The fourth annual Harlem Renaissance Classic was held this past Saturday at Draddy Gymnasium on the campus of Manhattan University (formerly Manhattan College). The Classic featured a pair of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) taking on opponents of the Northeast DII Colleges and Universities. In the first game, the Panthers of Clark Atlanta University got off to a slow start versus the Tigers of Holy Family University and trailed 37-32 at the half. Ultimately, the Tigers defeated the Panthers 67-57 with senior forward Tairi Ketner leading the way for Holy Family (4-1) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Jalen Williams paced Clark Atlanta (2-3) with a game-high 17 points. In the second game, the Lions of Lincoln University dominated the first half against the Molloy University Lions and cruised to a 100-78 win. Senior guard Bakir Cleveland from Newark, New Jersey not only won the most valuable player of the Classic but also notched his 1000th career point for the Lincoln Lions. Lincoln’s head coach Julius Hodge noted that he rarely calls a play for Cleveland who does most of his work in the flow of the game as it dictates. “The offense provides and he’s able to find his spots in it and he’s a great shooter as we all know,” said Hodge. “And he’s able to work off that wide pin action and get to the free throw line, get to the basket, or to his pull up, so he’s been having a ton of success.
“For him to have scored one thousand points, that was awesome. It shows that not only this season but he’s been playing good basketball for four years.” The 41-year-old Hodge, a Harlem native who was a 2005 first round pick of the Denver Nuggets, and a high school All-American at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx before playing collegiately for North Carolina State, said returning home to coach a game has added significance. “It’s definitely a special experience of being able to come back to New York City, the mecca of basketball and my hometown,” Hodge said. “It just means a lot to our guys and also to our fan base, especially those here in the city.” Hodge added the Lions’ roster has numerous players from the tri-state area which made the visit more memorable than other trips. Darryl K. Roberts, CEO of Bridging Structural Holes and the creator of HRC, expressed his aims in having an HBCU-themed event in New York.
“When I watched how other schools, primarily white institutions, were being promoted and showcased, it concerned me that we didn’t have a similar vehicle for HBCUs during the basketball season,” he said. “I wanted to bring HBCUs to New York, but I also wanted to bring their culture.” Roberts also strategically has HBCU programs play against non-HBCU opponents to draw a diverse crowd. “I’m hoping that (the young people who attended the event) took away that HBCUs are an important piece to the higher education puzzle,” Roberts said.
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“Unfortunately, at a lot of our high schools, you don’t have college counselors, you don’t have instructors who are familiar enough with HBCUs where they can tell the HBCU story, so I’m hoping that they were able to come to the game, which they were attracted by the sport, but walk away knowing that, wow, I can go to an HBCU.”