HBCUnited Prepares For Its Third Appearance In TBT
This is the third year that HBCUnited, a team composed solely of former Black college basketball players, will participate in a 64-team tournament where the winners split a million-dollar prize, known as "The Basketball Tournament."
Year one was a brutal welcome to TBT, losing to Armored Athlete 88-53 in the West Virginia Regional. But in the second year, the squad did a complete 180, completing a comeback win against Skip To My Lou in the first round and almost a wire-to-wire victory against YGC in the second round.
Led by Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones and Hampton alum Malique Trent, HBCUnited almost completed another comeback against Autism Army. However, the team fell short, and the run ended in the regional quarterfinal.
Steven Whitley has witnessed the history of HBCUnited from the beginning, and he'll be back this year, the only person involved with the program all three years. But the former Norfolk State and All-MEAC guard's role has changed every tournament, including in 2023. When asked about his longstanding affiliation and evolving role, he began his response with one word: transition.
"When we first started, I was actually a reserve guy," Whitley told HBCU Legends. "One of my friends that played with me was picked first, and he couldn't play because he signed a contract, so he put my name on.
"Even when we played and lost by 30 the first time, I still had leadership and coaching qualities. Some of the guys seen it and said, 'It ain't gonna be long before you make a transition.'"
That transition came in 2022, the second year of HBCUnited. In the early stages of the tournament, Whitley tore his ACL for the third time in his career. At that point, in the back of his mind, he knew his playing days were over. But a painful experience began a new chapter for Whitley, who, after becoming a coach at his alma mater, was asked if he wanted to be the assistant general manager of HBCUnited.
"Where I'm from, it's not many GMs, so let's give it a try," Whitley said.
Fast forward to 2023, Whitley is now the full-time GM of the program, handling the logistics, sponsorships, and correspondence from the TBT commissioners. It's similar to his current role as Director of Basketball Operations at Norfolk State, so having E&J Brandy as an official sponsor of HBCUnited for a third straight year is no surprise.
However, the most crucial task among Whitley's duties is assembling a winning roster, one that would be successful in TBT. Tournament games are like regular basketball games, except for one major wrinkle - the Elam Ending, where instead of running out the clock in the fourth quarter, teams play to a target score, which is determined by adding eight points to the leading team's score.
"Even though we lost about 30 the first year, I was able to see the pieces that you need to win," Whitley said. "I went ahead and built that roster last year in a way that I envisioned. It just happened to work out and get where we wanted. So now I'm looking to do the same thing this year, trying to further, as much as possible."
The Full roster was announced Sunday afternoon on Twitter, with a mix of first-timers and returners (although there's a chance Dana Tate Jr. may not play after signing a pro contract).
Among the newcomers was Stanley Davis Jr., a four-year player and former All-MEAC selection at Morgan State. Even though it's his first official year on the roster, this moment has been three years in the making.
"I was supposed to participate in the previous two tournaments, but both times I had something going on," Davis said. "2021 was my first year as a pro, so I wanted to focus on that, and in 2022 I had to handle some family business.
"I'm ready to get out there and showcase what the world's been missing."
Texas Southern alum Derrick Griffin and 2-time MEAC Player of the Year Joe Bryant Jr. also will play in their first TBT. There's also Saiquan Jamison, a Bowie State product who is a pro teammate with Davis overseas.
But within all the new faces, two players are returners from last year's regional final: Norfolk State guard Devante Carter and Trent, the latter who Whitley called "the best overall player on both ends of the floor" last tournament.
"It's always cool to link up with other HBCU guys," Trent said. "I just always wanted to participate in the TBT, and after winning some games last year, I thought "Why not come back and have some fun?'"
However, TBT isn't just about fun for Trent; he also returned to win. He said as much to Whitley in a group chat the day he officially committed to play.
"I'm happy to be on board. We're winning games this year," Trent said in the chat. "None of that BS that happened the year before. We're winning games."
While leading scorer Jermaine Marrow won't be back this year, HBCUnited's head coach is back as Robert Jones decided to man the sidelines again. There was some hesitation on Jones' part, but after seeing the success of last year's team and several players strongly encouraging him, he elected to run it back.
"It was fun. It was good all the way around," Jones said about last year's tournament run. "You know, it was good to show some progress in the program. I know they took a heavy defeat their first year. So to make a difference, reaching the Regional Final shows tremendous progress."
Jones is familiar with most of the players on the roster because he coached against them in the MEAC, but Whitley was the one who did most of the legwork regarding roster construction.
And while he wanted talent, his primary focus was adding team-first players instead of those who simply put up points.
"We've put in their heads early on that, 'If you think this is somewhere where you're gonna be big fish in a small pond, you're wrong,'" Whitley said. "We're not looking for anybody to come here and average 20 and 10. In fact, last year, we had four guys average between 10 and 12. This will be a collective effort, and we'll pride ourselves on the defensive end.
"If you're not trying to do that, we can send you a flight home."
Davis supported the sentiment, saying, "It's all about sacrifice. When we discussed that, I was on board because defense wins championships, and defense was the first thing we discussed."
Defense takes on another meaning in TBT because of the Elam Ending. Clock management isn't an issue. Instead, it's about getting stops and remaining in the game, something Jones took to heart last year.
"If you can string together some defensive stops, you can always be in the game," Jones said. "The clock is not going to run out on you. So the defense is more important than offense because you hope you'll have good enough players that eventually the ball will go in the hole for you, but you have to be able to string together some defensive stops."
HBCUnited emphasizes defense, evident by the clip Brett Greenberg shared on Twitter from the team's training camp.
However, the bigger picture isn't lost on anyone throughout the preparation. Jones recalled how someone randomly approached him in the D.C. airport, sharing how he thought HBCUnited would pull it off against Austim Army. Jones was surprised he watched the game.
"We got a lot of different tweets and mentions and stuff like that like the community was captivated by that team last year," Jones said. "Hopefully, we can do the same by having a deeper run this year."
HBCU alums can sometimes be territorial, saying their school is the best. But the community got behind HBCUnited, and Jones loved how it unexpectedly brought the community together.
Unlike most collegiate TBT teams that represent one school, HBCUnited represents an entire community and, like Whitley pointed out, is the only team of its kind around.
But the weight is one the team proudly carries on their shoulders, and they're excited to represent the best that Black college basketball has to offer.