JACKSON — Malik Newman needed a minute.
Pausing momentarily between questions from television reporters at a press conference at Callaway High on Friday afternoon following his announcement that he was headed to Mississippi State University to play basketball, the nation’s top-ranked shooting guard prospect gathered himself and then turned the tables on the reporters, asking a question of his own.
“Is it OK if my dad sits up here with me?” Newman questioned.
And with that, the 6-foot-8 Horatio Webster stopped what he was doing, walked over to his son and joined the press conference.
It was a fitting image for a father and son who have been linked by the fact that both have been elite basketball players. And now, they are joined by the fact that both chose to play collegiately at MSU.
Webster was a do-it-all forward exiting the junior college ranks when he signed with MSU 19 years ago. Newman, on the other hand, is one of the nation’s most decorated prospects, a player who could have chosen any major basketball program in the country.
On Friday, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a Bulldog.
“At first, it didn’t mean a lot,” Newman said of the choice to sign with his dad’s alma mater. “But now, it does play a factor. I think people will be expecting me to be newcomer of the year like he was. It’s pressure but it’ll make me work harder and help my play.”
For his part, Webster says he never attempted to guide Newman to MSU. Instead, he let Newman make his own decision, saying, “I’d be smiling here today whether he went to Kentucky, Kansas, or anywhere else.”
Still, with 19 years separating the signing of one generation from another, Webster admits Friday’s outcome – Newman choosing to sign with MSU – evoked a sense of pride.
“It does,” Webster said when asked if Newman’s commitment to MSU meant something extra. “I am so happy, because he made that decision on his own. He wasn’t forced, nobody had to twist his arm or anything. He chose that decision. I actually think that was the best decision for him.”
Webster, who signed with MSU just months after the Bulldogs reached the only Final Four in school history, averaged 17 points and 5.2 rebounds as a senior in the 1997-98 season. Good numbers, yes, but totals that pale in comparison to Newman, who averaged 29.7 points per game as a senior and 25.2 points per game during his four-year career at Callaway.
‘I knew he was special’
Sitting together at Friday’s press conference while wearing matching maroon MSU baseball caps, Webster and Newman both flashed the same wide smile. For Newman, it was the end of a long, public recruitment that featured offers from every major basketball power in the country. For Webster, it was the chance to watch his child make the transition from the high school ranks to the next level.
To the former MSU forward, it was a step that has been a long time coming.
“When he was about 7 or 8 years old, I could tell he was different from other kids,” said Webster of Newman. “He didn’t want to play with toys, never got into that. He always wanted a ball in his hand, and he has taken that a long way.”
Newman has taken that desire to the brink of becoming one of MSU’s most anticipated arrivals in school history. He is the highest-ranked prospect to sign with MSU since 2005, when Jackson native Monta Ellis signed after being ranked as high as No. 3 in the country. But Ellis never made it to Starkville, instead opting for the NBA Draft. For Newman, that’s not an option, meaning when the fall semester comes, he’ll be walking the same ground and playing the same role his father player years ago.
Former MSU coach Richard Williams, who led MSU to the Sweet 16 in 1995 and enjoyed the Final Four run in 1996, was there for Webster’s college career, recruiting the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward and then coaching him for two years.
He was also present on Friday, attending Newman’s signing ceremony as a guest of Webster’s.
“It’s obviously big for Mississippi State, big for Ben Howland,” Williams said. “But you could tell that it’s big for Horatio, too. As a parent, you know he wanted to sit back and let the young man decide where he wanted to go. But you can’t deny that it’s special for a father to watch his son follow in his footsteps.”
Asked if his father influenced his decision to play for new MSU coach Ben Howland and the Bulldogs, Newman brushed aside the notion.
“He just told me to follow my heart, and I’d come up with the right decision, the best decision for me,” said Newman. “This is definitely the place for me.”
Webster was impressed with his son’s composure.
“He handled it great,” Webster said. “He didn’t care anything about that stuff. He knew all along that he just had to keep getting better. At the end of the day, he strives to constantly get better every single day. He ignored all that stuff. He was respectful to the coaches and all that, but at the end of the day, he had to keep working.
“I think it was the right decision, and it’s a great day for our family.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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