has ‘undeniable impact on us all today’

by Vanessa Gillon Staff Writer

James Meredith:

Civil Rights Movement activist, first African American student at the University of Mississippi, writer, political adviser and Air Force veteran.

Flonzie Brown Wright:

Civil Rights Movement activist, organizer with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, organized 1964’s Freedom Summer, and founded Southern Echo and Mississippi Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.

Hollis Watkins:

Civil Rights Movement activist, first African American female elected official in Mississippi, writer

Jenn McFadden, The Reflector

The African American Studies program at Mississippi State University is continuing the celebration of their 10th anniversary on campus with the James Meredith and the March Against Fear panel on Wednesday, March 1.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Lee Hall featuring U.S. Air Force veteran, James Meredith, along with fellow civil rights activists, Flonzie Brown Wright and Hollis Watkins.

Wright was the first black woman to hold elected office in Mississippi and Watkins was the first Mississippi youth to join the 1961 Voting Rights Project of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

James Meredith was the first black man to integrate The University of Mississippi in 1962. After, he began the March Against Fear, which was a solo march consisting of people marching from Memphis, Tennessee, and traveling to Jackson, Mississippi. This march was to increase the awareness of their civil rights violations in Mississippi. Meredith was shot by Aubrey James Norvell, who served only

“Be equal in reality.”

-James Meredith, Civil Rights Movement activist

Marion S. Trikosko | Courtesy Photo

James Meredith is featured above as the first African American to attended the University of Mississippi in 1962. He was denied admission twice but was able to enroll on Oct. 1, 1962.

18 months out of his fiveyear prison sentence, on the second day of the march, making it impossible for him to continue the march.

Still, the mission was clear and other activists began to participate. Wright lent a hand by providing food and shelter, while Watkins inspired activists by singing

of history.

Professor and Director of African American Studies, Dr. Stephen Middleton, said it is extremely vital for everyone coming to the event to truly understand who we are in this American experiment.

“America is an experiment of different people coming

together,” Middleton said, “This movement benefited all Americans; those present, then and those to come.”

Speaking about the general public’s perception of African American Studies, Middleton expressed how it is not just for or about African Americans, rather everyone.

MEREDITH, 2

Raven vetoes Resolution 42 disciplinary hearings, the SA does not have the means to factually create an argument News Editor against Smith’s punishment.

SA Senator Taylor Thomas, who presented Roxanne Raven, Resolution 42 to SA on president of the Student Tuesday, Feb. 14 said the Association, vetoed resolution shows the SA Resolution 42 on Tuesday, Senate cares for the student Feb. 23. The resolution body. requested Mississippi “Regardless of State University to annul President Raven’s decision, Houston Smith’s the passing of this punishment banishing resolution shows him from all MSU that our Senate is “Regardless of President home games for the here to support remainder of the Raven’s decision, the passing of our student body,” 2016-2017 basketball Thomas said. “The this resolution shows that our season. administrators Raven, senior we hoped to Senate is here to support our political science reach with this major, said she vetoed resolution heard student body.” the resolution because what we had to she believes it is not say even without -Taylor Th omas, Student the SA’s position to get President Raven’s involved in a private signature.”

Association senator disciplinary hearing With the new between one student SA members and administrators. taking office She said the administrators date of notification of the today, Thomas said he was barred out the policy in punishment. The petition proud of the senate he was place for Student Code of for appeal will be reviewed apart of.

Conduct to the line. by the Dean of Students’ “Often times Student While Raven vetoed Office and must be based Government gets caught up the resolution, she said she on either an error in the looking inward and doing supported how it raised procedure or the case of things for themselves, but concerns about the Student new evidence emerging I am proud to have been Code of Conduct’s process that would have impacted a part of a Senate that of appeals. the original decision of the focused outward and stood “I would support future hearing body. for each individual student,” resolutions that would Raven also said, due to Thomas said.

by Emmalyne Kwasny

freedom songs.

