The phone buzzed and a text appeared on the screen.
It was a column forwarded to me from friend and reader Andy Richardson.
A picture of WVU's basketball coach was slotted above a Sporting News headline that read: Time has come for Naismith Hall of Fame to consider West Virginia's Bob Huggins for enshrinement.
And I shook my head.
It was incorrect.
The time has not come.
The time has been here.
It is past time.
Still, if you're an Internet junkie, you might have noticed the recent flurry of support for Huggins. During the Mountaineers' run to the Sweet Sixteen, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale unleashed his feelings on Twitter.
"Just thinking," read the tweet, "why isn't @CoachHuggs in the Naismith Basketball HOF. He has over 800 wins and Two Final Fours. He should be in!"
Indeed, Huggins now has 819 career victories at Walsh College, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and WVU. He has the third-most victories among active coaches and eighth-most all-time.
Vitale gets it. And so does Sporting News reporter Mike DeCourcy, who once worked both in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and is in the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame.
"Everything Huggins has accomplished," wrote DeCourcy, "was achieved without the might of a blueblood program behind him."
He does, however, point out that none of the other active coaches already inducted into the Hall were minted without an NCAA title. Yet let's address that in a bit.
First understand that Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also stumped for Huggins lately. Some might ding Huggins for the way he was swept out of Cincinnati. But Cook correctly pointed out others - see Jim Boeheim, John Calipari and Rick Pitino - are in despite past issues.
I, however, say it's past time to induct Huggins - because I wrote it was past time a while back, Feb. 11, 2016 to be exact.
At that time I asked why the folks at WVU weren't stumping for Huggins to get in when he had 784 victories - even before his team's latest Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Then I explained the process. First, a candidate needs to be nominated to the Naismith Hall of Fame president and CEO by Oct. 31 of each year. On Wednesday, DeCourcy wrote that Huggins has never been nominated, which is stunning. Richardson said in the past Huggins has not wanted the nomination until retirement. DeCourcy said in 2015, the Hall was approached by someone from Ohio wishing to nominate Huggins, but the process ended when his sentiments were forwarded.
Whatever the case, it's time now. It's past time - whether Huggins wishes it now or not.
Even on Wednesday, Cincinnati.com asked "What's keeping Bob Huggins out of Naismith Hall of Fame?" The coach took the University of Cincinnati to the Elite Eight three times and the Final Four once.
Richardson said he emailed WVU president E. Gordon Gee, school vice president Rob Alsop and athletic director Shane Lyons on the matter. And it's time one of them took charge.
See, this takes time. As I reported in 2016, the Hall has seven committees that deal with different categories. Huggins would fall under the umbrella of the North American screening committee, where he'd need seven votes from nine members. After that, candidates move to the Honors committee, where 75 percent approval (18 votes) is needed. Coaches must either be retired for four years to be eligible or active for at least 25 years.
Huggins met the last standard way back when he was at Kansas State.
On top of all that, though, is Huggins' work away from the court. On May 12, Huggins will be honored with a lavish ceremony in Sarasota, Florida, along with Notre Dame's Brian Kelly and ESPN's Chris Berman, at the sold-out Dick Vitale Gala that raises tens of millions annually for the V Foundation. Huggins, of course, has been committed to the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Fund named after his mother.
Yet Huggins has endeared himself to West Virginia in many other off-the-court endeavors, whether it's helping those affected by the flooding in the southern part of the state, helping those through the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in Raleigh County or delivering food to Boone County.
"You give those people support," he once told me during the flooding. "You try to help in any way possible."
So, no, Huggins doesn't have a national championship on his resume. But those words, those actions and, yes, those on-court victories should all be considered.
Which is why it's not time for Bob Huggins to be in the Hall of Fame.
It's past time.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.