The participants for the 2023 HBCU All-Star Game were unveiled Monday on CBS Sports HQ, honoring the top 24 players at the nation's historically black colleges and universities across Division I and II. Tipoff is set for Sunday, April 2 in Houston at the Texas Southern campus amid Final Four festivities in the city, and the game will be televised on CBS.
Among those participating are some figures who will be part of the NCAA Tournament as Howard coach Kenneth Blakeney leads "Team Dr. Dick Barnett" against a "Team Willis Reed" squad that features Joirdon Karl Nicholas and John Walker III from Texas Southern.
The Dr. Dick Barnett squad is named in honor of the former Tennessee State star who went on to become a two-time NBA champion with the New York Knicks and then a professor at St. John's University. The team includes players from the MEAC, SIAC and Independent programs.
They will be up against the team honoring Willis Reed, who starred at Grambling State in the 1960s before winning two titles with the Knicks with Barnett as his teammate. Reed was a seven-time All-Star and went into college and NBA coaching after his playing career. His team features players from the SWAC and CIAA.
Here is the full list of the teams for the 2023 HBCU All-Star Game.
Team Willis Reed (SWAC & CIAA)
1) Cameron Christon, Grambling State University
2) Brion Whitley, Southern University
3) Joirdon Karl Nicholas, Texas Southern University
4) John Walker III, Texas Southern University
5) Shaun Doss Jr., University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
6) Dontrell McQuarter, Alcorn State University
7) Will Douglas, Prairie View A&M University
8) Terry Collins, Mississippi Valley State University
9) Marcus Garrett, Bethune Cookman University
10) Robert Osborne, Virginia Union University
11) Terrence Hunter- Whitfield, Virginia State University
12) Korey Williams, Lincoln University (PA)
Coaches: Donte' Jackson (Grambling State), Jay Butler (Virginia Union)
Team Dr. Dick Barnett (MEAC, SIAC, & Independent)
1) Joe Bryant Jr, Norfolk State University
2) Kris Bankston, Norfolk State University
3) Isaiah Burke, Morgan State University
4) Brendan Medley- Bacon, North Carolina Central University
5) Sam Sessoms, Coppin State University
6) Nathaniel Pollard Jr. University of Maryland Eastern Shore
7) Demetric Horton, North Carolina A&T State University
8) Marquis Godwin, Hampton University
9) Jr. Clay, Tennessee State University
10) Gregg Boyd, Tuskegee University
11) Kerry Richardson, Morehouse College
12) Eleik Bowles, Savannah State University
Coaches: Kenneth Blakeney (Howard), Benjy Taylor (Tuskegee)