Another prominent figure who will give remarks is the renowned author of “Down the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear,” Aram Goudsouzian.

Moderating this event, will be MSU’s Dr. Jason Ward, an associate professor

Music Makers host talent show

address that angle, but I do not believe that Mr. Smith’s rights were violated or he was treated out of the realms of the policy in place,” Raven said.

The Student Code of Conduct states the disciplined person, group or organization may petition for an appeal of the decision previously reached five days after the

Olivia Zeringue | The Reflector

Music Maker Productions Talent Show rocked out the Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall on Wednesday evening.

After the show started at 7 p.m., four acts performed their best for the audience and judges throughout the evening. Before the show started and the winner was announced, Music Maker Productions allowed the audience to participate in separate raffles that gave away Old Main Music Festival merchandise, one Jimmy John’s gift card, and two Ben Rector tickets by the end of the night.

However, when all was sung and done, Chase Floyd won overall after serenading the crowd with his harmonica, guitar, and overall performance (pictured above).

Sarah Dutton, Photography Editor

VETO, 2

Weather

Reflections

James Bryant, Campus Connect Forecaster

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

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HI: 80 LO: 45 SKY: Sunny

HI: 59 LO: 32 SKY: Sunny

HI: 59 LO: 32 SKY: Sunny

POP:20%

POP: 0%

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FORECAST: Hey Bulldogs! In these next three days we will finally see temperatures cool off a tad and get much closer to normal for late Feb. Have a great weekend!

Readerʼs Guide: Bad Dawgs Bulletin Board Opinion Contact Info

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NEWS

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

VETO Thomas, senior industrial engineering major, said he has hopes for the new SA leaders.

“I hope the newly elected senators and Executive Branch realize that disagreement isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of progress,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he plans to continue to advocate for Smith even without the title of ‘Senator.’

Logan Reeves, SA senator and primary opposition to Resolution 42 along with senators Layton Little and Emily Crace, said he was relieved Raven vetoed the measure.

“Approving this legislation would have placed unnecessary strain between university administrators and the Student Association,” Reeves said.

Reeves, senior industrial engineering major, said the resolution may bring discussion about reviewing and altering the process of

CONTINUED FROM 1

student conduct violations but he said he does not see a need for change, although, he is in favor of open discussion on MSU’s campus.

Smith, a sophomore education major, had an administrative hearing with Taber Mullen, the dean of students, on Feb. 7. Smith admitted to the charges against him and was told his punishment was banishment from all MSU basketball games for the remainder of the 2016-2017 season, from the Humphrey Coliseum and placed on disciplinary probation until May 15, 2017.

Smith said he respected Raven’s decision to veto Resolution 42 and he did not have any hard feelings towards the outcome.

Today, Tyler McMurray takes office as Student Association President, Layton Little takes office as SA Vice President, and Stephanie Durr takes office as SA Secretary.

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MEREDITH

CONTINUED FROM 1

The discussion will illuminate how special it is to be celebrating 10 years of the outpouring and impression of African American Studies on the campus of MSU. “We are urging everyone to come out and help mark this moment with us,” Middleton said. “Audience participation is welcome, we want to hear from you and get your insight on the wonderful things you will hear from the panel discussion.”

Holmes Cultural Diversity Center Program Coordinator, Joy Bradford, commented on how important it is for students to attend this event.

“I feel it is so very important and valuable for this generation of students to attend the event and hear what these people went through and see where they are today; what they have become,” Joy said.

The African American Studies program’s “James Meredith and the March Against Fear” discussion panel is free to the public.

Assistant Director of the HCDC, John Blue also stated his thoughts on the panel discussion.

“I am excited to see the student’s reactions and expressions as they hear and realize how resiliently they all fought for civil rights,” John said. “James Meredith probably didn’t realize how, by his actions, he would have such an undeniable impact on us all today.”

