“I try not to give myself too much credit about a lot of things, but I’ll give myself credit about [raising] him,” Jones said. “I think I’ve seen other kids [go] down wrong paths or something like that, but he’s not going on the wrong path. I think our relationship is healthy.”

Jones has full custody of Justin, who aspires to be a Division I basketball player like his father coaches. Jones is also responsible for leading a program with 15 student-athletes, running practices, traveling for road games and taking care of all of his team’s daily needs.

Like Jones, Justin spent most of his childhood in New York. In the seventh grade, he moved to live with his father in Virginia. It took him a few weeks to adjust to being there full-time instead of visiting on weekends.

It took some adjustment for Jones, too.

“I have to drive him to school and pick him up every day,” Jones said. “So I had to adjust my schedule for early morning and then, like, middle of the day to figure out how to get him … which I am still doing until he gets his license. Now he’s got his permit.”

Justin’s high school basketball season runs concurrently with Jones’ collegiate season. When Justin made his school’s varsity team as a freshman and earned a starting position, Jones had to miss the first few games of his season because Norfolk State was on the road completing its non-conference schedule.

“Having a freshman playing varsity basketball, that’s like a big deal, you know, a badge of honor if you are a dad,” Jones said. “But I was on the road traveling. I’m trying to watch, like, live streams or get scores from other parents. Most parents would have [preferred] to be there live to cheer on their kid.”

He remembers watching his son score eight straight points to help his team win a game during his sophomore year. But even when Jones’ schedule permits him to be in the stands to see his son play, it’s hard for him to turn off his coaching senses.

By the time Justin moved in with Jones, Justin was considered a prospective student-athlete, and Jones wasn’t allowed to coach his son’s youth teams. However, after practice and at home, Jones works with Justin to help advance his skills. As a coach who understands the ins and outs of basketball development and recruitment, Jones never hesitates to help his son pursue his dream of playing collegiate ball.

Though basketball is Jones’ job, it also offers him the perfect opportunity to bond with Justin, who spends a lot of time on the court or working out.  

“He’s a basketball coach. He gives me advice basketballwise, too, but then on top of that, he is also my dad,” Justin said. “So I feel like it’s not strictly a coach-player type relationship. We still have, like, a really good father-son relationship.”

Jones also encourages his son to find activities other than basketball that they can enjoy together. Sometimes it’s going out to eat, and other times, it’s playing video games.

“A lot of time is required for basketball, but at the same time [I’m] trying to find a balance to try to do something other than basketball with him,” Jones said.

Justin has spent the last five years as an unofficial member of the Spartans men’s basketball team. On most afternoons, Jones will pick him up from high school and take him to campus to sit in on film sessions and practices with the team. Sometimes Justin also travels with the team on away games.

“[Fatherhood] is the No. 1 thing in his life. He takes pride in it. He wants Justin to be the best person, a high-character individual,” men’s basketball assistant coach C.J. Clemons said. “He wants the best for him. He also wants him to be the best basketball player that he could possibly be. I think that’s the top priority on his list.”

The time Justin has spent around the Spartans program has given him the opportunity to grow and develop his basketball acumen.

“I could see, like, what he says [to] his players and how he coaches his players,” Justin said. “I am able to see, like, what [it] takes to be [a] college basketball player.”

Jones said he has received some interest from Division I basketball programs. Growing up around a historically Black college has opened his eyes to the possibility of a collegiate basketball career if he gets the opportunity.

“As of now [recruiting] is going well. I knew I could be a Division I player. All I gotta do is just keep working hard,” Justin said. “I know how hard it is to get to college. I feel like [an] HBCU would be a good environment. I’ve been to Norfolk State homecomings and stuff, and I really liked the environment there.”

Jones, a first-generation college graduate, worked as an assistant coach at Norfolk State before taking over as head coach in 2013. He is proud of making the transition from growing up in a New York housing project in South Jamaica, Queens, to living in a nice house with a basketball court in the backyard, which he and his son use frequently.

“His makeup is a little different than mine is. … I tried to, like, give him a healthy balance to let him know that you gotta have some toughness to you and stuff like that, especially a Black man in life,” Jones said. “So I know he doesn’t have to have the same journey that I had.

“I always say, like, for me, I had to hit a double to get to second base. He’s able to start on second base.”

Jones isn’t the only father on his coaching staff. Clemons and associate head coach Jamal Brown are fathers, too, and they all learn from one another.

“With his son being a little older I can kind of see the path that [Jones] went, some things that worked, some of the things that didn’t work,” Clemons said. “It also helps me know what to do and what not to do with my son. … We all kind of bounce ideas upon each other and just talk about all the good and bad that comes with [fatherhood].”

Jones takes pride in being present for all of Justin’s big and small moments. He can recall the first points his son scored, his first team and his first AAU tournament.

“I’m proud of him,” he said. “I don’t say too much, so I know sometimes he might think that I’m just always on him, but I’m on him because I see the good in him.”

Working with the Spurs gave Dupree the opportunity to learn from legendary coach Gregg Popovich, who had recently become the league’s all-time winningest coach. Although Dupree played in the frontcourt for her entire career, Popovich assigned her mainly to develop Spurs players such as forward Keldon Johnson and guard Devin Vassell.

“It forced me to expand my knowledge of meshing their [Spurs guards] skills with video and analytics,” Dupree said. “As players grow in knowledge of the game, you earn buy-in from them that leads to relationships. You can’t scream at everyone. Some you have to pull to the side and break things down, even at the NBA level.”

Dupree was the second woman hired as a Spurs assistant coach after Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon. Besides on-court development, Dupree also fostered personal relationships with players away from drills and conditioning, instilling accountability and trust.

