NCAA Baskebtall: “HBCU Elite 100” wants to change the game for HBCUs

One of the biggest challenges all HBCU NCAA basketball programs face at the NCAA D1 level of the game is recruiting. The creators of the HBCU Elite 100 recruit camps are looking to change that narrative though, one camp at a time.

Jahi Rawlings and Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews had one set, clear directive in mind when the first HBCU Elite 100 prospect camp opened its doors this past September; To level the playing field in terms of exposure for high school and prep level talent for HBCU NCAA Basketball programs.

HBCU hoops recruiting, in general, has been a revelation this off-season with 5-star big man Makur Maker landing at Howard University and with a growing number of high-level high school recruits taking a closer look at HBCU programs. As great as this past off-season has been for the visibility of HBCU programs at the D1 level, that dynamic hasn’t historically been the norm, with most HBCUs in general not having the kind of resources to present a larger recruiting footprint on the AAU scene, at camps, etc.

It’s a reality that was pretty apparent to both Rawlings and Matthews when plans for the HBCU Elite 100 were on the drawing board.

Seeing a glaring disparity in that type of program representation as former collegiate players (and later as professionals in their respective niches in the basketball world) cemented their resolve to change the paradigm for kids that are looking to play college basketball at the D1 level and beyond.

“I’m a disruptor by nature”, Jahi Rawlings stated during a recent interview. “I don’t like anything that’s normal or comfortable”. That premise was one of the big catalysts that drove Rawlings to make the concept of the HBCU Elite 100 a reality. Both Matthews and Rawlings aren’t new to the sport, or to the prep and collegiate nature of recruiting with both played organized college basketball.

Both have translated that experience into extremely visible positions within the business of Professional, Prep basketball, AAU Basketball, and college basketball recruiting. Rawlings has worked with both the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and one of the top AAU organizations in the country in Nike’s Georgia Stars AAU program, in player development and other roles.

Chris Matthews, a native of arguably one of the biggest hotbeds of basketball talent in the country in the DC-Metropolitan area, played his collegiate ball at St. Bonaventure and Washington State respectively before playing professionally overseas. He then translated that career into becoming one of the best shooting coaches in the world.

He and Rawlings are creating a bridge for high school and prep players that weren’t necessarily there before in terms of avenues of communication with HBCU hoops programs at all levels of competition.

The September event in Atlanta had in-person and virtual representation from a who’s who of Division I and Division II HBCU basketball programs, including North Carolina A&T, Norfolk State, Howard University, Florida A&M, Alabama A&M, as well as multiple teams representing the Central Intercollegiate Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) from the NCAA Division II level of competition.

Will the HBCU Elite 100 attain the same kind of household name association and visibility as camps like the Nike 100, or Pangos? If Rawlings and Matthews get their way, they’ll be just as big. Looking at the tremendous reception and success of these initial series of camps, that dream of equal visibility for the HBCU Elite 100 isn’t just needed; it’s realistically attainable.

Within the larger framework of HBCU hoops for schools at the D1 level, the advent of these camps could prove to be a recruiting boon for programs that may not have the budgetary resources to be on the recruiting circuit as often as their power 5 or even some of their larger mid-major counterparts.

If this past ‘golden’ off-season of visibility and attention for MEAC and SWAC basketball is any indicator, the HBCU Elite 100 has the chance to become an indispensable tool in bridging the communications gap between student-athletes that are exploring the possibility of playing their college ball at a historically black college, and the HBCU programs that looking to build competitive, winning cultures and teams.

It’s a prospect that could end up making the appeal of playing at HBCU programs even more appealing from both a cultural and a practical perspective.