HBCU All-Star Game Showcased Talent, Culture, and Promise
As the host city, New Orleans was the best fit to launch the inaugural 2022 HBCU All-Star Game. The Big Easy is well known for its great food, culture, and mixture of people from diverse heritages. All were also on full display in the game with the diversity of talent on Team McLendon and Team Gaines.
THE HBCU ALL-STAR GAME WON
HBCU All-Star Game founder Travis Williams wanted to showcase the players' talent and culture, and the event did not disappoint the fans and millions of viewers. The game was like a great gumbo, filled with promising athletes whose skills flavored the game with a collection of spicy dunks, three-pointers, and highlights. In the end, Team McLendon would win the inaugural 2022 HBCU All-Star game over Team Gaines, 79-75.
Credit: HBCU All-Stars Game
Most all-star games typically aren't the best played, coached, and officiated. However, this game was different, especially after the first break in the action. The players seemed to settle down and started to make highlight-worthy plays.
KUDOS TO CBS AND HBCU MEDIA TALENT
Kudos to CBS for assembling an all-star crew in the afternoon. The broadcast was flavored with HBCU alums Brian Custer (Hampton), Avery Johnson (Southern), and (AJ Ross Howard) all swirled together as basketball legend Clark Kellogg layered the analysis with his smooth delivery to sweeten the listeners' palette.
Brison Gresham
OUTSTANDING PLAYERS
Benedict College's forward Tajh Green won the MVP award for going 3-of-3 from downtown New Orleans' Canal Street by scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
One of the best performances came from New Orleans native forward Brison Gresham. After transferring from the University of Houston, he was one of Texas Southern's best defenders this season. Gresham was active rebounding and scoring. Before the end of the first half, Gresham had two blocked shots in the final seconds.
Other noteworthy performances came from Prince Moss (Grambling), Howard's Kyle Foster (Howard), Jawaun Daniels (Prairie View A&M), Kassim Nicholson (Tennessee State), Najee Garvin (Hampton), and Jalen Seegars (Fayetteville State).
HBCU ALL-STAR GAME INSIGHT
The contest was close in the closing minutes. Team McLendon led by four points with 2:10 left at 73-69. Team Gaines pulled within 2 points at 37 seconds. On a trip to the charity line, Team McLendon had a 77-73 lead with 17 seconds and eventually won 79-75.
Team Gaines' 24 turnovers were eleven more than Team McLendon's and contributed to their loss. Team McLendon was out rebounded 54-to-37 and had less points in the paint 44-to-38, but were able to win by four points. Team Gaines also failed at the free-throw line by shooting less than 44% at one point.
MORE HBCU ALL-STAR GAMES LIKELY
In the postgame festivities, the confetti trickled down onto the UNO Lakefront Arena hardwood. Travis Williams celebrated with the CBS executives and Team McLendon. Williams' brainchild was a success.
Penny Hardaway and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe were in attendance with many other celebrities.
The game, community service, and events were well organized, which bodes well for corporate sponsors like Aflac, Capital One, Pizza Hut, and ATT to keep the event going. As we await the attendance and viewership numbers, it's a strong probability that more HBCU All-Star Games will be bigger and brighter for the future HBCU Legends of basketball.