However, despite joining a small group of former WNBA players working in NBA coaching, she desired to be a head coach who could generate a “greater impact” for athletes beyond their physical talents, she said.

“I don’t like the idea of athletes being viewed as assets, and with NIL you’re seeing that,” Dupree said. “I want to help players win games and leverage opportunities after their playing days because everybody isn’t LeBron James and will play 20-plus years of basketball.”

On May 9, after two seasons under Popovich, when Tennessee State University hired her as its next women’s basketball coach.

Tigers athletic director Mikki Allen spent 11 years in athletics at the University of Tennessee prior to coming to Tennessee State. He understood the changes in women’s basketball, player development and the power of relationship-building from his days of working with legendary University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Allen desired a coach who embodied Tennessee State’s culture and embraced player development as a tool to build a program.

“We weren’t looking to just sign a big name,” Allen said. “With women’s basketball growing by the second and minute, we needed someone who lived and breathed the student-athlete perspective, who played the game at the highest level and knew how to win.”

Dupree possessed exceptional experience: 2014 WNBA champion, NBA coaching experience, sixth on the all-time WNBA scoring list, fifth all time in games played and seventh all-time in rebounding. Although she lacked college coaching experience, Dupree sent her résumé to Allen.

After a couple weeks, things became quiet on TSU’s front. 

“Radio silent to the point where I thought I missed out on the job,” she said. 

However, after Allen — helped by TSU’s private search firm — examined 33 applicants, Dupree was named as one of three finalists. She spent two days in Nashville, Tennessee, where she toured the university’s facilities and experienced the Music City’s sports, entertainment and professional value.

After Allen consulted with several others, including University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who coached Dupree at Temple University, and his brother, Chaisson, the coach for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Dupree was hired.

Staley gave Allen confidence Dupree could lead Tennessee State’s program. Staley told Allen that Dupree’s coaching experience, player development skills and eagerness to learn were major assets.

“She [Staley] always felt Dupree was headed for a coaching career but didn’t know when the opportunity would present itself,” Allen recalled. “But she said Dupree was resilient and could handle ebbs and flows of the job.”

Throughout Dupree’s multifaceted career, she kept in contact with Staley. From the moment Dupree applied for the TSU job, she began picking Staley’s brain about recruiting, generating revenue and building a coaching staff.

“Seeing where she is now, I’d be crazy not to ask her questions,” Dupree said.

Dupree loves Staley’s ability to relate to players and her knack for building genuine relationships with the people in her program. But part of signing elite players and cultivating relationships stems from a coach’s approach, something that has required Dupree to leave her comfort zone.

As Dupree begins the recruiting process, she has been in contact with Ervin Monier, another longstanding mentor who recruited her to play at Temple. When Dupree was deciding where to play college basketball, Monier didn’t bombard her with messages.

That won’t be the case for Dupree.

“He [Monier] told me today’s players like to be chased, whether through calls, texts or on social media,” she said. “I didn’t want that. But if that’s what it takes on the recruiting trail, I’ll do it.”

Not only did Dupree play at the highest level, she knows the degree of discipline it takes to remain among basketball royalty. Dupree, whom the Chicago Sky selected at No. 6 in the 2006 WNBA draft, played for four other franchises during her WNBA career: the Phoenix Mercury, the Indiana Fever, the Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream. 

She experienced the highs and lows of competing in the postseason and the additional hard work required to become a WNBA champion with the Mercury. It wasn’t easy, especially on a Phoenix squad that featured such personalities as future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi, nine-time All-Star Brittney Griner and three-time champion Penny Taylor.

“Diana would cuss you out in a heartbeat and playing with a player like Penny, we were so unique but we played like a well-oiled machine in our title season,” Dupree said.

Although Dupree wasn’t the most outspoken teammate, her veteran leadership emerged throughout her seven seasons in Phoenix. And for a young Griner, Dupree’s guidance was key to how Griner navigated the WNBA. Dupree also gave Griner tough love about what it takes to be excellent in the league.

“There were times she would pull me to the side and tell me to ‘get myself together’ and that I needed to lock in … but she wasn’t the big vet who looked down on rookies. … She taught me things in a way that I could respond to them,” Griner said.

Early in Griner’s career, after WNBA seasons ended, she would make basketball secondary, getting out of shape and pick back up with the game when the next season began.

“I’m young, and you only live once,” a laughing Griner said. “But she got me together, not in a demeaning way but one that resonated with me.”

Dupree’s calmness, patience and sense of humor are all reasons Griner believes her former teammate will make an excellent coach.

“She has what I call ‘Pree humor,’ ” Griner said. “When I think of a coach, I want someone levelheaded and who can run a tight ship. She’s not going to baby those girls [at Tennessee State]. She’s going to give them tough love as well as prepare them for the pros and for life.”

As the summer passes into the fall, Dupree will be busy finalizing her coaching staff and recruiting players to bolster Tennessee State’s program, emphasizing high school recruiting and the transfer portal.

“She’s not bypassing the traditional model of taking high school players,” Allen said. “But she wants a team rooted in her culture, not the culture of three or four other institutions.”

In the 2023 season, Tennessee State finished eighth overall in the Ohio Valley Conference (11-19 overall, 7-11 OVC). The Tigers haven’t had a winning season since the 2014-2015 season, and was the last time TSU won the OVC tournament title and competed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Dupree said she envisions Tennessee State running an uptempo style of “beating other teams up the court,” dominating in rebounds and scoring efficiently. But first she must establish a unit of solid guards.

Several TSU starters from a year ago are returning, including forward Lyric Cole and guards Sanaa’ St. Andre, Saniah Parker, Nia Hicks and Aaniya Webb. Dupree is working on player development, watching film from last year’s team. In her earliest assessment, she noticed TSU had small guards, lacked interior size, needed pure shooters and lost several close conference games. As a result, teams simply “packed the paint and sat in a zone defense,” she said.

