MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thirteen years after basketball was invented, and after being exposed to the game over the summer at Harvard University, Coach Edwin Henderson introduced basketball to a physical education class at Howard University in Washington, D. C. By 1910, basketball was one of the most popular sports among young African-Americans.
By 1915, African-Americans played basketball in high school physical education classes, on college and university squads, and on club teams representing major urban cities. Some of the first predominantly black universities to form basketball teams include Hampton University in Virginia; Lincoln University in Pennsylvania; Wilberforce University in Ohio; and Virginia Union in Richmond. In 1916, the all-black Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) was formed, uniting Virginia Union, Shaw University (Raleigh, North Carolina), Lincoln and Howard in competition.
Directory A-K
Abram, Demetrius, Jackson State
Adams, Sylvester, No. Carolina A&T
Allen, James Mack, Ark-Pine Bluff
Allen, Johnny, Bethune-Cookman
Anderson, Tim, Delaware State
Archie, Bill, Winston-Salem State
Armstrong, Darrell, Fayetteville St.
Attles, Al, North Carolina A&T
Bannister, Ken, St. Augustine’s
Barber, Sam, Bethune-Cookman
Barfield, James, Jackson State
Barnett, Dick, Tennessee State
Barnhill, John, Tennessee State
Barr, Jerry, Grambling
Barron, Alex, South Carolina State
Bates, Billy Ray, Kentucky State
Bayless, Steve, Central State,Ohio
Beatty, Zelmo, Prairie View A&M
Bellamy, Waite, Florida A&M
Benjamin, Fred, Norfolk State
Bernard, Mike, Kentucky State
Berry, Ricky, Jackson State
Binion, Joe, North Carolina A&T
Blevins, Harold, Ark-Pine Bluff
Blackwell, David, Virginia State
Blount, Ted, Winston-Salem State
Bonaparte, Charles, Norfolk State
Booker, Hal, Cheyney State
Boswell, Tommy, So. Car. State
Bowens, Sam, Tennessee State
Bowens, Tommy, Grambling State
Boyd, Eric, North Carolina A&T
Brackett, Wesley, Alabama A&M
Bradley, Alonza, Texas Southern
Brandon, Aaron, Grambling State
Briggs, Wally, North Carolina A&T
Britt, Michael, UDC
Brown, Jimmy, No. Carolina A&T
Buckhalter, Joe, Tennessee State
Buckner, Cleveland, Jackson State
Buie, Boyd, Tennessee State
Burton, Kris, Benedict College
Busby, George, No. Carolina A&T
Butler, Reginald, Md-Eastern Shore
Cale, George, No.Carolina A&T
Campbell, Ted, No. Carolina A&T
Bynes, Joe, Ark-Pine Bluff
Cannon, John, Grambling
Card, Frank. So. Carolina State
Carter, Tom, Paul Quinn
Cavenall, Ron, Texas Southern
Chaney, John, Bethune-Cookman
Christian, Bob, Grambling
Clifton, Nathaniel, Xavier
Coles, Jerome, Norfolk State
Coleman, E.C, Houston Baptist
Collins, Rubin, Md-East. Shore
Comeaux, Johnny, Grambling
Cooper, Charles, West Virginia State
Cooper, Donald, St. Augustine’s
Corribeau, Duane, Clark College
Crafter, Melvin, Central State, O
Crenshaw, Dan, Alabama State
Crisp, Jose, Tennessee State
Cunningham, Gene, Norfolk State
Cunningham, Gerald, Kentucky St.