Friday February 17, 2017 1:20 a.m. A student was arrested in Starkville for no insurance and suspended Driver’s License.

Monday February 20, 2017 8:18 a.m. A student reported her belongings missing, last seen Thursday February 16, 2017 locked in a locker at The Sanderson Center.

12:36 p.m. An employee reported fraudulent chargers on her credit card.

6:14 p.m. A student reported her bicycle stolen from behind Humphrey Coliseum.

Tuesday February 21, 2017 8:32 p.m. A student was arrested on Hardy Road for minor in possession of alcohol. Student was issued two warnings for improper equipment.

7:26 a.m. A student reported his bicycle stolen from a bike rack at Nunnelee Hall.

Wednesday February 22, 2017 2:29 p.m. An employee from The Sanderson Center reported fraudulent charges on the procurement card statement.

is now accepting APPLICATIONS & LETTERS OF INTENT for

EDITOR IN CHIEF Deadline March 9, 2017 at 5 p.m.

Applications may be picked up suite 331 in the Colvard Student Union.

IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT HUNGER.

WE ARE.

Imagine a world where food is not a privilege, but a right.

A world where there is room at the table for everyone. Where food technologies are developed, perfected and shared to feed a growing population that will reach 9.5 billion by 2050.

Imagine a world where the spark of an idea grows into a solution that molds the future. We are, at Mississippi State University, where we ring true. M S S TAT E . E D U

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Through the eyes Chew on this: affordable food of a public speaker: Toastmasters offers advice French Onion Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

by Georgeann Kenney Staff Writer

I’m standing in front of a classroom of people, clutching my notecards, preparing to give my fi rst speech of the semester. I’m much more nervous than I thought I would be. You might be wondering why I’m telling you about my public speaking class – but I’m not. I’m telling you about my fi rst experience speaking at a Toastmasters meeting.

Toastmasters is an international club centered around public speaking. where members prepare and give speeches and also give and receive feedback.

The official website, http:// toastmasters.org.msstate.edu/, goes into more detail about the benefits of the club.

“Students learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback and accept it,” the website reads.

I attended the weekly meetings on and off for two semesters but I fi nally gave in last week and volunteered to be a speaker.

My fi rst speech is an ‘about me’ speech and only has to be four to six minutes in length – no big deal right?

So here I am, at the front of the room, reading my notecards. I can feel all eyes on me. I’m sure this is normal and possibly even a kind gesture towards someone who speaks often, but I am honestly considering asking them to stop staring.

I resist the urge and continue speaking. My funny line is coming up and I’m sweating thinking about what country I’m going to move to if they don’t laugh.

Here it comes.

“For the life of me I couldn’t fi gure out how I was supposed to play ‘Honky Tonk Badonkadonk’ on the piano” I say confidently.

I hear laughter. I did it, now I can continue on with my speech. I get more confident as I continue speaking and when I’m fi nally done I smile and say ‘thank you’ and rush back to my seat. The rest of the meeting commences and next on the agenda is ‘Table Topics.’

Table Topics is an opportunity for members to introduce a topic and speak for a short amount of time.

Recent topics have been “If you could punch anybody in the face who would it be” and “What is your least favorite thing about Valentine’s Day.” Then, anybody who wants to can

speak up and discuss.

This meeting, the Table Topics master has a slideshow of multiple flags from different countries.

A member stands up and shares what they know about the random country that appears on the screen.

The fi rst one is South Korea, then India, and the Turkey. I volunteer to speak about the next one, keeping my fi ngers crossed that it is the United States.

“Um, New Zealand.

New Zealand is a country.

It is spelled N-E-W Z-EA-L-A-N-D,” I say confidently. “That’s all I know about New Zealand.”

This club offers students the opportunity to get out of their comfort zone and speak in front of other students and receive constructive feedback. Most importantly, these students want to be here. It’s not a mandatory three credit hour class fi lled with communication majors. It is voluntary and full of diversity. Members vary in country of origin, classification and major, but one thing unifies them, the desire to improve their public speaking skills.

