World Travels: How Howard Hawks basketball has become destination for ballers from around the globe
The Howard Hawks have been known as one of the most competitive and prestigious junior college basketball teams in the country for years. They reached the pinnacle in 2010 when they put together a record-setting season and won the National Championship under then Head Coach Mark Adams, who now serves as an assistant coach at Division I national powerhouse Texas Tech.
Current NBA player Jae Crowder once suited up for the red and black under Adams and the long list of Division I commits from Howard has continued under current Head Coach Scott Raines. Eric Reed Jr., from last year's team, is now suiting up, playing solid minutes, and putting up solid scoring numbers for Southeast Missouri State. In fact, almost every player from last year's 22-9 squad committed to and moved on to play at a four-year university this past spring.
That means the Howard Hawks will have almost a completely different team than the one that hit the hardwood last winter. They will be versatile this season with good size and shooting ability. Both Raines and Assistant Coach Junsie Cotten have been working hard this offseason to put a strong team together so that they can compete in the extremely strong and daunting Region V.
With all of that being said, let us take a look at who will be playing for the Hawks this season and what they bring to the court:
AKENE AGEE – Brampton, Ontario
Agee is an athletic 6-foot-4 guard who played his college ball last year at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas. He started just one game but played in 27 while averaging 4.7 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 21 points against Cowley and totaled four games of double-digit points scored for the TBirds. Agee will be a sophomore this season and will be battling with a strong group of guards for solid playing time in the rotation.
JACOBY BISHOP – New Waverly, TX
Bishop will be a true freshman fresh off of an 18 point-per-game season while at ColdspringOakhurst High School. He is a 6-foot-0 combo guard that distributes the ball well and has a knack for finding the open man. He averaged 7.0 assists per game while playing for the Trojans and that strong facilitating ability should help the Hawks at some points over the next season. Just like Agee, Bishop will have his work cut out for him at earning minutes with a crowded backcourt.
GREG DURAND – Sheffield, England
Durand is a 20-year-old wing from Great Britain with great size (6-foot-5) and scoring ability. He played in 11 games last year for Charnwood College in England and averaged 14.1 points per game. Durand had both a high field goal percentage (47.0) and three-point percentage (34.3) while also producing as a force on the boards by grabbing 6.7 rebounds per game. He will also be playing alongside his Charnwood teammate Blaize Sagna in Big Spring and both Raines and Cotten are excited about Durand's potential.
LAMAR EVERD – Winnipeg, Canada
Everd played last year at Paris Junior College in East Texas and will be making the move west to Big Spring to join the Hawks. He averaged 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game last year for the Dragons and scored a season-high 34 points against Kilgore late in the season. Everd appeared to get stronger as the season went along last year and he will look to continue that momentum into the his sophomore year at Howard.
DARRELL GREEN – Baltimore, MD
Green is one of two returning Hawks from the 2020 team and he will look to use that as a springboard towards the starting lineup. Green played very well at points last year in a crowded guard room and played his best ball at the end of the season. In fact, Green's two highest-scoring games of his freshman season came in the last four games of the season for Howard. Overall, Green averaged 5.0 points per game with a high field goal percentage (47.9) and staggering three-point percentage (44.3) while coming off the bench.
MARKO JOKSIMOVIC – Berane, Montenegro Joksimovic will make the move to Howard College after playing in 2019-20 for KK Beko Beograd in Serbia. He has played in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and will bring good size to the Howard lineup.
GERMAN KASANZI OBAMA – Alcala de Henares, Spain
Kasanzi Obama played for Navarro College last year and appeared in 25 games while averaging 10.2 points per game. He totaled 15 games with doubledigit points scored and seemed to find the basket often every time that he hit the hardwood. He scored a season-high 23 points against Tyler last year but had plenty of games where he led his team in scoring. He is a guard with good size (6-foot-4) that is more likely to score than he is to distribute the ball around (0.9 assists per game last year).
ZACHERY MACKSON – Atlanta, GA Mackson is another transfer that will be fighting for playing time this season. He put together a very strong season last year while playing for Bishop State in Mobile, Alabama. Mackson averaged 13.9 points per game and shot an extremely high percentage from the floor (66.7). He scored a seasonhigh of 37 points and totaled four games with over 20 points. He was a consistent starter for the Wildcats and Mackson will surely be battling to fill a starting role again this year.
NOAH MASON – Humble, TX
Mason is a big-bodied forward out of Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas. Mason will provide much-needed size for the Hawks. Size on the interior was an issue for Howard last year and Raines is hoping that the addition of Mason will help alleviate that issue.
MO MUSA – Amarillo, TX
Musa is the second of two returning Howard players from last year's team. He most often served as a situational defensive player that was quick to force a turnover. His season-high in points scored was nine (twice) and Musa has been working hard this offseason to earn more time on the court.
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BLAIZE SAGNA – London, England
Sagna is an athletic guard that was considered the top prospect coming out of England. He has played the last two seasons for Charnwood and averaged 22.8 points per game last season. He also averaged 7.8 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game. The year before, his numbers were not quite as strong, which is a strong indication that Sagna is still improving and has not reached his full potential. The 6-foot-1 guard will most likely be one of the starting guards for the Hawks during the upcoming season and Raines will rely on him to run the offense.
SAMI SANAD – Cervignano, Italy
Sanad played alongside Agee last season at Cloud County Community College. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 29 games played. He will be one of the forces for Howard on the low block during this next season and could play good minutes if he proves himself as a consistent strong front-court player.
RODNEY SMITH – Atlanta, GA
Smith played last season at Pensacola State and averaged 7.8 points per game. He was forced to play out of position and he believes that the versatile Howard system will help him produce. “It was a learning year,” Smith said. “It was my first time ever playing off the ball and not being the main man. I had to learn how to get my shots off the ball and how to be the second option. I knew that I was going to have to do that at the next level anyways, so I'm happy that it happened early.” Smith will now step into a competitive environment with a group of very strong guards that will all be vying for playing time.
BONAVENTURE UDOH – Amarillo, TX
Udoh spend last year at Wayland Baptist and will be making the switch to Howard in January. He was the leader for Amarillo Palo Duro back in 2019 and adds another versatile and dynamic member to the 2021 Hawks' roster.
D'MARI WILTZ – New Orleans, LA
Wiltz is an athletic point guard with a competitive streak and the ability to both score and pass.