NCAA Basketball: 5 keys to a successful and continuing HBCU movement

3 goals that Maker should attempt to achieve

I believe that if Maker is able to execute at least two of the three things that I am about to mention, he will make the idea of committing to an HBCU more intriguing to other top prospects.

Goal #1: Maker has to show that his immediate impact can lead to a win or two against power 5 schools (assuming he gets the chance to pull this off this season). This may be Maker’s toughest challenge by far, but it is a challenge that he should conquer if he wants others to follow him. Howard has not taken down a power 5 opponent since the 2008-2009 season when they defeated Oregon State 47-45.

If Maker wants other elite high school recruits to pick HBCUs over power 5 schools, he needs to prove that one player has the ability to get his supporting cast to up their level of play, and beat some of the more established programs in college basketball. It definitely will be difficult, and it would have helped if he was able to play with Howard’s leading score from a year ago, Charles Williams, (who averaged 18.5 points per game, and graduated this spring).

But with the recent addition of Purdue transfer, Nojel Eastern, who averaged 5.1 points for his career with the Boilermakers, and shot 50% from two-point range in 2017-2018 and 50.5% in 2018-2019, the Bison will have a legitimate chance to end their losing streak against power 5 opponents. Bookmark Howard’s match-up against Notre Dame on Martin Luther King Day (January 18, 2021), because the implications of that contest could be huge.

Goal #2: Maker should strive to lead Howard to at least a 4th- place finish in the MEAC this season. And before you throw a fit because Howard has already finished in at least 4th place in the conference twice in the last six seasons (2014-2015 season, and 2018-2019 season), you should stop yourself and realize that it’ll mean more this season to top prospects, because a 5-star player had a lot to do with Howard’s 1-15 to 10-6 (or better) conference record transformation.

Obviously, getting Howard to the big dance would be significant, but I think that other 5-star prospects will be more inclined to join forces at an HBCU, if they know that one player was vital in helping speed up a process (that comes with having a second-year coach), that many people believe won’t be completed any time soon.

Goal #3: Maker should prove that he can help Howard have a better showing in non-conference play. When the Bison finished the 2018-2019 season with a 10-6 conference record, their overall record was just 17-17 (because of a 6-10 non-conference regular-season record, and a 3-10 record against  Division 1 non-conference opponents, including the postseason, and a 1-1 record in the MEAC tournament).

Just four seasons ago, when Howard finished with a 10-6 conference record, they only managed to come away with a 16-16 overall record (because of a 6-9 overall non-conference record, a 3-9 record against Division 1 non-conference opponents, and loss to Delaware State in the quarterfinals of MEAC tournament).

It is great that Howard has shown that they are capable of putting together a solid conference showing, but the only way that they (along with other HBCUs) are going to feel validated, is if they demonstrate that they can beat any team that steps on the floor with them. The HBCU movement isn’t just about getting top prospects to help change the perception of HBCUs, it’s also about making it clear that there will no longer be a substantial drop-off, as you move from power 5 schools to HBCUs.

Hopefully, Howard will get their opportunities this season to make some serious noise at the beginning of the season, and if Maker helps make this the season that it finally occurs, it could certainly make things interesting in the future.