Meetings are held at 5 p.m. every Wednesday in McCool 215. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend.

4 tsp. French Onion Dip per Breast A Sprinkle of Cayenne pepper A Fistful Parmesan cheese A Sprinkle of Paprika One quarter box Panko breadcrumbs 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Mix all ingredients together. Slather onto both sides of each breast. Top with more cheese, you can use any kind of shredded for this. Bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe is perfect for college students with an empty wallet who want to have date night at home.

Seasoning, breadcrumbs, dip, and shredded cheese are all available at any dollar store.

You can get a 10-pound bag of chicken for about $10 at grocery stores nearby. Plus, that bag will give you a few future meals as well!

If you donʼt have all the ingredients already lying around the house, you will spend about $15 and have plenty left over.

If you really want to go all out, you could get a fresh loaf of bread and some butter for an appetizer and a box of pudding mix for dessert, both roughly a dollar a piece. Now, you have a fairly balanced meal for date night!

An In-Class Distraction

SUDOKU

February 21 puzzle solutions will be posted at www.reflector-online.com.

CLASSIFIEDS POLICY The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; the deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Classifieds are $5 per issue. Student and staff ads are $3 per issue, prepaid. Lost and found: found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed for standard ad cost.

HELP WANTED Boardtown Bikes is seeking a bicycle mechanic. Mechanical expreience and involvement with cycling is preferred.

Visit www. boardtownbikes.com to apply.

FOR RENT

Sublease 3 BR 1 bath brick house with large back yard. 513 Overstreet Drive, Starkville. $975.00. Pet Friendly.

MISCELLANEOUS

Private collectibles for sale: Thousands of WWII military items. (no guns) Pez candy dispensers, Elvis Presley collectibles and much more. Cash only. By appoinment only. Call 901-626-2763 for details.

CLUB INFO The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday.

MSU student organizations may place free

announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to club_info@ reflector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Reflector office in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Reflector.

MSU GAMER’S GUILD The MSU Gamer’s Guild is holding an Overwatch and Halo Tournament at 2 p.m. on Saturday the 25th in Butler Hall. For more information contact vgcmsu@gmail.com

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OPINION

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

SEC basketball needs better officials

by Heath Fisackerly Contributing Writer

The Southeastern Conference officiating during basketball games this season has been absolutely horrendous.

As a basketball fan, it has been less fun watching the game because of the woes of the officiating crews.

Basketball is an upbeat, fast game, but the undisciplined officials have caused an uproar not only from Mississippi State students and fans, but fans all over the conference.

It is embarrassing that the SEC brings in so much money from these athletes and sports, but does not allow players a fair shot at succeeding while playing the game.

Significant changes need to be made by Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, and

Steve Shaw, the head of officials.

It is Sankey’s job to ensure that everyone below him is doing their job correctly and it appears Shaw may not be taking the decision of selecting officials serious enough.

“We cannot live with

It is ridiculous that we must watch the continual confusion and disarray of referees in the Hump.

The student section continuously shows its fury with loud boos.

There are blatant missed calls and even what seem to be madeup calls during games.

“It is ridiculous that we must watch the continual confusion and disarray of referees in the Hump. ” incorrect outcomes,” Shaw said at SEC Football Media Days in July of 2016. Even though he was referring to football, the same precedent should be set in basketball. There is no way we can live with incorrect outcomes in sports.

Players are called for fouls while they are not even touching anyone.

You cannot commit a foul if you are not touching anyone from the other team.

All current basketball officials need to be reassessed by the league to

make sure they have the ability to make correct calls. Yes, basketball is a fast game and it is hard to see sometimes.

That is understandable, but for refs to be continuously confused and incorrect is not. If an official is too slow or has bad eyesight, they need to be removed from officiating.

