The women of March Madness are hooping like it’s nobody’s business, Some of us have noticed.
They’re raising the roof and smashing records in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. ESPN set highs for viewership in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, bringing us to a Final Four with an unfortunate twist: The matchup everyone longed for is in the semifinals, Friday night.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston square off in what feels like the title game. Clark won this season’s award for Associated Press National Player of the Year; Boston won it last season. For those who don’t watch a lot of college basketball, Clark and Boston are worth paying attention.
Naturally, we’ve watched as Boston and coach Dawn Staley seek their second straight national title. Doing so would also give South Carolina the first perfect season in school history. The stakes are always high for Staley, the three-time National Coach of the Year whose program exudes HBCU vibes.
Like John Thompson and Georgetown were for a lotta Black folks in the ‘80s, Staley and South Carolina are the de facto squad if you don’t have a rooting interest. The Gamecocks get all our love for being an extension of their super-cool coach.
Clark gets her share of love with a “You see that?!” style of play, brilliance built for modern hoop heads and viral videos. She’s a showstopper with the attributes of fabled blacktop legends: unlimited range, audacious passing and dramatic flair. Her rank as the sport’s most exciting player was certified in the Elite Eight when she hit Louisville with a historic 40-point triple-double (41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists). She’s the game’s new darling, garnering tweets from LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas and Magic Johnson, among others.
The contrast between Boston and Clark couldn’t be greater, adding another layer of intrigue, the punishing power forward versus flashy point guard. Both are dominant but do their damage in opposite ways.
Speaking truth to power isn’t for the faint of heart, especially when it can impact your livelihood. Blowing the whistle requires courage and resolve because it can lead to unemployment. Griping among friends and colleagues is far easier than complaining to the boss who approves your direct deposit.
Hired by the NFL to cover the NFL, veteran journalist Jim Trotter was unafraid, handing the league a mirror and braving the blowback.
He pointed out obvious disparities and asked pointed questions. He wondered aloud about Commissioner Roger Goodell’s thoughts on Black journalists in the newsroom and Black coaches on the sidelines. Trotter wasn’t satisfied to simply swallow the company line on diversity, how much the league desires equity and values inclusion.
Instead, he pressed the issue and referenced a James Baldwin quote in the process: “I can’t believe what you say because I see what you do.”
Trotter uttered that line in February at Goodell’s annual Super Bowl news conference. He asked about hiring practices within the league’s media division, which includes NFL Network and the NFL.com website. That made two consecutive “State of the League” press events where Trotter presented a mirror on diversity, having inquired about coaching hires in 2022.
The league has offered plenty of words, but actions keep speaking louder. Trotter is gone.
As a youngster in Brooklyn, my love affair with the
NBA and the New York Knicks hadn’t kicked in yet when Willis Reed created one
of sports’ most iconic moments. I was still getting used to white classmates in
a white neighborhood after being put on a school bus for second grade. But I
eventually grew to realize why May 8, 1970, stirred so many emotions, in the
city and elsewhere.
That’s when Reed limped from the tunnel onto the court
at Madison Square Garden for Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Hollywood draws inspiration from such scenes, a crowd erupting
as the injured star unexpectedly emerges from the locker room for a must-win
game. The Los Angeles Lakers were shook and never recovered. A legend was born and
Reed, who died Tuesday at age 80, was cemented in sports lore forever.
Not bad for a country boy from Hico, Louisiana, which he once described as so small, it doesn’t have a population.
Dawn Staley has been a boss on the sideline for 23 seasons and shows no sign of slowing as top-seeded South Carolina opens defense of its NCAA women’s basketball title on Friday. But as the only Black basketball coach with two Division I titles in women’s (or men’s) hoops, she always pays homage to the pioneer who won none.
“The strength of your shoulders allowed us to stand tall,” Staley posted on Twitter when C. Vivian Stringer retired last season. “We will forever keep your legacy in our hearts. Thank you, Coach Stringer.”
Stringer ended her illustrious career in April 2022 after 50 years and 1,055 wins as a head coach. She once was quite a fixture at this time of year, taking her teams to 25 of the first 31 tournaments from 1982 to 2012. The Hall of Famer’s journey began with a highly improbable run that remains a precedent.
The NCAA didn’t create the women’s tournament until 1982, more than 40 years after the men’s version. Stringer and her team at then-Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University) wasted little time making a statement on Black achievement against all odds: They advanced all the way to the finals before losing to Louisiana Tech.
