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So, Mississippi State announced its all-time starting five basketball team yesterday, and you can read about it if you CLICK HERE. One member of that group is Bailey Howell, who many consider the greatest Bulldog of all time.
He was a 6-foot-7 center who played from 1956-59 and is the second-leading scorer in school history. His 27.1-point average remains a school record. He won two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics. He was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. The Howell Trophy is named after him – it goes to the top male college basketball player in Mississippi each year.
Quite the career for Mr. Howell, who's now 75 years old.
I caught up with him last night, and we had a great conversation about this all-time team, about this current MSU squad, about Arnett Moultrie, and plenty else. I figure the best way to present this is as a Q&A, so here's the majority of my conversation with Mr. Howell.
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BL: What's this mean to you?
BH: It's a really special honor. Mississippi State's been playing basketball for 100 years now, and to be considered one of the top five players out of all those teams and individuals, of course, that's very special. Mississippi State had some really good teams over the years.
BL: How have you seen the program grow since you played?
BH: Mississippi State has a lot of tradition, a lot of competitive teams from lots of years. Mississippi State I feel like is just a very short step from being considered one of the elite teams, one of the elite programs in the nation. That last step, even though you can be real close to it, it's a real difficult thing to accomplish.
BL: Could this be the year for MSU to take that step?
BH: It's a matter of being consistent and putting a competitive team out there every year, winning 20 games or more year after year. When the wins stack up like that, you can't deny the fact that the program is where it ought to be.
BL: That starting five has quite the frontcourt, doesn't it?
BH: You've got two great shot blockers out there in (Erick) Dampier and (Jarvis) Varnado. Varnado, who wasn't an offensive threat when he first got to Mississippi State, really worked on that. By the time he left here he was a threat down low.
BL: Let's play pretend: What would your role be on this all-time team?
BH: I think they would expect me to play the whole game, be a good defensive player, be a good passer, be a good scorer. And of course, with all of those players out there that are used to scoring, you've got to learn to play without the ball. That's the last skill a player really picks up, learning to play without the ball.
BL: What did you think of Jeff Malone (MSU's all-time leading scorer, just ahead of Howell)?
BH: He was more of an outside threat, I was more of an inside. It's hard to compare players. If we both had been inside players, that's different. Guards have the ball a lot. (chuckles)
BL: Has anyone who's played for MSU reminded you of yourself?
BH: That would be hard to say. They didn't have the 30-second shot (clock), and teams played a lot of zone back then. They'd pack in low, and so when we had a lead we'd just the freeze ball. The team behind, the rule was they had to force the action. So they'd have to come out and guard us. When they did, they tried to get the ball to me on the high post. We had some cutters to the basket, or I'd make a quick move. When you have to go out and guard somebody, because that's what the rule says, it's hard to get back and double- or triple-team. So if I could make a quick move, I had a good chance to have an opportunity to score.
BL: What do you think of Arnett Moultrie?
BH: A lot of people could learn by watching him play – a lot of big guys, I'm talking about. It's ridiculous how so many of the big guys in this league, and college basketball for that matter, once the shot goes up they're a spectator. They just watch to see if it's going in. Very, very few people follow their own shot. He does. He's an outstanding offensive rebounder, and in order to do that, of course you've got to have good touch, good hands, but you've got to make the effort to get in there. So many people, you try to picture spots to go to the boards, you're not going to get many. You just have to keep persistently pounding the boards if you want to get some to come your way.
BL: Could Moultrie hang with these All-Century guys?
BH: Oh yeah, sure. He didn't have the chance to be considered because this team was picked earlier this year. He hadn't even played but two or three games here at the time. … (Dee) Bost was one of the top 20, I think, and he's a legitimate top 20, no question. Moultrie would be, too, but he hadn't played any. Nobody had seen him play.
(Note: Bost was not one of the 20 All-Century team members, but he'd be a good candidate. And that tells you how highly Howell thinks of him.)
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