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

By Caleb Hightower

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: The MEAC logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Yale Bulldogs and the Howard Bison at Burr Gymnasium on January 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: The MEAC logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Yale Bulldogs and the Howard Bison at Burr Gymnasium on January 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball
AUBURN, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 12: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

 The key to the Auburn Tigers success

Why were the Tigers able to enjoy so much success? Well, the answer to that question is quite simple. In addition to having one Junior College and Community College transfer join the Tigers in 2017 and 2018, the 5 plus former 3 and 4-star recruits that were already apart of the program, decided to return to school, and let their agonizing 84-53 defeat at the hands of Clemson, in the round of 32, fuel them to take care of business the following season.

Some of those players include former 4-star recruit, Chuma Okeke, who led the Tigers in rebounds in 2018-2019 while shooting 38.7% from three. Former 3-star recruit, Bryce Brown, who led the Tigers in scoring in 2018-2019, and shot 39.2% from three for his career. Former 4-star recruit, Jared Harper who led the Tigers in assists from 2016-2019, and never averaged more than 2.4 turnovers a game.

Former 4-star recruit Austin Wiley, who averaged 6.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in 2018-2019. And former 3-star recruit, Anfernee Mclemore, who provided the Tigers with 6.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game in 2018-2019. Samir Doughty, who wasn’t a 3- star recruit that committed to Auburn out of high school (but instead VCU in 2015, before transferring to Auburn in 2017, and sitting out a season), also played a big role in Auburn’s success, shooting a superb 42.5% from three in 2018-2019, and being the fourth leading scorer on the team.

I understand that to some of you, the players that decided to come back to school, may not have had much of a choice, to begin with, but if their egos had gotten in the way, they may have opted to leave school and go pro.

Fortunately for head coach Bruce Pearl, that wasn’t the case, and I believe that if HBCUs can find a balance between recruiting the players that will only be taking a quick pit stop at their programs and the players that need a few years to develop, the HBCU movement will be on its way.

Chemistry is one of the most important aspects of basketball, and you may not always find it with 5-star prospects. They are forced to figure out everything on the fly,  including how to play with one another, how to adjust to their new role (assuming they were the first scoring option on their high school team), and most importantly how to win together.

If you have a bunch of highly skilled players on your team that has experienced and know what it takes to win at the college level, you may feel a little better about your chances of exceeding expectations when a new season begins. This may not be something that people are considering right now, but it is certainly worth mentioning because it could help change HBCU basketball for the better.

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