Mississippi State has announced freshman guard DeVille Smith has withdrawn from school and is no longer a member of the basketball team.
— Gregg Ellis (@msuhoopsgregg) March 26, 2012
In news that was expected, Mississippi State officially announced that DeVille Smith has left Mississippi State University. When you look back at his season, it should not come as a surprise that his career has apparently come to close. The point guard played sparingly, and he dealt with a variety of health issues.
While we all wish him well going forward, it will be interesting to see what this does to the point guard position for Mississippi State next year.
Last year's roster listed the following players as guards: Jalen Steele, Dee Bost, Rodney Hood, Shaun Smith, Reed Clayton, Charles Parker, Baxter Price, Brian Bryant, Tyson Cunningham, and DeVille Smith.
Of those players, Bost, Bryant, and now DeVille Smith are no longer members of the squad. Reed Clayton, Charles Parker, Baxter Price and Tyson Cunningham played a combined 51 minutes. Shaun Smith only managed to appear for 40 minutes in ten games. That leaves Steele and Hood, neither of which are as suited for the point guard position as they are for the shooting guard.
For the Bulldogs, it looks like the position may fall to a new player next year. Quite a few questions have to be answered. How much do you trust a freshman with the point guard position? Do you give the spot to P.J. Hardwick or Josh Gray? Does the coach (whomever that may be) try to find one from a JUCO? Does someone transfer to Mississippi State?
No matter how you look at it, a position that was already looking like a liability for Mississippi State looks worse today.
This is a team that will now be missing Bost, Moultrie (probably), Sidney (most likely), Bryant, DeVille Smith, a coach, and a true, experienced point guard.
Yikes.