'A gut feeling': Why Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer turned to Andra Espinoza-Hunter

STARKVILLE – Vic Schaefer and Andra Espinoza-Hunter had a talk earlier this week. 

"He told me what he expected from me and what I needed to do moving forward," said Espinoza-Hunter, a junior guard at Mississippi State. 

From the outside, it might have looked like Espinoza-Hunter has been in the head coach's dog house in recent weeks. She played five minutes in each of Mississippi State's past two games. She didn't score a point in either. 

Espinoza-Hunter had averaged 7.8 minutes and 1.5 points per game since Dec. 19's game against South Florida. Against LSU on Thursday night, Espinoza-Hunter played a season-high 37 minutes and scored 10 points. 

"I just had a gut feeling about her tonight," Schaefer said. "And she played awfully well." 

Espinoza-Hunter started in place of freshman forward Rickea Jackson. Jackson had been on a tear recently in scoring 20-plus points in two of the three games leading into the matchup with LSU. 

Schaefer said Jackson has been dealing with an injury since the Missouri game last week though. She skipped three days of practice and wasn't ready for a full workload against LSU. 

So Schaefer turned to Espinoza-Hunter. 

"I just have some confidence in Andi," Schaefer said. "She's been to the war. She's proven it to me last year. We did have a good visit. She understands that our team is different. The makeup of our team is different, which really exposes everyone." 

Schaefer said it was easier to put Espinoza-Hunter on the court last year when she had the luxury of playing with Jazzmun Holmes, Anriel Howard and Teaira McCowan.

Espinoza-Hunter played 30-plus minutes eight times last season. Thursday was the first time she hit that mark this season. Schaefer has relied heavily upon his core group of players this year. At times, Espinoza-Hunter has been on the outside looking in. 

That wasn't the case Thursday. And if it was a sign of things to come, it might not be the case moving forward either. 

"One thing I always see in Andi is I see a kid who plays pretty hard," Schaefer said. "She may not play great or well, but she's always going to play hard. If I can just get her to eliminate a couple things, she could be a really good one." 

Schaefer said he told Espinoza-Hunter in the meeting that he hasn't lost confidence in her but also that he thought she could play a little better. He wants her to be a better rebounder. At 5-foot-11, she has the size at the shooting guard or small forward position to be a factor on the glass. 

"I need five people rebounding," Schaefer said. "Help me rebound just a little bit." 

A thing that Schaefer has never had to belabor about with Espionza-Hunter is shooting. If she proves she can rebound and be a strong help-side defender, Espinoza-Hunter will be rewarded with more playing time, especially because she is such a weapon as a shooter. 

"If I have to play anybody in H-O-R-S-E, I'm taking her with me," Schaefer said. 

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Another thing Schaefer has never had to worry about with Espinoza-Hunter is attitude. 

"She hasn't hung her head one time when I've gone to the locker room after a victory and she might not have played as many minutes as she wants or has in the past," Schaefer said. "That's what i really respect about her because that's not true with my whole team. 

"And I know she's disappointed. I know she wants to play more. But she's not done that one time in my mind. The game honors hard work. The game honors those that honor the game. I think she honors the game. She puts in the time. Her and Chloe (Bibby) spend so much time in the gym shooting. I think the game honored her tonight." 

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter.