For Howard and Tennessee State, the NBA HBCU Classic is an audition

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Robert Covington remembers what it’s prefer to expertise NBA All-Star Weekend, having competed within the 2021 Skills Challenge. When the league debuted the NBA HBCU Classic the next yr, staging a matchup of two HBCU males’s basketball groups throughout All-Star Weekend, Covington, then with the Los Angeles Clippers, met with gamers from the collaborating colleges to supply encouragement and present them what’s doable after faculty.

Now serving as chief males’s basketball officer at his alma mater, Tennessee State, Covington is carrying that dedication ahead by mentoring the subsequent technology of HBCU gamers hoping to comply with his path to the NBA.

And this campaign, the roster he’s guiding will get the prospect to see All-Star Weekend up shut; the NBA introduced Tuesday that Tennessee State will face Howard University within the 2027 NBA HBCU Classic throughout NBA-All Star Weekend in Phoenix. The traditionally Black universities will action Saturday, Feb. 20, at Hardwood Central throughout the Jam Session on the Phoenix Convention Center.

“Being the last active HBCU player [in the league], I carried that title. Being a part of the [HBCU Classic] the last few years, just getting to witness it was dope, how they [the league] incorporated HBCUs into All-Star Weekend,” mentioned Covington, 35, who performed within the NBA from 2013-24.

“I wanted to bring more light to HBCUs because we don’t get the recognition, the accolades [and] acknowledgement that we deserve. So, I used my voice, used my platform to continue to push that, and now finding out that [Tennessee State] is going to be a part of [All-Star Weekend] is such a great opportunity.”

The NBA connections run deep for each applications. In addition to Covington’s 11-year NBA profession, Tennessee State head leader Nolan Smith and assistant leader Vince Taylor each performed within the league. Howard’s president of basketball operations is five-time NBA All-Star John Wall. Coaches and directors on either side are leaning on that skilled expertise to assist their gamers put together for the campaign and the highlight of NBA All-Star Weekend.

“I’m just building them up for the moment and understanding that they’re under a different lens now because of the expectations last year,” Covington mentioned, referencing Tennessee State snapping a 32-year NCAA event drought final campaign. “You should ensure you stand out, and that’s what I’m educating these youngsters.

“Some of those guys have what it takes to play professional basketball. We’re building up their confidence, building up their motors. I’m just overall just pouring knowledge into them.”

Since taking on at Tennessee State in 2025, Smith has made it a precedence to get the Tigers concerned within the NBA HBCU Classic for the primary time. Drawing on his expertise attending All-Star Weekend as a athlete, he needs his gamers to fulfill the individuals who helped form the contest, construct relationships and see firsthand the probabilities within the basketball world.

Tennessee State males’s basketball leader Nolan Smith has been hoping to get his roster within the NBA HBCU Classic since he took the job in 2025. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

“Being out there in Phoenix is going to give NBA front office personnel the opportunity to come watch up close and personal. We have some talented guys this year, and I know Howard does, too. So it’s going to give scouts a close, personal look at our guys,” mentioned Smith, 38, who performed for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2011-13. “It’s an audition. I inform them, ‘Every time you step between [the lines], it’s an audition.’

“You get to showcase yourself and showcase your team. I think we’ll get a lot of texts and calls from a lot of people that are in that building, whether it’s a G League opportunity that comes right away from it or a two-way opportunity [splitting time between an NBA team and its G League affiliate] for our players.”

This iteration of the NBA HBCU Classic will characteristic two head coaches whose bond extends past the courtroom. Since Smith joined Tennessee State in 2025, he and Howard leader Kenneth Blakeney have stayed in shut contact, drawing on their shared experiences as Duke University alumni. Their All-Star Weekend matchup will mark a brand new chapter in that relationship — the primary time the 2 former Blue Devils will face one another as head coaches.

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The Howard Bison will probably be making their second look within the NBA HBCU Classic, having competed within the inaugural contest throughout the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2022. The Bison defeated Morgan State 68-66 in a comeback victory, rallying from a 12-point second-half deficit.

Blakeney mentioned the NBA HBCU Classic provides Howard’s gamers a firsthand have a look at the professionalism and preparation required on the highest degree.

During Howard’s first journey to the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland in 2022, Blakeney recalled seeing stars akin to Giannis Antetokounmpo up shut. He mentioned the expertise helped his gamers acknowledge the significance of bodily conditioning, self-discipline and maximizing each alternative to increase their careers. He additionally believes the weekend lets them study from present and former NBA gamers and higher perceive what it takes to compete professionally.

Howard’s look within the inaugural NBA HBCU Classic in 2022 preceded a stretch wherein the Bison received three convention championships in 4 years.

Two gamers from Howard’s inaugural NBA HBCU Classic roster, Bryce Harris and Steve Settle III, have since earned NBA alternatives. Harris suited up with the Oklahoma City Thunder on this yr’s NBA Summer League, and Settle not too long ago signed an Exhibit 10 contract, a coaching camp deal, with the Washington Wizards.

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Blakeney additionally sees the NBA HBCU Classic as an opportunity to increase Howard’s attain past basketball, connecting its college students and the group with a nationwide viewers whereas serving to them construct relationships and expertise the tradition of NBA All-Star Weekend.

He typically describes Howard because the “Dream Factory,” the place he and this system instill the assumption that each younger man who steps onto campus has the entire world in entrance of him. He mentioned alternatives akin to competing at All-Star Weekend might help student-athletes pursue careers as skilled basketball gamers or in an NBA entrance workplace.

Howard males’s basketball leader Kenny Blakeney mentioned the NBA HBCU Classic presents his gamers networking alternatives and permits them to see what it takes to action skilled basketball.

“For us to be able to network, connect, meet and expose not only our university but our players to this weekend and everybody that we have access to during this weekend,” Blakeney mentioned. “I really like the truth that, you understand, our guys get an opportunity to showcase their skills, but in addition how they work with others to have success. That’s what this expertise is about.

“When they can come back to Howard within 15-20 years, they can sit on the Yard and talk about how they went to the NBA All-Star in Phoenix. They may not remember how many points they had or how many rebounds they had, but they sure will remember those kinds of moments.”

In addition to supporting Howard and Tennessee State as members within the Classic, the NBA and its companions will donate $50,000 apiece to the colleges for educational assets, athletics and wellness companies. The league’s NBA HBCU Fellowship Program additionally presents undergraduate and graduate HBCU college students profession growth alternatives in basketball operations.

The Bison and Tigers’ first and solely assembly got here in 2024 on the HBCU All-Stars Challenge, with the Bison edging the Tigers 88-84. Smith hopes their newest contest at All-Star Weekend will encourage an annual contest between the 2 applications.

“It’s going to be something that can definitely turn into a rivalry. I think the energy in that gym is going to be electric,” Smith mentioned. “I believe the [Duke] Brotherhood NBA gamers are going to return out to that contest, and there’s going to be a variety of different guys popping out to observe that contest.

“Hopefully, both teams are hot, so it’s going to be a big-time environment and a big-time game. When you put together a game like that, you can’t just do it one time.”

Mia Berry is the senior HBCU author for Andscape and covers all the pieces from sports activities to student-led protests. She is a Detroit native (What up Doe!), long-suffering Detroit sports activities fan and Notre Dame alumna who randomly shouts, “Go Irish.”