2nd Annual HBCU All-Star Game Preview
HOUSTON — Next Sunday, the 2nd annual HBCU All-Star Game will launch from Space City with hopes of sending the careers of young basketball hoping to send their careers into the trajectory of the NBA. Founder Travis Williams will produce the all-star game featuring the best HBCU players nationwide. CBS will broadcast the event with a tipoff at 3 PM CT at Texas Southern University's HP&E Arena on Sunday, Apr. 2.
"HBCU All-Star Game founder Travis Williams cited the experience will be a "week-long festival that will kick off the week on Tues., Mar. 28, and concludes Tues., Apr. 4. It will celebrate the HBCU Experience and will be highlighted by an HBCU All-Stars College Admissions Fair, Community Outreach and Engagement, Pro Day Combine, Welcome Reception, Awards Ceremony, and Social Justice & Civil Rights panel discussion."
Williams expects over 20 million sports fans to watch the showcase of players hailing from the SWAC, MEAC, CIAA, and SIAC. Team rosters will also have student-athletes from Tennessee State, Hampton, and North Carolina A&T State Universities.
Team Willis Reed
SWAC and CIAA
"Team Willis Reed" will be coached by Donte' Jackson of Grambling State and Jay Butler of Virginia Union Universities. Willis Reed was Dr. Dick Barnett's teammate on the NBA championship-winning NY Knick teams. Team Willis Reed pays tribute to the HBCU and NBA legend who recently passed on Tues., Mar. 21, 2023.
The roster has players from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAA).
- Cameron Christon, Grambling State University
- Brion Whitley, Southern University
- Joirdon Karl Nicholas, Texas Southern University
- John Walker III, Texas Southern University
- Shaun Doss Jr., University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Dontrell McQuarter, Alcorn State University
- Will Douglas, Prairie View A&M University
- Terry Collins, Mississippi Valley State University
- Marcus Garrett, Bethune Cookman University
- Robert Osborne, Virginia Union University
- Terrence Hunter- Whitfield, Virginia State University
- Korey Williams, Lincoln University (PA)
Nov 10, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks former guard Dick Barnett at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Team Dr. Dick Barnett
MEAC, SIAC, OVC, and CAA
Kenneth Blakeney of Howard and Benjy Taylor of Tuskegee Universities will coach "Team Dr. Dick Barnett." Team Barnett honors Dr. Dick Barnett, who became an HBCU and NBA legend from former Tennessee A&I, later Tennessee State. He won two NBA championships with the New York Knicks.
The roster has players from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and INDEPENDENT schools representing Tennessee State, Hampton, and North Carolina A&T State Universities.
- Joe Bryant Jr, Norfolk State University
- Kris Bankston, Norfolk State University
- Isaiah Burke, Morgan State University
- Brendan Medley-Bacon, North Carolina Central University
- Sam Sessoms, Coppin State University
- Nathaniel Pollard Jr. University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- Demetric Horton, North Carolina A&T State University
- Marquis Godwin, Hampton University
- Jr. Clay, Tennessee State University
- Gregg Boyd, Tuskegee University
- Kerry Richardson, Morehouse College
- Eleik Bowles, Savannah State University
HBCU ALL-STAR GAME EVENTS & HONORS
The HBCU All-Star game will hold an HBCU Basketball Combine for the players during the week.
Travis Williams and HBCU All-Stars LLC will honor the illustrious playing careers of Fred "Curly" Neal, Johnson C. Smith University (CIAA), Sam Jones, North Carolina Central University (MEAC), Purvis Short, Jackson State University (SIAC), Caldwell Jones, Albany State University (SIAC), Anthony Mason, Tennessee State University (Independent).
These amazing HBCU legends made their mark in the great game of basketball and reached the highest level of success in the NBA and Harlem Globetrotters. They will be recognized for their impact on our HBCU basketball culture during the 2022-23 basketball season and host the first-ever HBCU All-Star Game on an HBCU campus at Texas Southern University.
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