“When we get the right pieces to close the gap, I am going to do everything I can to help my players be successful … in the WNBA, internationally or in the workforce,” Dupree said. “All I needed was an opportunity, and now it’s time to work.”

Moton’s story parallels that of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who became the NFL’s second-youngest head coach and the first Black head coach in Steelers history when he was hired in 2007. As two young Black men who were hired for head coaching jobs without much head coaching experience yet excelled, Moton and Tomlin have built a strong relationship over the years.

“[The hiring process for Black coaches] it’s kind of been the elephant in the room that people discuss but they don’t discuss openly and candidly, and, to be completely honest with you, it was something that Mike and I had always discussed. It connected our bond,” Moton told Andscape.

Moton, now a member of North Carolina Central’s Alex M. Rivera Athletics Hall of Fame, has led the Eagles to four Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances. He wants other Black and minority men’s and women’s collegiate basketball coaches to have a better chance of being hired at Power 5 schools and also wants assistants to get more consideration for head coaching roles. With those goals in mind, he and Tomlin will host the Next Up coaches conference Thursday and Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We’re both on the back nine of our careers, so we just said, ‘Look, man, let’s provide an opportunity to help develop these younger coaches,’ ” Moton said. “That will kind of plant some seeds for some trees that we would’ve probably never seen grow, [but] these guys can have a tangible outcome.”

The creation of the Next Up conference has been almost a decade in the making, Moton said. He has invited 30 Black coaches from around the country who are head and assistant coaches at historically Black colleges and universities, Power 5 institutions, mid-major schools and high schools.

Moton likens the conference to that of Nike’s Villa 7, a group designed to connect top assistant coaches with athletic directors who may need to fill head coaching vacancies in the future. Marquette coach Shaka Smart has credited the Villa 7 with furthering his career, and Moton hopes his Next Up conference could have similar results.

During the conference, coaches will get to speak individually with search firms and athletic directors. Moton believes getting that face time will allow the coaches to build relationships that could be fruitful in the future.

“All coaches want is access and opportunity. … You have to put them in a position in front of the people that provide the opportunities,” Moton said. “Any questions and concerns that they may have, they go ask them [and] vice versa.”

In March, Fayetteville State women’s basketball head coach Tyreece Brown was named the full-time coach after spending most of last season as an interim coach. Brown earned the position after the Broncos won the Central Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division II tournament.

“In this world, especially in this coaching profession, learning it from guys that have been in it for a while and have been successful is very important,” Brown said. “Me just coming off my first year as a head coach [and having the opportunity to] just pick their brains, I’m just trying to absorb everything that they’re willing to give. I’m just gonna be a sponge.”

Although Brown didn’t have to go through a search firm to be hired by Fayetteville State, he remembers his first experience with search firms responsible for compiling a list of candidates to recommend for vacant head coaching positions.

“I’ve been in that environment before and it was unexpected, especially when it was my first time. It’s like something they can’t prepare you for,” Brown said. “So, that is great that [Moton] is doing this. Just to put people in front of a search firm to get them an interview [prepares them] to know what type of questions [they ask] and just that environment.”

Norfolk State coach Robert Jones spent seven years in the role before a search firm reached out to him for another coaching position, despite his success in the MEAC and being a part of the staff that won an NCAA tournament game upset in 2012. Jones hopes to meet even more athletic directors and search firms he’s not familiar with during the conference.

“It took awhile for the search firms and [athletic directors] to take notice about what [HBCU coaches] were doing. I still think that along those circles [of athletic directors] … it’s still not fully where it needs to be,” Jones said. “Year in and year out, it’s good that it’s starting to change with getting more attention and getting more opportunity to be able to potentially get a powerful or really lucrative job.

“I think, like, meeting some of the actual people [and] search firms would pay dividends in the long run because let’s face it – the more familiar they are with you, the more searches you’re gonna be a part of. So [it’s] the best way to connect the dots even more.”

Since 2021, Jones has noticed an increase in firms reaching out to him. He said he has participated in at least one head coaching search every year since.

“I think it’s gonna be really beneficial for those 24 assistant coaches to try to get their first taste of what it’s like to interview and get your name on a radar, on a map,” Jones said. “It’s definitely something good that LeVelle is doing to try to get people in front of these firms who normally wouldn’t get a chance to probably do it.”

Moton wants the conference to change lives, careers and opportunities for Black coaches. He also hopes the conference can become an annual event where coaches, athletics directors and search firms can continue to build relationships. Helping Black coaches break into the industry and get consideration for top jobs is a moral and social obligation at this point in his career, he said.

“It’s homegrown. My mother and grandmother taught me [to give back]. That’s how we were raised, someone provided opportunities for us,” Moton said. “Hopefully from this conference another younger LeVelle Moton or whoever can receive the same type of opportunity that I once had. Then they’ll come back and provide more opportunities. That’s the only way it’s gonna work.”

Richards replaces Tomekia Reed, who departed Jackson State for a coaching position at Charlotte on April 25.

Richards isn’t a stranger to the Southwestern Athletic Conference. She coached at Alabama A&M University for eight seasons, compiling a 97-125 overall record and a 69-70 conference record. She also has coaching experience from a stint at Saint Augustine College from 2008-2010.

With the transfer portal closing Wednesday and summer workouts starting in several weeks, Richards has a list of things to do to prepare the Lady Tigers to defend their conference title next season. Here are what her top priorities should be as Jackson State’s new coach.

