A week and a half before SLAM Summer Classic Vol. On the 6th, Rucker Park, Harlem's playground, hosted another special event that has become a New York summer basketball staple: the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. After a successful launch event in 2023, it's back this year bigger and better.
Harlem native Darryl Roberts is the founder of Bridging Structural Holes, the nonprofit organization that spearheads the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. Like many young hoopers, he dreamed of playing in the majors. Instead, his turn came at Lincoln University, the nation's first degree-granting HBCU. “I loved the HBCU culture. My HBCU background is pure and true,” Darryl said. “So are my Harlem roots.
“Anyone who has never lived under the cover of a dungeon understands that Harlem is a center of Black achievement, Black culture and Black creativity,” he adds. “So when we were looking for a place [for the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic]there was no second choice because we wanted to do things outside of sports to encourage the children.”
This year's Classic had it all: an HBCU resource center; food from Charles Pan-Fried Chicken at nearby handball courts; The AKAs stop by, and a youth band plays during the break. There were boosters who sang from the beginning; classic Marvin Gaye blasting from the speakers. And even Harlem's own Pee Wee Kirkland. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were at the Greatest Homecoming on Earth.
However, the main reason hundreds of people gathered on this day was to watch the top 40 HBCU hoopers in the country put on a show. After a competitive and action-packed girls game that set the tone, the boys game that followed was just as exciting. Both games were filled with plenty of highlights, great examples of the overshadowed but elite talent that fills the HBCU basketball community and how they can compete with the best.
HBCU basketball used to lack the marketing and promotion compared to its PWI counterparts, but that tide is slowly but surely turning. They may not be able to compete with the high-majors when it comes to resources, but the HBCU hoops experience is second to none, and the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic puts it on full display, creating a loud and powerful narrative about HBCUs, the HBCU Conference and the lifestyle of -HBCU.
“For us, the scoreboard is not important,” said Darryl. “Our mission is to provide opportunity, access and resources to help people make better decisions in life.”
Sometimes, that “choosing a better life” means sticking to your roots and embedding your name into the fine fabric of HBCU culture.
Photos by Curtis Rowser III.
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