The first day of the 2024-25 College Basketball season is officially in the books and the state of NCAA Division I basketball at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) looks just as promising as it did last year. There are plenty of new faces in brand-new places, which makes the prospect of parity in the respective HBCU conferences even more appealing. Simply put, we’re in for another exciting season of HBCU basketball and HBCUHoopsWeekly will be here for every minute of it.
College Basketball Big Venues…Road Warriors
Opening Night saw several programs in a familiar role: on the Road in hostile environments. The Howard Bison (defending champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the league representative in the NCAA Tournament) found themselves in one of the most hostile environments in College Basketball. The hosts were the Pre-Season #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. The venue? Only one of the most iconic places to play a big-time college basketball game: legendary Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Head Coach Kenny Blakeney’s penchant for high-profile opponents continues, and the Bison had their moments in this game, led by freshman Blake Harper’s 16 points. Harper, along with another new face in fellow DMV and WCAC native Anwar Gill, look to establish a homegrown recruiting presence for the Bison program in the future. There’s a good amount of offensive talent on the team, which bodes well for Howard’s hoops fortunes as the season progresses. Norfolk State, Morgan State, and South Carolina State all had impressive home victories on opening night.
Dioumassi Puts On a Show
In maybe the most impressive individual performance of the evening, Southern University’s senior PG Tijidane Dioumassi started his final season in style. Dioumassi poured in a game-high 30 points on 8/10 from the field. The Jaguars almost pulled out the tough win but faded late to lose by 14 points. Texas Southern and Alabama State also had impressive performances on the road before falling late vs. UNLV and Xavier (OH) respectively. North Carolina A&T and Hampton have taken their respective lumps in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) since membership, but fortunes could be changing. The transfer portal has been a godsend for both programs, infusing some much-needed depth and experience to both rosters. North Carolina A&T, in particular, may be the bigger beneficiary of the two with the addition of Maryland transfer guard Jahnathan Lamothe. He joins fellow backcourt mates Camian Shell and an All-CAA caliber guard Landon Glasper, to form one of the more potent guard rotations in the CAA. Lamothe made his introduction to the Aggie fans count, scoring a game-high 27 points in a drubbing of Cheyney (PA).
For what it’s worth, it was a great night if you’re a fan of HBCU basketball. The season is here in all of its glory. All we have to do as fans is sit back and enjoy the ride! Stay tuned to HBCUHoopsWeekly all season for recruiting news and coverage of men’s and women’s HBCU basketball. NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NAIA basketball; We cover it all here! #HBCUHoopsWeekly