Cunningham, Joe, Winston-Salem
Dandridge, Bobby, Norfolk State
Daniels, Clem, Prairie View A&M
Davis, Collie, Southern
Davis, Emmanuel, Delaware State
Davis, Harry, Morris Brown
Davis, John, Alabama State
Davis, Mike, Virginia Union
Davis, Monti, Tennessee State
Davis, Terry, Virginia Union
Davis, Tom, Delaware State
Davis, Tony, Claflin
Davis, Warren, No. Carolina A&T
deFares, Jack, Winston-Salem
Dilworth, Jimmy, Virginia Union
Dinkins, Jackie, Voorhees
Dooley, Henry, Wiley
Dukes, Alvin, Xavier
Eldridge, Leroy, Cheyney State
Epps, Leonard, Clark Atlanta
Ellis, Harold, Morehouse
English, Bill, Winston-Salem State
English, Albert, Virginia Union
Evans, Kenny, Norfolk State
Evans. Hugh, No. Carolina A&T
Evans, Marshall, Lincoln, MO
Faulkner, Joe, Southern
Feacher, Richard, Miss Valley
Fillmore, Greg, Cheyney
Finley, George, Florida A&M
Fitzpatrick, Jackie, Knoxville
Flanagan, Dexter, Ft. Valley State
Ford, Alphonso, Miss Valley
Ford, Hank, Maryland State
Ford, Jake, Elizabeth City State
Foree, George, Winston-Salem State
Frazier, Henry, Bowie State
Frazier, Wilbur, Grambling
Freeman, Rodney, Ft. Valley State
Fritz, Julius. Ft. Valley State
Fuller, Carl, Beth-Cookman
Gaines, Reggie,Winston-Salem
Gale, Mike, Elizabeth City State
Gibson, George,Winston-Salem
Gibson, Leroy, Florida A&M
Gilmore, Walter, Ft. Valley State
Glover, John, Wiley College
Gomes, Rowan, Hampton Institute
Graham, William, Kentucky State
Granger, Kevin, Texas Southern
Grant, Travis, Kentucky State
Green, Carl, Winston-Salem
Green, Greg, Southern
Green, King, Alabama A&M
Grider, Josh, Tennessee State
Hall, Tony, Ft. Valley State
Hamilton, Dave, West Virginia State
Hardnett, Charles, Grambling
Harris, Millard, Dillard
Harrison, Charles, NC Central
Harvey, Shawn, West Virginia State
Haskins, Ray, Shaw
Hayes, Willie, Alabama A&M
Haynes, Marques, Langston
Hemsley, Hubert,Bethune Cookman
Hentz, Charles, Ark-Pine Bluff
Herndon, Lou, Jackson State
High, Willie, Alabama State
Hill, William, Central State, Ohio
Hill, Cleo, Winston-Salem State
Hill, Oris, Winston-Salem State
Hilton, Fred, Grambling State
Hines, Greg, Hampton Institute
Holmes, Reuben, Alabama State
Hopkins, Bob, Grambling State
Howell, Joe, North Carolina A&T
Hubbard, Harold, Savannah State
Hunter, Lindsey, Jackson State
Hunter, Harold, No. Car. Central
Hurd, Walter, Johnson. C. Smith
Isaac, Reggie, Coppin State
Jackson, Jackie, Virginia Union
Jackson, Lewis, Jackson State
Jackson, Marvin, Prairie View
Jackson, Ron, Clark Atlanta
James, Aaron, Grambling
Jefferson, Charles, Virginia State
Johnson, Avery, Southern
Johnson, Clemon, Florida A&M
Johnson, Dante, Johnson C. Smith
Johnson, George, Dillard
Johnson, Glen, Jackson State
Johnson, Lawrence, Prairie View
Johnson, Napolean, Grambling
Johnson, Rich, Grambling State
Johnson, Rossie, Tennessee State
Jones, Caldwell, Albany State
Jones, Charles, Albany State
Jones, Earl, UDC
Jones, James, Grambling State
Jones, Major, Albany State
Jones, Melvin, Albany State
Jones, Oliver, Albany State
Jones, Sam, No. Carolina College
Jones, Wil, Albany State
Joyner, Mack, South Carolina State
Kelly, Arvesta, Lincoln, MO
Kelly, Harry, Texas Southern
Key, Otis, Lincoln, MO
Kennedy, Walter, Florida A&M
Keye, Julius, Alcorn State
Kidd, Tyrone, Jackson State
Kirkland, Rich, Norfolk State
Kluttz, Lonnie, No. Carolina A&T
Key, Otis, Lincoln, MO
Four years later, the all-black Southeastern Athletic Conference was established, and by 1928 there were four all-black regional conferences.
Several black college basketball programs stood out. Xavier University of Louisiana won 67 games and lost only two between 1934 and 1938, and Alabama State University, Lincoln University in Missouri, Morgan State University in Maryland and Wiley College in Texas all produced exceptional basketball programs.
From the 1920s until 1947, few African-American players were allowed in major college programs. One notable exception was Jackie Robinson, a multi-sport star (1939–1941) at UCLA just before World War II, who went on to greater fame for breaking Major League Baseball’s 20th-century color line.
UCLA also had Don Barksdale, the first African-American consensus all-American basketball player in 1947. Barksdale would later be the first African-American to win an Olympic basketball gold medal (1948), a Pan-American basketball gold medal (1951),
and would be the third African-American to sign an NBA contract after Chuck Cooper joined Boston and Earl Lloyd signed with Washington. He was the first African-American to play in the NBA All-Star Game.
The stage was set when The NAIA became the site of the groundbreaking in college basketball. After much discussion and politicking, they (NAIA) convinced their members that it was time to include the Black colleges into the national tournament. And, the rest WAS history. It took six years before Tennessee State A&I became the first Black college to win a national championship, but they didn’t stop there. The Tigers set the standard when they won three consecutive titles (1957-59)…a feat not repeated until another Black college team- the Kentucky State Thorobreds- did it again from 1970-72. Before the migration to the NCAA, other teams to take the title were: Grambling (1961); Prairie View A& (1962); Central State, Ohio (1968); Coppin State (1976) and Texas Southern (1977).