Recruiting

Jackson State dominated the SWAC last season, but several key players from that roster are graduating or in the transfer portal. Jackson State is slated to lose its top six scorers from a season ago. Andriana Avent, Miya Crump, Angel Jackson and Keshuna Luckett are graduating. Jackson, who was named SWAC defensive player of the year in March, was selected by the Las Vegas Aces with the 36th pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. Guard Ti’lan Boler, center Daphane White and several other players entered the transfer portal a month ago, so Richards will have to fill out her roster immediately.

Filling out her staff

Two of Richards’ former assistant coaches at Alabama A&M, Freddie Murray and Larry McNeil, have strong Jackson State women’s basketball ties. Murray, a Jackson State alum, spent time as a graduate assistant coach with the Lady Tigers under coach Denise Taylor from 2001 to 2003, earning a SWAC regular-season title in 2003. McNeil, who worked as an assistant coach for Jackson State from 2001 to 2008, was named interim coach for the Lady Tigers during the 2011-12 season. He finished the season with an 11-17 record in the SWAC. Both understand the Jackson State fan base and could be vital to recruiting players.

Win fast

Richards doesn’t have a SWAC regular season or tournament championship, but Jackson State is a program accustomed to success. The women’s basketball program has won nine SWAC tournament titles. Under Reed, Jackson State won five consecutive SWAC regular-season titles and three SWAC tournament championships in the last four years. All eyes will be on Richards and her staff to maintain the high standard of winning conference championships.

“The Gold Standard: What a powerful slogan for a university on the rise,” Reed said in the official announcement. “I could not be more thrilled to become a Niner. I am inspired and excited to continue the standard of excellence that is this women’s basketball program.”

Following Reed’s departure, Jackson State announced it will begin a national coaching search to replace one of the most storied coaches in program history.

Since being named coach at Jackson State in 2018, Reed has compiled an overall record of 125-54. Reed, who was named Southwestern Athletic Conference coach of the year for the fourth time in March, has led the Tigers to five consecutive SWAC regular-season titles. Jackson State ended its regular season with an undefeated 18-0 conference record.

During Reed’s tenure, Jackson State has had two players selected in the WNBA draft. In the 2024 draft April 16, Angel Jackson was picked 36th overall by the Las Vegas Aces. In 2022, the Indiana Fever selected Ameshya Williams-Holliday as the 25th overall pick, making her the first woman drafted from a historically Black college and university since 2002.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Jackson praised her former coach. 

“This lady was the best thing to ever happen to me. The leadership, determination, endless love and support etc. was a life changer,” Jackson tweeted.

“I want to thank Tomekia for what she has done for Jackson State women’s basketball,” vice president and director of athletics Ashley Robinson said in a statement. “The work she did during her time here at Jackson State is unmatched, and we wish her nothing but the best at Charlotte.”

“Playing in the NCAA tournament was an incredible feeling for me, the coaching staff, our players, our alums and our institution,” Jackson told Andscape. “It’s nothing like competing at the highest level and reaching the tournament.”

However in March, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey, the co-chair of the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee who has previously recommended a tournament expansion, suggested eliminating automatic qualifiers, an idea Michigan State University head men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo agrees is worth consideration. But many other coaches say implementing the proposal would have a negative impact on the tournament participation of mid-major programs – such as those at historically Black colleges and universities.

Currently in Division I basketball, two HBCU athletic conferences, the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, receive automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. Other mid-major conferences with HBCU members, such as the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), also receive automatic bids. In the last 10 years no HBCU has received an at-large bid to the tournament.

In a tournament known for the Power Five and mid-major matchups dubbed David vs. Goliath games, many believe the landscape of college basketball will change if David is no longer allowed to enter the fight. 

“That’s the beauty and the magic of March. If you take that away, you’re not going to have 12 [over] 5 upsets, 16 [over] 1 upsets,” said Howard University head men’s basketball coach Kenneth Blakeney, whose team lost its First Four game against Wagner College in this year’s tournament. “The two [mid-major] teams in the Final Four last year, that is the beauty and the magic of what makes March Madness March Madness. There’s so many brackets that get tossed out the window, and that may be the issue, but it’s what makes March special.”

Jackson State University head women’s basketball coach Tomekia Reed will never forget her team’s near-upset of LSU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in 2022.

“The NCAA tournament brings prestige and honor to our program and gives us a different type of platform to showcase what being an HBCU is all about. … We draw great viewership as people know we are going to compete with a chance to win,” Reed said. “Having the proper representation in the NCAA tournament helps put a positive spotlight on our culture and on our institution. We get to show that we have great coaches and great players.” 

Another postseason tournament, the National Invitation Tournament, eliminated automatic bids for regular-season mid-major champions for the 2024 NIT, and no HBCUs that would have automatically qualified a season ago were selected to participate. The Women’s National Invitational Tournament still allows regular-season champions as qualifiers; two HBCUs were chosen for this year’s postseason tournament.

“Now the NCAA is trying to follow the blueprint and layout of the NIT by eliminating a lot of mid-major basketball teams,” said LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central University’s head men’s basketball coach. “I couldn’t imagine the NCAA tournament without mid-major schools. whether it’s HBCUs or low majors. In my eyes, I don’t think people want to see another tournament with all Power Five schools.”

Moton has tallied four MEAC tournament championships since taking over the team at his alma mater in 2009. After the Eagles’ first NCAA tournament berth in 2014, Moton recalls then-chancellor Debra Saunders-White telling him that freshman enrollment for the following year was at capacity.

“Our website went through the roof. People were calling saying, ‘This is where [basketball player] Sam Jones went, right?’ It’s been proven that the top teams in football and the top teams in basketball each year, [their] enrollment goes through the windows,” Moton said.

That translates into more student athletic fees, Moton said.

“The economic impact of the tournament for the university, you can’t pay for that type of marketing,” he added. “That is valued at probably $25 million.”