No HBCU before or since has reached the Final Four, let alone the final game.
As someone who hits the floor whenever the beat drops (though I really don’t need no music), the NCAA’s “Big Dance” has been a great party since my days at Howard. But the boogieing never included the men’s team, which last reached the NCAA tournament in 1992.
That’s the main news from this vantage point as March Madness ramps up. Howard on Saturday prevented Norfolk State from threepeating as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference representative in the tourney. (Ironically, the women’s teams flipped the script Saturday night, with Norfolk State stopping Howard’s bid for a second consecutive NCAA trip).
The Bison likely won’t advance to the Sweet 16, when attention focuses on which PWI powerhouses survived or fell. There’s plenty of time to talk about top seeds Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue, likely favored for deep runs on 90 percent of bracket contests nationwide. Someone will celebrate on April 3, as producers compile the “One Shining Moment” mixtape with Luther on vocals.
But following and caring about the tourney is different nowadays. Power-conference hoops don’t hit the same anymore and not simply because the talent was consistently higher a couple of generations ago.
Yes, today’s premier players usually leave as freshmen, saying hello and goodbye in the same season. The projected top two NBA picks this year are Victor Wembanyama and Scoop Henderson, who don’t even play college basketball. They’ve drawn zero interested viewers to Kentucky, Duke, or whatever factory they would’ve chosen.
But more than who still plays, the problem is who’s being played.
I’ve waited SO long for this
moment, there’s a new tension between anxiousness and anticipation.
I feel the latter because the pace
of my doctoral journey has gained steam. My mother-in-love recently told me to
not rush because I’m almost there now. I sort of brushed it off at the time,
but now I realize she’s right.
There’s no need to fret and worry –
especially not now. The finish line is in sight and within reach. However,
there’s still work to do and several steps to follow. Life kind of gets in the
way at times, but doesn’t it always?
That’s where the anxiousness tries
to seep in.
There’s the anticipation because you can see the goal, there’s a bit of anxiousness, too, because you’re not quite there. A little doubt whispers in corners of your mind, suggesting this new pace is too good to be true.
The irony isn’t lost on me. I’ve
wanted to reach this stage for a long time. No worries. I’m choosing
anticipation because I experience a sense of excitement every day as the end
draws nearer.
But that’s not the only reason. I’m
choosing anticipation because this studying I’ve done for several years aligns with
my current position and the work I feel drawn to. Everything is starting to
make sense and become clearer.
I’m studying how school leaders
ensure students’ social emotional learning needs are met throughout the entire
school. That’s real to me. I believe leadership has a critical role in process
of social emotional learning.
If you’re working and waiting, while
feeling anticipation and anxiousness, it’s OK.
Both feelings might exist, but ultimately,
we know which one gets across the finish line.
Without looking at Ja Morant’s background, I figure he falls into one of two categories.
Either he hails from a neighborhood faced with tough socioeconomic conditions, where those who fall prey are stereotypically awash in guns and violence. Or he rarely faced real drama (if ever), but he’s drawn to the lifestyle, attracted to the imagery dramatized onscreen and glorified in music.
But Morant’s background really doesn’t matter.
At 23 years old, he’s an NBA superstar, a face of the league who recently signed a five-year deal worth $193 million. Last week, Powerade announced a new partnership with Morant, who already has an endorsement deal with Nike. There’s no excuse for genuine thug life at his income bracket and Q rating.
Morant should satisfy any attraction to that world like the rest of us, via remote control.
A tragedy out of Alabama has cost a young mother’s life and raised questions about integrity in the Crimson Tide men’s basketball program.
As we draw closer to March Madness and the story grows, remember it started with a homicide, the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris. Her name isn’t well known and will continue to be overshadowed by the likes of freshman star Brandon Miller, coach Nate Oats, and athletic director Greg Byrne. They won’t rest easy; don’t let them.
Second-ranked University of Alabama could land a top seed when the March Madness brackets come out, drawing a spotlight that’s normally relished. Instead, Alabama is squirming, as it should.
Former reserve Darius Miles has been dismissed from the team and is facing capital murder charges (along with a friend, Michael Lynn Davis). But Miller continues to play. He has proven himself clueless and tone-deaf, if not a willing participant in the fatal shooting.
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