A couple of seasons ago, O.J. Mayo toyed with the idea of taking his world class talent to FAMU. This past summer, now-freshman phenom John Wall was rumored to have interest in the North Carolina Central basketball program.
The common thread between the two was the possibility of showing NBA scouts an ability to be a single-handed program savior, and since most basketball circles orbit well out of the black college basketball galaxy, what better realm in which to serve the most egotistical of hardwood stars.
We know how both turned out, but the moral of the story is that they were interested. Maybe for selfish reasons, maybe just as passing fancy. But for these programs, to be named on a watch list for a high school Player of the Year candidate is a big deal.
And it should be leveraged into something more.
Black college basketball programs have already redefined their take on getting proven coaches to build programs. Todd Bozeman at Morgan State was a tested coaching brand; tainted, but with a nicely fitting redemption story designed to snugly wrap around the mission of HBCUs. Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was a college newbie, but brought a new intensity and style of preparation to Prairie View that has made the Lady Panthers’ basketball brand increasingly respectable in D-I circles.
It’s for this reason that John Wall was interested in NCCU in the first place – a connection with head coach LeVelle Moton. If programs can match these kind of coaches with prominent high schools and AAU program in the region, the groundwork is laid to catch one of those more arrogant ballers upon their exit from secondary school.
But it’s still unrealistic that a tiny black college program would secure NBA-ready talent on a year lease. The state school would fire a coach, create a new booster club and send a stimulus check and job creation program his family’s way before that would happen.
So how to begin to rub noses with basketball elite? Coaching clinics, summer camps, AAU functions are the easy answer. But what about sending some support the way of the schools, the churches, the recreational centers and restaurant’s way? Each of these players, in a limited capacity, has a life beyond the basketball court. And while HBCUs can’t outluster or outspend their power conference counterparts, they can out-community.
Their interests are known, their positions clear. They are in it to mine talent and win games. And that’s okay, but black college programs can be the unique force that melds a winning mentality for the school as well as for the players that enroll there. Mentoring programs, big brothers, after-school activities, you name it. If HBCUs can compete for families, neighborhoods and communities, the battle for talent comes much easier.
Black college basketball is getting closer to landing one of the marquee names in high school basketball, and the trip back to the pre-integration days will be one many black college fans will enjoy. But there are ways to bring these days to campus much quicker, and all it takes is a little pre-integration dedication to the communities that have long supported them.
