Mikey Williams has put out his top 10 schools, and HBCUs make up half the list. The prep superstar from San Diego has five HBCUs in his top 10. Two of his schools are in the SWAC: Alabama State and Texas Southern. The others are the MEAC’s North Carolina Central, the Big South’s Hampton University, and Tennessee State of the OVC. Williams is considered one of the top three players in the 2023 class.
Alabama State has been near the bottom of the SWAC recently, but that’s only a part of the story. New head coach Mo Williams is a former NBA All-Star who has hit the ground running in recruiting. Texas Southern has been at or near the top of the SWAC for the last decade. TSU is coached by Johnny Jones, who brought Ben Simmons to LSU.
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North Carolina Central has been the MEAC equivalent of Texas Southern. NCCU has won four MEAC tournament titles since the 2014 season and was the favorite to win it all when COVID-19 hit. The Durham based school is coached by LeVelle Moton, who has elevated his name in coaching ranks during that run.
Tennessee State had a solid 2020 season under second-year coach Penny Collins. The program has a long history of producing pros, including current Houston Rockets guard Robert Covington.
Then there is Hampton. Hampton made the Big South championship game this March in just its second season in the league. Head coach Buck Joyner Jr. won three titles in less than a decade in the MEAC. Hampton is the alma mater of Mikey’s mother, former Pirate softball player Charisse Williams.
When Mikey Williams first posted that playing at an HBCU “might not be so bad,” many people thought he was reaching for clout. Two months later it’s clear that he was serious about giving HBCUs a fair shot. And after Howard signed Makur Maker, it doesn’t seem as far fetched as it did less than eight weeks ago.
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