When one team shoots eight free throws in a game and the other shoots 27 in the same game, something is not right. It should be an equal fight.

No, there will not be the same amount of fouls called, but that much of a difference in free throw attempts signals an error.

Much of this sounds biased towards the experience of MSU fans this season, but we are not the only fans that feel this way. SEC officiating has been that bad and it needs to be improved.

REFLECTIONS

On this day in history...

Lao Tzu

...in 1868, W.E.B. DuBois was born in

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

Massachusetts. A brilliant scholar, DuBois was an influential proponent of civil rights. history.com

No president should have sole power to grant White House press passes

Kaitlin O’Dougherty is the Editor-in-Chief at The Reflector.

She can be contacted at editor@ reflector.msstate.edu.

To put it simply, no president should be given the power to grant White House press credentials. The president is the single most important person under inspection by the media.

If the president is the sole person to grant press credentials, that also makes them the sole person controlling their image—one they would obviously like to keep in a positive light.

The accusation of “fake news” President Trump likes to instill in people’s minds would only be heightened if he were the only one to grant press credentials.

The news would become entirely biased and fi lled only with the image Trump likes to portray.

The job of the news would ultimately become irrelevant because they would not have fair access to the person at the top of our nation’s social and political

hierarchy.

This is not to say President Trump would be the only president we would have to worry about. These statements are not antiTrump, but rather pro-first amendment.

Free speech is the basis of this argument and with limited sources entering the White House, free speech would become lost. It would become free speech only for a select number of carefully tailored news sources, those

have made the splash they did by reporting the story in mainstream media.

To say Nixon would not have been impeached does not seem likely, but the news may have been reported in a better light, not allowing the American people to understand the full scope of his impeachment.

To avoid incidents such as the one previously described, White House press credentials must have a fair portion of people

“Free speech is the basis of this argument and with limited sources entering the White House, free speech would become lost.” that are willing to support whomever is in office at the time.

An outstanding example of how this could cause a problem is in the Watergate Scandal of 1972. According to History, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought the initial scandal to light for much of the general public.

If The Washington Post were to be banned, essentially, from the White House at that time, they would not

reviewing them. The president should not touch the matter because it is our right as U.S. citizens to hold our president under a microscope. We are not a democracy if we fail to do so, or are prevented from doing so.

The job of a journalist is to make sure this microscope examines all sides, and it seems doubtful any president would allow unfavorable media inside their doors.

President Trump banned

CONTACT INFORMATION Editor in Chief/Kaitlin O’Dougherty

Life Editor/Alexandra Hendon

325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu

life@reflector.msstate.edu

Managing Editor/Devin Edgar

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managing@reflector.msstate.edu

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multimedia_editor@reflector.msstate.edu

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325-7907 advertise@reflector.msstate.edu

Opinion Editor/Sam Gibson

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opinion@reflector.msstate.edu

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The Washington Post’s access to his events in 2016, according to WashingtonPost. com. He called the newspaper “dishonest and phony” based on a headline they wrote saying Trump linked Obama to the Orlando shooting, according to the website.

If he was willing to ban them based on one headline without rationally stating his case, it does not seem likely he would change his approach in the future.

Naturally, the other side of this argument is that even if the president alone grants press passes, those media outlets that receive the honor will report accurately and fairly.

To this I say, think of when you were a child. You were sitting in gym class and were chosen fi rst by the captain of the kickball team. Of course you began to see this person in a positive light, whether you were controlling that or not.

You beat out the other children in your class and you became linked with that captain. The same would happen if news outlets were hand-picked by a president to report his doings. Choose the safe route—keep the president out of this kickball game.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor should be sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to editor@reflector.msstate.edu.

Letters must include name and telephone number for verification purposes. The editor reserves the right to edit or refuse to publish a letter.

The

Demarcus Cousins trade will not make the Pelicans championship contenders

Chris Lowe is a sophomore majoring in business information systems. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

In the world of professional basketball, there is one topic that is dominating headlines everywhere: DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings.

