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Rick Ray at announcement. (C. Todd Sherman)
Mississippi State's new head basketball coach saw one player leave and another arrive on Monday. Colin Borchert, a 6-foot-8 forward from the East Mississippi Community College, signed with the Bulldogs on Monday.
Prior to that news, signee P.J. Hardwick announced on his Twitter page that he was "re-opening" his recruitment, making him the second Bulldog signee to seek a release. Hardwick, a point guard from Houston, Texas, had not yet been granted a release by MSU as of Monday afternoon.
Josh Gray, also a point guard from Houston, was released by Ray last month. He is reportedly headed to Texas Tech.
Ray has been hitting the recruiting trail hard since being hired April 1 as Rick Stansbury's replacement. Ray signed two players last week, point guard Jacoby Davis of Delafield, Wis., and shooting guard Andre Applewhite of Memphis.
The three remaining fall signees are guard Fred Thomas, guard Craig Sword and forward Gavin Ware.
Borchert adds some beef inside, and that was a high priority for Ray in this recruiting cycle. The 225-pound Borchert was named third team NJCAA All-American, and he'll have two years of eligibility at MSU.
"They did a really good job of making him feel like he was really needed and would be a big part of their team," EMCC coach Mark White said.
brad.locke@journalinc.com