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Mississippi State is a popular destination for Carver-Montgomery players

SEC Mississippi St Tennessee Basketball

Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray speaks to players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Tennessee at the Southeastern Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

AP

At one point last season, Mississippi State and head coach Rick Ray had five scholarship players available due to transfers, players turning pro, suspensions and a rash of injuries. So far this offseason, they’ve started to it turn around personnel-wise, and their 2014 class got a boost Monday from a school that’s very familiar with the Bulldogs’ program.

Demetrius Houston gave his verbal pledge to Ray. With that, the Montgomery (Ala.) George Washington Carver High School product became the fourth player from the school to commit to the Mississippi State program in recent years.

The 6-6 small forward joins 2015 Montgomery-Carver (what the local writers refer to it as) Bulldog commit Josh Struggs and current Mississippi State players Craig Sword and Roquez Johnson as guys who have made the trip from Montgomery to Starkville to play college basketball. Sword, a sophomore-to-be, was the team’s leading scorer last year, while Johnson, who will be a junior this upcoming season, averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 2012-13. He was also suspended three games for a violation of team rules.

That gives Carver-Montgomery at least one Mississippi State commitment in the 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 classes -- meaning Carver-Montgomery didn’t have a senior on its 2013 roster, obviously.

Houston is rated as high as a three-star recruit by some scouting services and is the second overall commitment for Mississippi State for 2014, joining shooting guard Maurice Dunlap.

As far as the future is concerned, the Bulldogs have the aforementioned Sword (a team-leading 10.5 points per game) and Johnson returning, along with Jalen Steele (10.1 ppg) and pretty much everyone else that matters. But Houston will an integral part of a class that will have to replace Steele and possibly a few others after next season.

I guess if something works, you stick with it, right?

Follow David Harten on Twitter at @David_Harten