Cousins, arguably the best center in the NBA, was recently traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for what amounts to a bag of chips and some change.

Considering the NBA season is on break at the time of this article’s writing, every media outlet imaginable is focusing their efforts on speculation regarding his acquisition by the Pelicans, and they are largely predicting success.

At first glance, it would certainly make sense to say that. Cousins joins Anthony Davis, who is certainly one of the three best power forwards in the game, and that means New Orleans has the best big man tandem out of any team in the league, bar none. This fact would make it very easy to think the Pelicans are now a title contender, but I would challenge that notion.

It is a good idea to mention that, up to this point, New Orleans has been a pretty bad basketball team. They currently sit at the 11th seed in the Western Conference, and are about five games away from being dead last.

Anthony Davis has been a superstar of course, but the rest of the team has left quite a lot to be desired. According to the NBA’s website, Jrue Holiday is the only other player that is averaging over 12 points per game, and no other guard is scoring double digits at all.

This highlights the fact that the Pelicans primarily have issues in their frontcourt, so adding Cousins to the mix does not address that problem at all.

In fact, they traded away their youngest prospect for him in Buddy Hield, who also happens to be a guard.

Sure, having the “Twin Towers” on their team will improve their record

and make them a respectable basketball squad, but I do not see them making a deep run in the playoffs at all. I do not even see them making it to the second round.

In addition to the team’s overall failure, DeMarcus Cousins is known for losing control of his emotions on a regular basis. NBC reported that this year he became the fastest player ever to reach his 16th technical foul of the season and face suspension as a result, doing so almost a month earlier than anyone has done in years previous. This is also his third year to reach this number of techs out of the seven he has played so far.

The outbursts he had in the past can possibly be attributed to the overall horrendous management the Kings have contended with in the past decade or two, but I am inclined to believe that this will not suddenly cease to be an issue now that he has been traded.

If this is the case, it will become a huge challenge for him and Davis to gel completely on the court, and that is something that absolutely has to happen in order for the Pelicans to see any kind of success.

Finally, there is the issue of Davis’ injury history. Fox Sports has Davis succumbing to over 20 injuries since the 2013-2014 season, and the past two seasons have been especially serious in nature. While he has been relatively healthy this year, it will only take a few more injuries for the “injury prone” label to be aptly applied to him.

Hopefully Cousins can take some of the pressure off Davis to carry his team so that those injuries can be mitigated, but if that does not happen, DeMarcus will face the same situation he faced in Sacramento.

There is a reason that the New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the worst teams in the league for years. Adding DeMarcus Cousins does give them the potential to become championship contenders, but they will not do so immediately.

The Pelicans have to develop a backcourt, keep Cousins reined in, and find a way to keep Davis healthy first, and all three of those tasks would be very difficult to accomplish for much better organizations than New Orleans.

Reflector

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Reflector is the official student newspaper of Mississippi State University.

Content is determined solely by the student editorial staff. The contents of The Reflector have not been approved by Mississippi State University.

CORRECTIONS

The Reflector staff strives to maintain the integrity of this paper through accurate and honest reporting. If we publish an error we will correct it. To report an error, call 325-7905.

@REFLECTORONLINE

5

SPORTS

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Ready shows true leadership on court

by Hunter Sciara Contributing Writer

Determination, leadership, hardwork and an attitude that refuses to give up; these are all characteristics that describe the career of and Tuesday night’s basketball game for I.J. Ready.

Being his senior year, Ready came into the game knowing this would be his second to last home game of his college basketball career, and it was clear that it meant something to him.

He played a total of 39 minutes against the Ole Miss Rebels Tuesday night.

Though the outcome resulted in a loss, Ready showed a type of perseverance that Mississippi State basketball has not seen in a quite a while. What was even more impressive were his comments about his 20 point, five assist, and three rebound game.