After earning his first NCAA tournament berth as a head coach in 2023, Norfolk State University head women’s basketball coach Larry Vickers saw the tournament appearance open the doors for recruiting. The Spartans lost to South Carolina in the opening round of the tournament but drew praise from Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley. 

A couple months later, North Carolina State University transfer Diamond Johnson, a former five-star recruit, committed to playing for the Spartans. 

“So many people sent emails from everywhere. ‘Hey, Coach, I never heard of your program, but I enjoy watching y’all play, enjoy your style of play.’ Obviously basketball gives us that opportunity where there’s not, like, a tremendous difference in scholarships and things like that, but I don’t think we would be able to recruit as well right now,” Vickers said. 

“We were able to get Anjanae Richardson, who was a top five kid in our state. The freshman said, ‘This HBCU culture is for me, and I want to stay closer to home.’ Then we got a Diamond Johnson. … But if we can’t get into the tournament, every high major team is just going to have 15 incredible players that all wait their turn because everybody wants to play in that moment.”

Tennessee State University head men’s basketball coach Brian Collins went to the NCAA tournament as a player, helping lead Belmont University to its first tournament in 2006. He also participated in a tournament bid as an assistant coach with East Tennessee State University in 2017. 

Tennessee State is a member of the OVC, and Collins knows his players will be directly impacted if mid-major bids are eliminated.

“If you take it away, it’s like, what are you playing for then? What are you fighting for? It’s hard to put into words, but when you take that away you’re taking away dreams of student-athletes that have worked as hard,” Collins said. “We would’ve never heard of Steph Curry and what he did at Davidson. What Damian Lillard did at Weber State, Paul George at Fresno State, Ja Morant at Murray [State]. You would have never seen these guys on that stage to show you that they’re just as talented as a guy at North Carolina.”

The issue of eliminating autobids also has caught the attention of North Carolina State University head men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts, whose team made the Final Four of this year’s tournament. Keatts, who previously spent several seasons at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) in the CAA, understands the grind mid-major programs undergo to qualify for the NCAA tournament and the privilege Power Five schools have.

Though the Wolfpack had a conference record below .500, the team won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. Had Keatts still been at UNCW, that might’ve not earned the selection.

“My time at UNCW I had won 28 games, and if I didn’t win that championship game I probably wasn’t gonna go to the NCAA tournament, and so I had to [win] it,” Keatts said at the Final Four. “So I hope that there’s other opportunities [for mid-majors]. … If we could expand the tournament — and I don’t say expand the tournament a little bit just for the Power Fives to get more teams in — I’d like to give the mid-majors some opportunities, too.”

Retired Hampton University women’s basketball coach David Six led the Pirates to six NCAA tournament berths. Despite advancing to the tournament multiple times, Six has advocated for an alternative option for HBCUs: He thinks the NCAA should create a separate mid-major tournament, similar to the FCS playoffs in football. 

“HBCUs have great coaches, great talent,” Six said. “The thing is that schools have to put money into it. They got to put the resources into it, and that’s tough to do. HBCUs, they are valuable and great at what they do, but you know if somebody’s making $175 million on their athletic program there is no way for HBCUs to compete. 

“Every once in a while people say, ‘Well, you know we’ve had Cinderellas before,’ but we’ve had [Power Five] winners much more than we’ve had Cinderellas.”

However, given the long, storied history of the NCAA tournament and the national support behind it, other coaches don’t believe a separate tournament would have the same appeal.

“All the brackets are the NCAA tournament. That’s where everybody’s heart is, not only the fans, the coaches, the players, but consumers. It’s everyone. It’s historical,” Moton said. “So I don’t think starting our own will have the same impact financially, economically or just emotionally as this is.”

It wasn’t the result the Lions (35-2) hoped for in their first NAIA championship appearance, but for Oklahoma’s only HBCU, it signaled the turnaround coach Chris Wright had hoped for when he took the reins of the program in 2022.

“Langston is a special place. It’s a place where I know that we can win and win big every single year,” Wright said after the game. “That’s the expectation, and so this is not our last deep run [in the NAIA tournament] here.”

Langston’s appearance in the NAIA championship game marked the second time in three years an HBCU made it to the national title game. The other program, Talladega College, also was coached by Wright.

Before joining the Lions, Wright was fresh off of three consecutive NAIA tournament appearances, including a 2022 runner-up finish. Langston had won one game in two seasons before his arrival, compiling a 1-37 record from 2020-21 to 2021-22.

Most of the candidates Langston athletic director Donnita Drain-Rogers interviewed for the coaching position mentioned a multi-year process to turn the Lions’ program around, compete for conference championships and qualify for the NAIA tournament. Wright sold her on the vision of winning immediately and didn’t waver from that goal, she said.

“He’s got great players, but Coach Wright is just phenomenal with building a culture, and it has been amazing to sit there as athletic director and just see how he’s created this masterpiece in two years,” Drain-Rogers said. “The support has grown for the men’s basketball [team], [and we’re] getting good [attendance] numbers for regular-season games. Our fans are traveling well. We have a lot of people that believed in them.”

Wright describes his culture as tough, consistent and disciplined basketball with a special emphasis on defense. He aims to not just recruit NAIA players but players who have produced at higher levels. He and his staff recruit players talented in offensive play and train them in defense.

“We just feel like being at this level for a lot of years, we kind of have a blueprint that’s made [us] successful,” Wright said. “We knew that we could get talented guys in here and flip the program.”

The program’s transition from one win to 31 in a single season (from 2021-22 to 2022-23) is one of the biggest turnarounds for a collegiate basketball team, putting Langston in the same company as Gannon University, which added 29 wins in one season and is in the NCAA record book for the largest one-year turnaround.

