NCAA basketball: Comparing Black Panther to college basketball teams

With the cultural phenomenon that is Black Panther, sweeping the nation, we ask ourselves are our favorite programs, Erik Killmonger or King T’Challa?

I would be remiss if I didn’t dip my toe in the pool of Black Panther fanfare and phenomena this week. Following the blockbuster hit’s release in theaters, I began to think about what basketball programs resembled some of the movie’s main characters. Is Kentucky T’Challa or Erik Killmonger? Take a look below to see what I think.

M’Baku

My Choice: Villanova

In the context of the world’s most popular film at the moment, M’Baku is the leader of the Jabari tribe, which is part of the nation of Wakanda, but lives in isolation. However, don’t let the idea of isolation fool you. M’Baku and his tribe are fierce, as he is the most dominant warrior in the nation of Wakanda, second only to King T’Challa.

Keeping the idea of isolation and dominance in mind, there is one program that comes to mind and that is Villanova. They are and has always been a part of the greater context of college basketball, but has existed in isolation from much of college basketball since the Big East fell out of the conversation of being a “Power 5” conference. Nevertheless, Villanova is powerful and always a threat to the crown much like M’Baku.

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Erik Killmonger

My Choice: Gonzaga

Erik Killmonger is the primary “villain” in Black Panther. After his father was killed by T’Challa’s father, he was left to fend for himself in the streets of Oakland before graduating from MIT, joining the armed forces and eventually, ruling over the nation of Wakanda. While impressive, Killmonger’s accomplishments were fueled by his distaste for the royal blood of Wakanda, which ultimately led to his demise.

If there’s one program that has always sought vengeance on the blue bloods of college basketball, it is Gonzaga. Fans of Gonzaga have often complained that they don’t get the recognition they deserve and they may be right, but that doesn’t stop them from pursuing the throne of college basketball. In fact, they were very close to obtaining their own reign over college basketball, but like Killmonger they were overthrown by the royal blood of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

W’Kabi

My Choice: Texas Tech

Played by Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya in the film adaptation, W’Kabi is T’Challa’s best friend and head of Wakanda’s border tribe. Despite having a seat at the table and having the ear of the Black Panther himself, W’Kabi is somewhat satisfied when Killmonger overthrows T’Challa and becomes the Black Panther.

While this comparison was probably the most difficult to make, it became obvious after much thought. Being a member of a major conference, Texas Tech has always had a seat at the table, but is often overlooked by the major figures at the table such as Kansas.

While Kansas was preoccupied with defending its thrown from the likes of West Virginia and Oklahoma, Texas Tech was just waiting for the Jayhawks downfall and now has the perfect opportunity to change the way the Big 12 is run without having to have the responsibility of being the face of the Big 12. In a similar fashion, W’Kabi wanted to see a change in how Wakanda was run, but he never had to deal with the burden of leading Wakanda.

T’Challa

My Choice: Duke

There is no more obvious choice than the Duke Blue Devils. The Duke Blue Devils are the embodiment of royal blood, leadership, and somewhat pretentiousness. In a sentence, if T’Challa were to ever play college basketball, he would most definitely be a Coach K type of guy.

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He has great grades, great character and ultimately, leave after one year. In fact, if T’Challa were a college basketball player this season he would most definitely be Marvin Bagley III.