Tolu Smith's injury created doubt. Mississippi State basketball found motivation

CHICAGO — Beyond an initial meeting to help them digest the news of All-SEC forward Tolu Smith being sidelined until conference play, Mississippi State basketball coach Chris Jans didn’t talk to his players much about what impression Smith's injury left.

Entering Wednesday’s season opener against Arizona State in the Barstool Sports Invitational at Wintrust Arena — a game MSU won 71-56 — there were doubts. How will a team that was among the last four to get in the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament last season move forward without its star?

Those questions from the outside weren’t addressed by Jans. However, among the players, it’s evident the doubt created a desire to prove doubters wrong. In Game 1, they accomplished their goal.

“Once he got hurt, we knew that everybody had to step up,” center Jimmy Bell Jr. said. “Not just me, everybody had to step up. We’ve got vets on the team. We’ve got a lot of leadership in the locker room. He’ll be back soon, and we’ll be even stronger than we are right now.”

Bell started all 34 games for West Virginia last season before transferring, but he came to Mississippi State understanding his role would shrink.

“Tolu is a big part of the team,” Bell said. “When I came in, Jans recruited me and told me about Tolu coming back.”

However, his role increased before the team took the court. With freshman Gai Chol as the lone available center, Bell had to be a trustworthy option. Against the Sun Devils, he delivered.

Bell collected 13 points, nine rebounds and an assist in his debut. He was a plus-16, which ranked second behind forward D.J. Jeffries.

“I don’t try to come in and be like (anybody) else,” Bell said. “I come do my job and do what I’ve got to do to the best of my abilities.”

Bell was one of 13 players to take the court Wednesday, and the unloading of the bench wasn't due only to the lopsided score. Mississippi State used 10 players within the first seven minutes — something Jans says he’d like to continue if the Bulldogs are producing.

Part of that approach also could be to identify roles as MSU deals with injuries at key spots outside of Smith’s. Forward KeShawn Murphy likely won’t be back until mid-December, and guard Shakeel Moore isn’t available this week due to a violation of team rules.

How much will Jans be moving on the fly in the early going? Well, he didn’t decide to start Trey Fort in place of Moore until moments before tip-off.

“Two minutes before,” Fort said of when he learned he would be starting. “We walked in after warm-ups. I saw my name on the board.”

“We had discussions about a lot of guys,” Jans said. “There were about four guys we talked about. We got lucky and picked the right one today.”

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Fort, who came from Howard College, finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting (5-for-10 from deep) in his debut. Jans knows another player could be the one stepping up in MSU’s home opener against UT Martin on Saturday (4 p.m., SEC Network+), and he’s fine with that.

Plenty will be fluid as the Bulldogs learn to play without their star in nonconference and possibly into SEC play. If it means winning in dominating fashion against Power Five foes, Smith’s absence could lead to an improved supporting cast upon his return.

“I’m glad to hear it’s motivating for them,” Jans said. “It should be.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball adapting with 13 players on the fly