Langston assistant coach Jon Warren, who played for Wright at Central Baptist College and Talladega, has coached under him for four years. Warren remembers the first open gym after Wright’s hire and how the coaching staff worked 10-hour days in the summer of 2022 while trying to figure out how to transform the program.

Based on his experience, Warren knows Wright can recruit and develop players.

“[Wright is] 100% truthful. He’s not gonna fake it. He’s always going to keep it 100 with you, whether you want to hear it or not. You gotta respect that as a man,” Warren said. “Some of the guys buy into it. … We also tell them in the recruitment process you’re gonna have to defend if you want to play here. So it’s no surprise when they get here, and we’re demanding defense every day.”

Senior Cortez Mosley, a transfer from Colby Community College in Kansas, decided to join Langston’s program because he always wanted to attend an HBCU and believed Wright could repeat the success he had achieved at Talladega.

“I’m just grateful to be one of the pioneers and one of the leaders to be a part of this cultural change at Langston, and putting my faith in Coach Wright is really what got me here,” Mosley said. “I’m gonna look back on it and just have so many great memories of the time I spent at Langston. It really was just us versus everybody.”

Mosley finished this season as the Sooner Athletic Conference defensive player of the year for the second consecutive season. As a graduating senior, Mosley hopes his leadership and style of play will set the foundation for next year’s team. 

“Hopefully the team moving forward just knows the importance of defense and knowing that’s what the culture is based on,” Mosley said. “Just defensive togetherness and being tough, not just physically but mentally tough. Going through all the adversity we faced, man, I learned so much in these two years, just staying tough through it all.”

Over the last two seasons, the team has experienced injuries, two players lost their fathers, Wright’s father died and Wright’s 2-year-old son fell ill, which helped put things in perspective for Wright and his team.

“Our program really is built on love. Sometimes it’s tough love,” Wright said. “As a coach, you get what you tolerate. But just demanding excellence out of everyone in our program every single day, it’s not always fun, but we are a tight-knit family. We do this together. And I think that’s been the difference for us.  

“Just how unselfish these guys are, how much they love each other, how much they care about each other. I think that stretches far beyond the basketball court.”

After the tournament loss Tuesday night, Wright reminded his players how they have responded to adversity.

​​”I just told them how much I love them, how proud I am of the season that they had, and just how important it was for us to get all of our seniors to graduate,” Wright said. “That’s a huge victory.”

With two NAIA tournament appearances, two conference tournament championships and a national title runner-up finish since Wright’s hiring, Drain-Rogers believes he has fulfilled his vision of running a winning program.

“I feel like the sky’s the limit for Coach Wright. I hope that he will be coaching Langston basketball for years to come,” Drain-Rogers said. “I’ve been in this business a long time. I personally feel like he’s one of the best coaches in the nation. So, it may be very difficult to keep him, but I feel like he’s forever changed men’s basketball, and basketball period, at Langston University.”

During Langston’s NAIA tournament run, Drain-Rogers and Wright received numerous calls and texts from HBCU coaches and alumni, and multiple social media posts, wishing the Lions well.

“Our players take a lot of pride in being able to represent HBCUs across the country on the stage and this platform,” Wright said. “It’s extremely hard I think for anybody to get here, but when you’re at an HBCU, it really is an uphill battle. … It’s really cool to see the respect that we’ve gotten from so many people across the country.”

The support has meant a lot to the program, especially since Langston’s players were actively rooting for their HBCU counterparts in postseason tournament play.

“I was rooting for Grambling when I saw them playing in their play-in [game],” Mosley said. “When I seen them make it to the tournament, it made me happy, so we’re all one big HBCU family.

“That’s a reason to stay motivated. They don’t really highlight NAIA schools, so hopefully I’ll be a part of something that changes that.”

Most of the players were a part of last year’s team that won 31 games, which was the highest program win total in 10 years. This season, Langston finished with 35 wins.

Several players from this year’s championship team will return next season, including conference player of the year Anthony Roy, and Wright believes there is more success in store for the program.

“That’s our goal every single season, to put ourselves in a position to compete for a national championship,” Wright said. “We know how hard that is to duplicate that, but I know that I’ve committed to doing everything in my power the next 364 days to try to put us in the best situation possible to get back here and to win it.”

The Broncos’ most successful postseason was spearheaded by interim head coach Tyreece Brown, who stepped into the role on March 1, 2023. Exactly a year later, he would find himself preparing to lead the group to the program’s fifth Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament championship win.

“It was go time,” Brown said. “When you get an opportunity, you have to be ready. I have no fear at all. It’s really no pressure, it’s basketball. It’s something that I love to do. I don’t really look at this as a job. I’ve always loved this. I just pour my heart and soul into the game.”

The former assistant coach has been a part of the coaching staff since 2011. Brown took Fayetteville State’s men’s basketball team to the CIAA championship game in 2005 as a starting guard.

“My upbringing and being around so many great coaches prepared me for this,” Brown said. “There’s so much I’ve learned from them and I am still learning up until this day. I am forever a student of the game. I knew that I was ready and prepared regardless of it being my first year.”

For the past three seasons, Brown has coached graduating senior Aniylah Bryant with a front-row seat to her development. Bryant went from being a shy transfer from Louisburg College in North Carolina to the leader of the Broncos. The CIAA recognized her as the conference’s 2024 women’s player of the year and MVP of the tournament. She also was named to the All-Atlantic Region team.

During the Broncos’ NCAA tournament run, Bryant scored more than 20 points in two of the three games. In the Sweet 16 game against Gannon, she struggled offensively, scoring only six points, but managed to get five steals.

“I’ve always loved defense,” Bryant said. “I really believe in the statement that defense leads to offense. Day to day I am a very laid-back person, so on the court, that’s my space to let everything out. That’s why I play so hard. Everything that I carry on my shoulders I release on the court. It’s my escape from reality.”

