The Endless Summer: HBCU talk & week in review (July 6)
The Endless Summer. A weekly column and blog by Cory B. McKinnis. An eventful basketball week occupied most of my schedule: Wednesday night at Skinz League, Thursday and Friday in Dallas for The Circuit and Saturday and Sunday in Oklahoma City…
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The Endless Summer. |
A weekly column and blog by Cory B. McKinnis. |
An eventful basketball week occupied most of my schedule: Wednesday night at Skinz League, Thursday and Friday in Dallas for The Circuit and Saturday and Sunday in Oklahoma City for the Prep Hoops Grind SZN Kickoff. By Sunday at 3 o’clock, it was refraining from an afternoon snooze that perturbed me the most. At least six new Division-I offers for Oklahoma athlete, a semi-national awakening for Sean Pedulla Sean Pedulla 6'1" | PG Edmond Memorial | 2021 State #81 Nation OK , and compromised functionality at our event made for an anomalous weekend but one with a high reward. I decided to utilize the above-fold space to write about a trio of Team Griffins stars who received offers from a prominent university and the importance those offers contain. I also asked a few of my colleagues to chime in on the conversation.
Hampton, an esteemed historically black university, extended offers to three local favorites Sunday. Del City’s Keyondre Young Keyondre Young 6'7" | SF Del City | 2021 State OK , Norman North’s Jaylon White Jaylon White 5'11" | PG Norman North | 2021 State OK and Casady’s DJ Freeman DJ Freeman 6'4" | PF Casady | 2021 State OK each received bids from the Pirates. Including Trey Alexander Trey Alexander 6'4" | SG Oklahoma City Heritage | 2021 State #55 Nation OK ‘s Texas Southern offer on Friday, four of Oklahoma’s best ’21 prospects landed opportunities to take their talents to historically black university and colleges.
If you are wondering the essence of the recent boost in public awareness of HBCUs, it started when Mikey Williams, a national five-star recruit from California announced last month would consider playing for an HBCU after high school. Another five-star prospect, Makur Maker, pledged his commitment to Howard on Friday morning in a break-through decision for the Arizona senior and HBCUs about the country.
A full disclaimer: I am white. As not to speak for the Oklahoma community of black athletes, I asked Prep Hoops Oklahoma’s Addam Francisco to share his sentiments on the topic.
“I think this is a really opportune time for young black athletes to make a stand,” Francisco said. “I definitely support whatever decision they make for their future, but one thing that would undoubtedly change the attitudes at [predominantly-white institutions] would be them losing their star basketball player to an HBCU.”
The public response to recent HBCU attention, including Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham’s objection to a column from The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill about the importance of attending historically black colleges, has been indicative of some sentiments toward HBCUs.
Here’s a brief run-down of some of the contents of Hill’s column:
- Black men account for 2.4 percent of the student population in power-five schools but represent 56 percent of the population of basketball players.
- Though HBCUs only make up 3 percent of all colleges, they produce 80 percent of black judges, 50 percent of black lawyers, 40 percent of black engineers and 40 percent of black congressmen and women.
- The average endowment of HBCUs is one-eighth the average endowment for non-HBCUs.
- Prairie View A&M, whose athletic department is the most profitable among HBCUs, accrued less than $18 million during the 2016-17 school year. The University of Alabama Athletics Department, whose athletes remain uncompensated, raked in $174 million during the same time.
Prep Hoops writer Brandon Willis said the topic of HBCU recruiting is layered.
“HBCUs’ funding for athletics has always been an issue,” Willis said. “If a black player attends a historically black college, he or she will not make money, however, they will help build and grow an institution that related and deeply cares about that player in a different way.
“There is an investment,” Willis continued, “that player makes into the school that can’t be understated.”
Willis said the benefits of athletes considering HBCUs could have larger-scale effects, as well.
“It will give HBCUs more power when trying to affect or influence policy-makers when trying to achieve equality,” Willis said.
Many schools at each level have done tremendous work in recruiting athletes of color and diversifying their staffs.
However, the common adage of spectators in recruiting circles is to go where you are most valued. For some athletes about the country with their eyes set on playing high-major basketball, those HBCUs may be the best fit.
Player of the weekend. . .
The decision to name Pedulla the player of the weekend should come as a surprise to few. Seven games over four days while posting high-major numbers against high-major prospects prompted an excellent recruiting environment for Pedulla, who received bids from Tulsa, Samford and Minnesota, respectively, from Friday to Sunday.
Pedulla poured in 32 points in a one-on-one battle with Texan ’22 No.1-prospect Keyonte George, outscoring the NBA hopeful in the individual category in a two-point loss to Drive Nation. Before Team Buddy Buckets’ subsequent match with Next Page Force, Pedulla’s phone was already blowing up with national name-drops, highlight mixes and phone calls from potential suitors. Against NP Force — a team whose roster boasts commitments to Texas Tech and Ole Miss — Pedulla’s electrifying play was consistent with its proceeding performance as he led TBB to a win in that game.
At the Grind SZN Kickoff, he played for the home crowd, and there was nobody in the gym who could touch him. Pedulla led TBB a 3-and-0 record in Oklahoma City; driving to the rack at will, outsmarting defenses and adapting to defenders, hitting shots automatically from triple-range and even playing above the rim on fast-breaks, Pedulla took flight last weekend, searing his name into the midwestern memory to stay for a while.
His play warranted every phone call, offer and highlight mix, though he was not the only player to receive Division-I offers over the weekend.
Who’s next?
With Adante Holiman Adante Holiman 6'0" | PG McAlester | 2022 State #224 Nation OK receiving his first offer from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, bolstering the count of Oklahoma players with D-I offers to 13.
While there are numerous underclassmen who have or will receive D-I offers, I think that there are still a few ’21 guys who could be there by the end of the summer. One of my favorite players to watch, Sapulpa swingman Jackson Skipper, could be next in Oklahoma. The incoming senior competed at the Grind SZN Kickoff, and I was thoroughly impressed.
In his first five minutes of action Saturday, Skipper converted a triple, threw down two fervent slams in the mid-court and hit a trio of quick strikes inside the perimeter. With a generous 6-foot-7-inch stature, athletic frame and wide wing-span, it was no wonder that Skipper was able to accomplish such fruitful production on offense.
Defensively, he was just as capable, using the same attributes to protect the rim and keep opposing forwards out of the scoring margin for long stretches of the game.
His versatility, agility and frame are all, in my opinion, D-I-ready, and he has little down-side; I’ve seen athletes about the midwest with more detracting qualities and fewer to their favor receive low-to-mid-major offers. Because of those capabilities, I think Skipper could be next to receive his phone call.
Monday read. . .
Read my latest feature about Skinz League, chronicling the experience of watching Texan top-three prospect Daimion Collins against some of the best former college and professional talent in the state.
If you have not had the chance to see Skinz yet, it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience I would recommend with social consciousness and distancing.
Video of the weekend. . .
Here are a few shots from our own Joshua Cleary:
https://twitter.com/PHCircuit/status/1279942047558971393?s=20