“I don’t think I’m bringing enough to the table every night,” Ready said.

“I bring leadership, but that’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s our job to will our way to a win.”

Note that there was no indication of what he did well, what his teammates did poorly, or any comment that reflected ability or statistics. He was and remains purely focused on leading and providing enough determination as humanly possible to get his team a win.

Although a win did not follow behind his excellent play, Ready showed the team and the Starkville

community how much he cares about winning.

Ready hit the game-tying layup to send the Bulldogs into overtime after coming back from a nine point deficit in the second half. Even the Ole Miss coach, Andy Kennedy, talked about Ready’s play and the Rebels’ inability to stop him at the end of regulation.

“I.J. Ready just started driving us downhill and we could never get a stop

had a winning season as a Bulldog, Ready’s main goal is to just focus on the next game and do all he can to win the one in front of him. He has become a role model for the team who provides hope and instills confidence in the other players.

“I just wanna be there for them and pick up all the slack that I can when I need to. We all still have our heads up; the season is not over.” Ready said. “We

“ The biggest thing for us is to go out

on top. you know, we can still win the SEC Tournament and get to the NC A A Tournament. But the biggest thing four us

right now is winning the last games of the season.”

at the end of regulation,” Kennedy said.

Seeing his face in the press conference, Ready did not have a look of disgust nor a look of content on his face. He possesses a great deal of maturity that can be seen through his expressions and body language both on and off the floor. He realizes his role as a leader and takes it head fi rst into each and every game.

After multiple close losses to teams of significant status in the college basketball world, everyone expects the team to come out with their heads down and without a fi ghting chance. That is not the case. While he has never

- I.J Ready, senior

got three games left in our conference and I think we can still make a run at it.”

Even after a demoralizing loss to their arch rival, Ole Miss who has won the last seven of eight games played between the two teams, Ready’s only focus remains on winning. Not only does he just want to win for his overall career as a Bulldog, Ready still thinks this team has a shot at making the NCAA tournament.

“The biggest thing for us is to go out on top. You know, we could still win the SEC tournament and get to the NCAA tournament,” Ready said. “But the biggest thing for us right now is winning the

Noah Siano | The Reflector

I.J Ready dropped 20 points, fi ve assists, and three rebounds in an overtime loss to Ole Miss. MSU is 14-13 overall this year.

last games of the season.”

The last time Mississippi State reached the big dance was 2009, something that seems like a thing of the past or once in a dream.

However, behind the gritty and gutsy performance of I.J. Ready followed by the raw talent of some younger players, this team could very well change that statistic.

Ready will play his final game at Humphrey Coliseum against LSU on Saturday March 4.

However, this game will not be much different for him compared to any other in terms of his play on the court. Ready will play his last game at the Hump like he did every other game, with true heart and undeniable determination.

EXPIRES 05/04/2017

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Bully’s BULLET

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Events happening across campus!

UPCOMING EVENTS FEB 24TH - MAR 9TH

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Mentalist Paul Ramsay’s Mind Games

NEDA Walk by Psi Chi

Women’s Basketball MSU vs. Tennessee

National Strawberry Day!

National Public Sleeping Day

US Poet Laureate Public Reading and Conversation

Softball MSU vs. Alabama State

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Women’s Tennis vs. Alabama

National Oreo Cookie Day!

Lyceum Series: Barefoot in the Park

National Proofreading Day

National Pound Cake Day!

Outdoor Adven- Magnolia Indepentures Intro to Geo- dent Film Festival caching

FOR MORE EVENT INFORMATION VISIT: UNION.MSSTATE.EDU/CALENDAR

Tuesday, March 7 7P.M. TIX ON SALE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR STUDENT ACTIVITIES WWW.LYCEUM.MSSTATE.EDU 662.325.2930

$25 PRESENTS

STUDENTS FREE W/MSU ID

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:

662.325.2930