Bryant leads by example, Brown said.

“Even if it’s just practice, she’s going to give it everything she has,” he said. “She sets the tone and that’s just so important as one of the star players. She’s going to bring it defensively and offensively on every play. It was an honor and blessing to coach her. She set the foundation of this program.”

Bryant said she believes the CIAA tournament, during which the team won its second championship in the last four years, was key in the Broncos reaching the Sweet 16 this year.

“I believe the CIAA tournament helped us go as far as we did in the NCAA tournament,” Bryant said. “The competition in the CIAA is just unmatched, in my opinion.”

Bryant grew up playing basketball with her cousins until the sun went down on her grandmother’s dirt court in Harlowe, North Carolina. During high school, a car struck and killed her best friend, Antoine Marcel Godette Jr., a month before their graduation.

His death helped Bryant put the tournament loss in perspective.

“He always told me that one day that I would do what I am doing right now,” Bryant said. “He told me I could make it from where we came from. I think when I feel down about losses, I just think of him.”

When Brown’s team arrived back in Fayetteville from the NCAA Division II tournament, he took comfort in thinking about the future of the program despite the disappointing loss.

Sophomore Talia Trotter worked her way into starting for the team as a freshman. Trotter was Fayetteville State’s second-leading scorer during its NCAA tournament run, and Brown believes even with Bryant’s departure, the program is in great hands moving forward.

“It just feels so good to have another floor general on the floor,” Brown said. “I played point guard here and I know how important this position is. Talia is great right now, and she’s even still growing. … To be only a sophomore, she’s very strong with the ball.”

This season also has given former Radford University guard Charnissa Chillers an opportunity to come into her own as an assistant coach for Fayetteville State. 

“I think for me this season, I grew a lot outside of the basketball side of things,” Chillers said. “This year I learned a lot about the business of basketball. Since Coach [Brown] has brung me on board, he has been teaching me how to become a head coach at some point. I wasn’t just doing individuals [workouts] or checking in on study hall. He was showing me how to really run things like budgets and scholarships.”

This year, two other teams from historically Black colleges and universities, Miles College and West Virginia State University, earned a chance to compete for the Division II women’s basketball national championship.

“Here and at other HBCUs, we have the basketball IQ, we have the coaches and the resources,” Chillers said. “It’s all about just putting it on the proper platform so that everyone else can see it as well.”

Miles faced Valdosta State University in the opening round but fell short, 66-55. West Virginia State faced top-seeded Gannon in the opening round and lost, 73-53. The Broncos stayed afloat in the tournament the longest of the three historically Black colleges.

“This was a big statement for HBCUs,” Brown said. “Even at the highest levels, HBCU basketball does not get a lot of publicity, and it’d been like that over the years. We’ve had great ladies that have gone to Division II schools. Sometimes, they think they have to go to Division I schools to win. You can come to an HBCU and win.”

Despite Brown’s longtime commitment to Fayetteville State as a player and assistant coach, coupled with his success in his first year leading the program, it is still unknown whether “interim” will be removed from Brown’s title.

“When I think of my future, I take it day by day,” Brown said. “I am a strong Christian, and I follow by faith, not by sight. I think about how I can better this team and how we can better ourselves as coaches. The rest will take care of itself.”

“It took a lot of hard work,” Avent said. “It was a lot of trials and tribulations, but throughout my process I never gave up.”

After five seasons spent at three different schools, Avent has finally reached the NCAA tournament. No. 14 seed Jackson State will face No. 3 seed UConn on Saturday in the opening round after Jackson State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament March 16 to earn a berth.

When Avent entered the transfer portal a season ago, she immediately made a lot of buzz as a top transfer from a historically Black college. While on the bus heading to a SWAC tournament game in March 2023, a few Jackson State players saw Avent’s social media announcement and quickly informed the coaching staff, which seized the opportunity to reach out and build a relationship with her.

“I trust the coaching staff. I knew that they will take me to the next level, not just on the court but outside the court as well. [They have] created me to be a better person,” Avent said. “I feel like this journey throughout this last year at Jackson State has made me become a bigger and better person. As far as working out, the hard work and dedication, having no days off, I feel like has played a big part as well.”

Avent, a native of Sacramento, California, began her career at the University of New Mexico in 2019 before transferring to Texas Southern University as a redshirt sophomore in 2021.

When Avent committed to Jackson State for the 2023-24 season, as a second-time transfer she wasn’t immediately eligible to play and the NCAA denied her waiver. The initial belief was she would redshirt this season with the Tigers and play next year. When a federal judge ruled in favor of allowing second-time transfers immediate eligibility to play in December 2023, Avent joined Jackson State before the start of conference play.

“It was bittersweet at first when I got denied,” she said. “I was really sad because I was gonna have to sit out a whole year, but once they made the rule change I was in a gym consistently every day.”

Before coming to Jackson State, Avent was an All-SWAC First Team selection during the 2021-22 season and one of Texas Southern’s lead scorers the following season, averaging 16.3 points.

She learned she would have a new role at Jackson State under coach Tomekia Reed.

“AD can start on any program in the country. When she came to Jackson State, she accepted the role to come off the bench,” Reed said. “When she bought into that role, she was OK with it. She understood when she came off the bench, she had to come in and change the game, change the tempo. 

“That’s hard to do, to kind of go from being ‘the man’ to coming off the bench. … Overall she was a great student, a great listener, and she did a great job. She’s extremely coachable.”

Avent debuted with Jackson State on Dec. 20, 2023, against the University of Miami, coming off the bench. This season, although she has started two games, she has spent most of the year as a late spark for the Tigers. The transition wasn’t too hard, she said. The biggest thing for her was maintaining her confidence.

