STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland can’t help but look ahead to the athletic department’s scheduled renovation of Humphrey Coliseum after the 2020-2021 season.
In what will be nearly a $50 million project, the concourse will be completely redone, and upgrades will be made to locker rooms and training rooms. Restaurants will also be added, along with luxury box seating, which are both being implemented to increase future revenue streams.
“It really helps our men’s and women’s basketball teams,” Howland said of the renovations as a recruiting tool while speaking as part of a coaching panel on MSU’s Virtual Road Dawgs tour. “It’s a great venue to watch games in. They’re going to add a lot of amenities to it and it’s going to be a lot nicer.”
Of course, timing is everything. The project being completed on schedule largely depends on football revenue, which could fluctuate depending on COVID-19 cases nationwide.
“I mean if we can play seven home football games and if we can get close to full capacity, I think it’s realistic,” MSU Athletic Director John Cohen told The Dispatch in late June. “If that doesn’t happen, then it’s going to cause delays. So we’re in a little bit of a holding pattern to see what football season brings us.”
In the same interview, Cohen also told The Dispatch MSU hopes to make a decision around football attendance around Aug. 1. Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this week the SEC will make a decision on the status of the fall football season sometime later this month.
Howland is aware there could be delays on the project, but hopes the renovations are completed as scheduled.
“Hopefully it happens on time and it’s going to happen here within the next few years,” Howland said.
‘We want him to be a first rounder’
As for the 2020-2021 season itself, Howland is still optimistic the Bulldogs will play basketball this year.
If a season does happen, the Bulldogs’ fortunates could be largely dependent on Robert Woodard II’s looming choice.
After declaring for the NBA Draft in the spring, Woodard II has until Aug. 3 to return to school and still be eligible for athletic competition. The Athletic’s most recent draft has Woodard II, a Columbus native, just outside the first round, going No. 35 overall. As a sophomore, Woodard II averaged 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.
“He’ll most likely be drafted but we want him to be a first rounder,” Howland said. “If Robert Woodard is back, I think we’re going to be a really good team (next year) because he’s a legitimate future NBA player … If he’s getting feedback that he’s going to be a first rounder, he should go. Any player that I could that is told they’ll be in the first round needs to go to the NBA because of that opportunity and guaranteed money.”
MSU has 11 of its 12 scholarships filled right now, with the 12th obviously being Woodard II’s if he elects to return to Starkville. If Woodard II stays in the draft, it is unclear where the Bulldogs will go to fill the last roster spot.
Coach-monitored workouts set to begin next week
Each MSU player, except Quinten Post, who is still at home in the Netherlands, is back on campus participating in voluntary workouts five days a week. The Bulldogs’ returning players are on their third week of strength training training.
Coaches get to start working with players on July 20 for four hours a week in floor drills. Howland said the main focus will be on teaching fundamentals.
“We’ve lost a lot of the summer,” he said. “Normally we start working on the floor June 1. But it’s good to have them back.”
In voluntary workouts, Howland said incoming freshman Deivon Smith turned in a running vertical of 46.5 inches. That would be the highest of any player in the 2019 NBA combine.
A different recruiting season
Since the pandemic started, Howland and his assistant coaches haven’t been able to make their typical recruiting visits, nor have prospective players been able to see MSU’s campus in person.
“It’s been hard for everyone … I’ve been getting a lot better at giving virtual tours,” Howland said. “… This is the first summer ever we haven’t been out recruiting. It makes it a lot more difficult. You can’t see anyone play right now in person, and that’s normally what we’d be doing.”
In addition to looking at new players, the sixth-year coach has spent his time watching full game film of his incoming recruits.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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