HBCU All-Star Game players get warm welcome to Phoenix
Friday afternoon, the streets of downtown Phoenix were something to behold. Every restaurant and every sidewalk was packed with fans of Final Four teams. Oversize signs welcomed players and coaches to various hotels.
Pop-up stands sold gear to visitors. Division I coaches were around every corner. In front of the Hyatt Regency, a group of Alabama fans stopped Yale coach James Jones for a photo, thanking him for his team’s first-round upset of their bitter rival, Auburn. For many of these basketball fans, it’s the best weekend of the year.
Inside Phoenix City Hall, there was a different type of celebration. That’s where Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego welcomed the nation’s best basketball players from historically Black colleges and universities. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, those players will participate in the third annual HBCU All-Star Game at GCU Arena.
“Phoenix feels like the basketball center of the world right now thanks to all of you,” Gallego said, beginning a brief address. Outside, the marching band from Clark Atlanta University performed, providing a vibrant welcome for the mayor.
“We are a basketball town and we hope you will see that, whether it be the murals or the great facilities,” Gallego said. “Grand Canyon has a gorgeous facility and it will be befitting the amazing, talented individuals who will be playing. We hope that you’ll all come back and when you graduate, if you’re thinking of where you want to live, we hope you’ll think of America’s fifth-largest city.”
Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton was heavily involved in Friday’s welcoming event. Barton is an alum of Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta.
“Many of us, we have an affinity, and there’s a special place in our heart for our HBCUs,” Barton said. “We know how special we are, we know how special the campus is, how special the yard is, how special our bands are and the halftime show. But we miss out a lot on opportunity, because some people just see us as an HBCU. They don’t see what we’ve added to the world, what we’ve added to the country.”
Through the HBCU All-Star Game, Barton hopes to showcase the impact of these colleges and universities to the community in Phoenix.
Four years ago, the first HBCU All-Star Game was set to accompany the 2020 Final Four in Atlanta. That iteration, though, was canceled, along with the following year’s game, which had been scheduled to be played in Indianapolis. The first two games, then, were played in New Orleans and Houston — two cities that are the center of Black culture, with proximity to many HBCUs. In Phoenix, officials are aiming to show off a city that is less historically connected to those institutions.
“I want to thank (HBCU All-Star Game founder Travis Williams), you and your wife, Kia, for your vision and trust in the city of Phoenix with an event that is inspiration for people of all ages and all backgrounds,” Barton said. “We are honored to elevate the awareness and celebrate the rich legacy of our HBCUs.”
The most notable player set to appear in Sunday’s All-Star Game is Howard forward Seth Towns. Towns is a collegiate journeyman who has dealt with injuries throughout an eight-year career. He started at Harvard for two seasons before playing one year at Ohio State and ultimately landing at Howard, helping lead the Bison to this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“It is a real to honor to have been selected as an HBCU All-Star,” Towns said. “A really cool part about being selected is obviously we have all the basketball events, but we’ve really been able to connect with the community of Phoenix. So it’s one thing to think about what it means to represent an HBCU but it’s another thing entirely to see it in interactions that you have with the community.”
For Towns and the rest of the players participating in Sunday’s game, the showcase is more than a celebration. As Friday’s event came to an end, that was the message from basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo to the players sitting in front of him.
“If you have the ability, if you have the attitude, if you have what it takes, you’re gonna be seen, you’re gonna be known,” Colangelo said. “What you have in front of you this weekend is an opportunity to establish yourself. Take advantage of the opportunity.”
Arizona Republic USA TODAY NETWORK