“I knew once I was in the game that they depend on me to come in and make a change and to be able to contribute and help my teammates,” Avent said. “It wasn’t just about me, but it was about them as well, coming together and being able to pull it all together.”

The coaching staff at Jackson State describes her as naturally offensively gifted, but they spent most of the season teaching Avent what were good shots and bad shots on the court and how to play defense consistently. 

“We know she can score. I mean, she can just get [her shot] off against anybody. Once she gets one it’s lights out,” said assistant coach Jonathan Williams, who works with the team’s guards. “But getting her to defend that was tough, so every day we preach, ‘Defend, rebound.’ She bought into it.”

Assistant coach LaShonda Cousin, who also works with the guards, agreed.  

“Earlier part of conference [play], she wanted to be out on the court and we told her, ‘Hey, we need you on the court, but if you’re not rebounding, not defending, you’re not helping the program,’ ” Cousin said. “Coach Reed told her, ‘Hey, you rebound and defend, we’re gonna leave you on the court.’ And she went out, started defending, started to rebound and she stopped [fouling].”

Jackson State is No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opposing teams to shooting 33.6% from the field. The Tigers are among three historically Black colleges and universities to rank in the top five for team defense along with North Carolina A&T State University (No. 3) and Howard University (No. 5).

“My defense has played a big part this year,” Avent said. “I’ll say last year at Texas Southern I took plays off, but here at Jackson State that’s not allowed. Defense wins games, so I took that into consideration and played it to the best of my ability.”

Avent was crucial to Jackson State’s conference championship win. She tallied a team-high 17 points, shooting 4 for 9 from 3-point range, in the 68-44 victory over Alcorn State. Her performance earned her the SWAC tournament’s MVP award.

“We’re happy to have her involved with our current players and she just changed the game for us,” Reed said. “She stretches the floor. She’s superaggressive. Our guard coaches do a really good job with her, so I’m just proud of what she does for our program.”

For the Jackson State coaches, seeing Avent enjoy the SWAC championship win was satisfying. 

“She’s been dreaming of this moment ever since she’s gotten to college,” Cousin said. “Even when she got to Jackson State her mom and family all talked about how she’s never won a championship in college and that’s why she came to Jackson State to do so. It won’t be too hard to get her ready to go for whoever we face in the first round.”

Jackson State guards Miya Crump, Ti’lan Boler, and Keshuna Luckett, three players who played significant minutes the last time the Tigers earned an NCAA tournament bid in 2022, are helping Avent and other teammates ahead of their postseason matchup against UConn.

“[They said] that it only gets harder, you can’t let it up,” Avent said. “You have to have the same energy, keep our composure and stay dedicated and have each other’s back throughout the long run. … Whether there may be some bad call, you have to continue to fight through it. Don’t argue with the refs and keep our head up throughout the process.”

The Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Tigers (21-14) advance as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region to play No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.

“Incredible. That’s what March is made of, baby,” Grambling State coach Donte’ Jackson said. “You got to find a way to fight, stay in the game, and have that one last run.”

Montana State’s Robert Ford III made his fifth 3-pointer of the game to tie the game at 78 for the Big Sky Conference tournament champions with 2:02 left in overtime, but Grambling iced the game from the free throw line with eight straight points.

Montana State (17-18) went 1 of 6 in the final 1:27 in failing to win its first NCAA tournament game in its sixth attempt.

Burnett and Jourdan Smith had 18 points apiece for the Tigers.

Grambling State, which was playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time despite a 2-10 start to the season, rode a second-half surge going on a 21-6 run, erasing its 42-33 halftime deficit. Cofer, who didn’t play in the first half, flipped in a layup as part of an individual 6-0 run, giving the Tigers their first lead of the second half 60-59 with 5:47 remaining in regulation.

Cofer laid in a game-tying score with 34 seconds left to knot it at 72, and Montana State’s Brandon Walker missed a potential go-ahead layup with 9 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Montana State shot 63% in the first half and held a lead as large as 14 in its third-straight NCAA tournament appearance.

“There were some definite momentum swings,” Montana State coach Matt Logie said.

Ford had 26 points to lead Montana State. Brian Goracke added 15 and Brandon Walker had 14.

“I would just say I understand how hard it is to get here,” said Ford, who hit six 3-pointers. “There’s a lot of great players in the league. There’s a lot of great teams. The biggest part is understanding what it takes to get here and when you get here, what it feels like.”

The First Four went to overtime for the first time since Notre Dame beat Rutgers 89-87 in double overtime in 2022.

First time dancing

Grambling made the NCAA tournament for the first time in its 47-year history.

“What this means for our program, it’s an understatement, to be totally honest,” Jackson said. “Just let these guys know, when they could have went to all these other big schools and things of that nature, that they chose right by coming to Grambling. And just really thankful, just all our guys that’s here and just the way they prepared and how they played today.”

Clutch cofer

Cofer scored a team-high 13 points in the second half and six in overtime. He didn’t spend any time on the floor in the first half and didn’t play during the SWAC championship game Saturday.

“I was just trying to stay locked in the whole time,” Cofer said. “Even when I’m not playing I’m locked in the game because I know eventually my name is going to be called. Once I’m out there, I’ve got to do what I have to do.”

Halftime adjustments

The Tigers trailed by double figures in both halves and by as many as 14 points in the second.

“At halftime, it was somewhere we’d already been before. We knew what we had to do,” Cofer said. “We played a big schedule in the regular season, so it wasn’t nothing new.”

Deep bench

Grambling had four players in double figures, with Mika Stevenson adding 10.

“It’s one thing to scout and go through the plays,” Jackson said. “It’s another thing for them to run the plays at the pace that they run them at and shoot the ball at the pace they shoot it at. But at the end of the day, we locked in and those guys found a way to get it done.”