Anthony Hilliard, Mr. Do It All for the Elizabeth City State Vikings basketball team, made Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” segment last week. The senior guard is averaging slightly over 25 points per game, and is leading the CIAA in scoring and rebounding.
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We all know that black college basketball programs have to grind to earn money and gain recognition in the national limelight. They hit the road early and often, usually to the detriment of their overall record and RPI.
But some players from these squads make the most of these road trips to show opposing fans and pro scouts what they may be missing in the anonymous ranks of the MEAC and SWAC. Here’s the top five players in black college basketball making the most of their teams getting the living hell beat out of them by power conference opponents.
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One day, Brandon Landers is going to be the answer to a very difficult black college football trivia question. But for now, he’s likely to be the starting quarterback for Shaw University come this fall.
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There’s a number of factors here to make this decision, so just make the best educated guess possible. When it comes to finances, wins and losses, and general appeal, which historically black athletic conference will be the strongest in 2009?
Will it be the CIAA, which arguably has the best basketball tournament in the country? Will it be the MEAC, with balance and parity across the board in several sports? Will it be the SIAC, under the direction of a new commissioner with plenty of experience and hopefully, a vision to match? Or will it be the SWAC, with some of the best fans in the nation backing their member schools?
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Marcellus Speaks just completed a magnificent senior season at linebacker for the Jackson State Tigers. He led the SWAC in tackles, was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year, BoxToRow.com/BlackAthlete.net Defensive Player of the Year, and made the American Football Coaches Association’s all-America team, the only SWAC player to do so.
But there’s so much more that people don’t realize about Marcellus Speaks. Instead of waiting to read these on his NFL.com bio this fall, here are a few facts about the man that has made himself into a human tackling drill.
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With 2009 freshly arrived, the number one question in all of black college football remains unanswered.
Who will be the head coach of the North Carolina A&T football team?
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Know what happens when you lose to a one-win MEAC team? Your coach gets a website dedicated to his firing.
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MEAC
Coppin State 59, George Washington 53 - The Eagles, led by standout guard Tywain McKee earned their second win of the season with a win over the George Washington Colonials in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. Yeah, I’ve never heard of Outrigger Hotels either.
Anybody else noticing that McKee is far and away the best player in the MEAC on one of the worst teams?
Bethune-Cookman 55, Savannah State 29 - The Tigers didn’t even get close to the Wildcats in this drubbing. Fortunately, only 501 people watched this home massacre. Thank goodness for the Chirstmas break.
Hampton 58, Yale 56 - Our black Ivy Leaguers made it interesting for the Yalies, but pulled away with the victory we all thought they would get. If they hadn’t, their bourgeoise title would have been in serious jeopardy.
Wyoming 84, Howard 75 - Clos ebut no cigar for the Bison, as they fall to a fairly middlin’ mid-major Wyoming team. Eugene Myatt is proving to be another one of the great MEAC players on a bad team, as he has scored double figures in all but four games this season.
SC State 63, Nebraska 77 - No road upset for the Bulldogs against the Cornhuskers, and even though it was their final road game before the beginning of conference play, SC State will be on the road until Jan. 24.
Washington 81, Morgan State 67 - Unlucky sevens for the Bears, as they were outscored in each half by seven points against the Washington Huskies. Next up is Maryland, a team that is not easily bullied by mid-majors as they were last season.
SWAC
Prairie View 60, Schreiner 42 - Seems to me that if the SWAC teams aren’t getting their brains beat out, they are playing high schools. At any rate, the Panthers won and are leading the way in the SWAC so far.
Alcorn State 53, Loyola (Il.) 88 - Maybe if they fired the all of the assistant coaches on the basketball team, that would give the Braves a decent shot at success. I mean, that the logic for football, right?
CIAA
Idle
SIAC
Claflin 58, Miles 66 - Upset city in the SIAC! Claflin was among the hottest teams in Division II basketball, and coughed one up on the road to a hot-shooting Golden Bears squad.
LeMoyne-Owen 78, Paine 68 - After beginning the season with five consecutive losses, three of which were by two points or less, the Magicians finallypull a victory out of the hat against Paine College. Sorry there’s no game wrap-up link, as neither school has updated yet, but you can trust that its in the books for the Magicians.
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One of the toughest jobs in the world is to be an official of a sporting event. Knowing this, there should be a lot of credit given to those persons that work the games in the black college conferences. A lower level of talent combined with a passionate fan base can make for a volatile mix if a call goes in a way that it probably shouldn’t have.
With that, and despite what other black college football fans may say, it’s possible that black college football officials have improved over the years. More because they’ve been forced to as a result of increased exposure, but also because fan technology has evolved to a point where every mistake is scrutinized and broadcast for the world to blast.
Roscoe Nance believes that, along with ESPN analyst Jay Walker, journalist Charlie Neal, and the commissioners of the MEAC and SWAC. They attribute the improvement to better physical conditioning, enhanced recruiting efforts, and tracking assessed penalties and missed calls.
Unfortunately, there’s one glaring fact that makes their opinions seem a little less believable.
Officials, by a wide margin, are still too often a part of the game story in black college football.
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Joel Davila used to make moves on the court for Savannah State, and now he’s making moves in the energy drink business. No word on if his product, Liquid X, will become the official energy drink of Savannah State athletics.
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