I was walking past  the Humphrey Coliseum the other day when I heard something odd. I looked around, but did not see anyone around. 

“Anyone there?” I asked.

“Hey there, how are you doing?” the Coliseum said back. 

“Um, is this really happening?” I said. “I did not know you could talk.”

“Oh, it’s real. I do not typically talk to people, but can you believe the big news from Friday?”

“I guess you are talking about Malik Newman signing with Mississippi State University,” I said. 

“It really is amazing Head Coach Ben Howland pulled that off with less than a month under his belt at MSU.”

“Amazing? It is down right almost miraculous!” The Coliseum said. “He beat out John Calipari and Bill Self for Newman. Howland sent a message to every school in the country; ‘This is OUR state.’”

“Wow, so you are pretty excited to see what Howland can accomplish for the Bulldogs?”

“Of course I am.” the Coliseum said. “In just one month he has completely reenergized the fan base, and he has landed the highest rated recruit in MSU history! His introductory press conference had almost the same number of people in attendance as the last basketball game.”

“That is probably true. You think this basketball season can be the start of something special, huh?” I said.

“I do not have a doubt,” the Coliseum said. “I’ve witnessed some pretty poor basketball over the past few seasons. Rick Ray’s players tried hard, but were just devoid of talent. 

“Rick Stansbury’s players had all the talent in the world, but just could not get teamwork and that trying thing down. I think Howland might finally be the coach who can put it altogether for MSU, and with a player like Newman the sky is the limit,” the coliseum said.

“That is a pretty lofty expectation,” I said. “Are you not worried that Howland has been out of the game for two years and has lost it? What about Newman?” I said. 

“He has never been on a losing team and is going to try and play out of position at point guard.”

“It may be lofty, but come on. Why not let your imagination run wild?” The Coliseum said. “For the first time in I do not know how long MSU has a likeable core of players that do not have a history of drugs. There are players that are actually known nation wide. 

Combine all of that with a coach that has been to multiple Final Fours and it is a good time to be a Bulldog basketball fan.”

“You should really look into joining the marketing department,” I said. “What did you think when Newman committed and called the school ‘University of Mississippi State’?”

“Bless his heart,” The Coliseum said. “He committed though, that is all that really matters. There will be plenty of winning and good times in his future. He will get it right.”