SEC Media Day

Men’s Head Coach Rick Stansbury
On the team’s experience…
“It is the most experience I have had in a long time and we only have two seniors coming back. We have been unfortunate with some guys transferring and some losses to the NBA draft. There is not question we are better off at this point in the year than we were at this point last year.“

On senior center, Jarvis Varnado…
“He has a chance to do something no one else has done. You think about the Bill Russell’s, Wilt Chamberlin’s and Shaquille O’Neal’s, all the great shot blockers that have played this game, and he has the potential to be the best ever. He deserves all the credit he gets.“

On last season’s highs and lows…
“I had a new and young team last season. Yes, we had some disappointing losses, but we played well all the way through SEC play. We had some big SEC road wins, which helped our confidence and you all know it is difficult to win on the road in the SEC.“

Jarvis Varnado, F, Sr.
On why he chose to attend Mississippi State over Tennessee…
“Tennessee and Mississippi State were always high on my decision list. You know you always want to go back to your home state. I feel like I would have done better at Mississippi State so I went with Mississippi State.“

On the strength’s of this years team…
“We are going to be more experienced. Last year we had a lot of freshman and guys who didn’t play that much, this year we will be more experienced everywhere.“

Women’s Head Coach Sharron Fanning-Otis
On expectations for the season…
“Carry over. That’s the keyword for the season. What are we going to carry over from last season’s success? We have to make adjustments with new players in new positions. Also, our schedule on the road is challenging as well so we’re going to have to play a lot harder this year. Again though, we must carry over last season’s success to this season.“

On the guard position…
“We have great experience at guard and honestly it helped us, not that we were excited about that at all, when Marneshia (Richard) went down last season because Alexis (Rack) really stepped up. Even Diamber (Johnson) did well when she was in. We are very talented in the guard position and I expect that to carry us a long way.“

On the girls (from the Congo)…
“Last year was the first I can remember that we had three girls recognized as All-SEC. Two of those girls were Armelie (Lumanu) and Chanel (Mokango) who performed very well. I am looking forward to this season with them because they now know the system and with their success from last season, we are expecting big things from them.“

Marneisha Richards, G, Sr.
On her physical Health…
“I feel great right now. I am excited about getting back on the court this year and I am ready to help my teammates with continue their success.“

On this season…
“Everyone has stepped up and adapted to their roll. Defensively we are a good team and we know how to put up points. I think we are going to be a good fast-break team this year.“