Signing day has come and gone, and with it one of the most successful recruiting classes in recent years for Mississippi State.
That can be attributed to one factor-Sylvester Croom.
When Croom came to MSU last year, he brought with him an attitude. A no-nonsense attitude. An attitude filled with discipline. A winning attitude. And the players who signed with State knew this.
Derek Pegues, the most coveted high school player in the state, told the Clarion-Ledger that that was the main reason he signed with the Bulldogs.
“I really liked State because everybody there was all about winning,” Pegues said.
We’ve heard people say that Croom attracted six of the top 10 athletes in the state, all black, because he is black himself. That’s simply not the reason. Rick Stansbury, State’s white head basketball coach, consistently out-recruits Rod Barnes, Ole Miss’s black coach, year after year.
So many talented players signed on with State this year because Croom has brought integrity to our team, and the color of his skin had nothing to do with that.
The fact is, Croom symbolizes discipline, a no-nonsense aggressiveness and most importantly, winning. For the players who signed with State Wednesday, that was the most important thing.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Angela Adair, news editor Elizabeth Crisp, assistant news editor Jed Pressgrove sports editor Jeff Edwards, entertainment editor Dustin Barnes, managing editor Pam McTeer and editor in chief Josh Foreman.