Earl Monroe :Winston-Salem State 1967

The Aftermath:   Historically Black Colleges & the NCAA

On the eve of the NCAA Basketball’s Showcase, globally known as March Madness, brackets are established and the lines of competition are formally drawn.  One annual line item that is a consistently intriguing question for me is: “Why is it that the Historically Black Colleges always placed in a position that seems destined for failure?”  When is the last time that an HBC school won two (2) games in the NCAA tournament?  When is the last time that an HBC advanced into the round of 16?  Is that possibility even within the realm of being realistic in today’s sports climate?  The answer to that question is the obvious “NO”!

In an era of high stakes, complex economic, major tv rights NCAA sports, we must come to the realization that the NCAA has no economic value in even the existence of the once prominent list of Historically Black Colleges.  Sixty (60) years ago schools such as Grambling, Morgan State, Florida A&M, Howard, and Winston-Salem were the driving factor for every young African American aspiring athlete’s path to success.  Now, and its very well documented, that time has long passed these schools as the once off-limit universities finally realized that big time athletes equate into big time financial success for institutions across the nations.  Race is secondary to dollars!!!

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Of course by now the whole world knows what we in Seattle have known since his days at the Rotary (Boy’s and Girls Club)…. Tony Wroten is a basketball phenom headed to the NBA on the draft day express.  He’ll have a guaranteed rookie contract waiting on him, but who knows what else.

He’s perhaps the most compelling and polarizing Seattle-raised sports star (definitely Husky) ever. However, as tremendous as he is, his glaring weaknesses and emotional antics (personally I think his celebrations are reasonable, as long as he doesn’t include opponents in the displays) make him a target in the sports community.  He’s such a talent and has created such a high expectation– in such a short period I might add, that apparently, too many people have forgotten he’s just a kid; and quite honestly, one in a very delicate situation (back to that shortly).

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The physical displays we are seeing across all sports today are truly remarkable. It’s hard to fathom where they might plateau. The ever evolving physicality of the human species creates a few perplexing questions. Is there a ceiling on the athletic capacity  of an “organic” human being? What about the limit for performance?

At what point  will the human processor max out?  I’ve said before that the physicality of the modern basketball player has already morphed the game beyond physical recognition.  Maybe the real question is, where  “The Brain Game”  is headed; and what will it take to stay ahead of the curve? 

For the most part we are living in a very organic time– relative to development and prowess. Outside of a few parts and accessories, the physical fusion of man and machine (Singularity) has not made its way into mainstream sports arena. So far, athletes operate free of implants to acquire skill sets and enhancement — outside of productive work, is still a thing of banned substances. This is inspiring news for the sports purist. It means that great players aren’t being created in the laboratory–yet. It will not be this way forever.

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When most people think of making the team, they envision themselves knocking down shots all over the floor and having everyone holla—-“I see you.” If that’s the case, you’ll probably make the team.  However, outside of such a Kevin Durant style scoring expo, here are a few ways to impact the coaches and give yourself a shot to make the team– without making a shot.

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LeBron James is one of the baddest cats on the basketball planet, and perhaps the best teammate in the game– period . You could even argue he is the greatest player we’ve ever seen–with so much cap space (room to grow).

Yet as super basketball human as he is, LeBron has glaring weaknesses in his game. Read more »