Can former NBA stars restore glory to HBCU college basketball?

In the summer of 2020, Makur Maker made headlines. The Kenyan-born South Sudanese-Australian athlete raised eyebrows because of where he chose to play. But unlike fellow five-star college recruits it wasn’t necessarily for the specific school he landed on. Instead, it was because of the type of school Maker chose. The then-16th ranked basketball recruit (according to ESPN) announced his decision to attend an HBCU. Specifically, Howard University.

At the time, this was largely unheard of. For the past 50 years, schools like the University of North Carolina, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Duke have dominated college basketball recruiting. Historically Black colleges like Howard, Fisk, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State and LeMoyne-Owen have not commonly been considered by standout players, nor have they often been run by coaches who’ve competed at the highest level. As such, HBCU squads have rarely made major waves in March Madness.

But that is changing – and fast. In the past few weeks, Michael Jordan’s company, Jordan Brand (a subsidiary of Nike), announced a 20-year partnership with Howard. And, lately, a growing collection of former NBA stars have signed on the dotted line to lead HBCU basketball programs with the hope of uplifting the schools and the HBCU legacy. Kenny Anderson, the former NBA all-star and New York City “Point God,” is the head coach at Fisk University. Reggie Theus, a two-time all-star and former Saturday morning TV star, is the head basketball coach and athletic director at Bethune-Cookman. The NBA itself is also involved. There was even an HBCU Showcase during this season’s NBA 2K23 Las Vegas Summer League.

The 6ft 11in Maker, who is the cousin of former first-round NBA draft pick Thon Maker, made his