A week and a half ago SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6 closed out Rucker Park, the legendary Harlem playground, for another special event that has become a New York basketball summer staple: the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. After the inaugural event in 2023, it’s back bigger and better this year.
Harlem native Daryl Roberts is the founder of Bridging Structural Holes, the nonprofit organization that spearheads the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. Like many young hoopers, she dreamed of playing in the majors. Instead, his chance came at Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU. “I fell in love with the HBCU culture. My HBCU background is pure and authentic,” says Darryl. “And my Harlem roots too.
“Anyone who hasn’t lived under the cover of a peephole understands that Harlem is the epicenter of black excellence, black culture, and black creativity,” he adds. “So when we were looking for a location (for the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic), there was no second choice because we wanted to do things outside of sports to inspire kids as well.”
This year’s Classic had it all. HBCU Resource Center; food from Charles Pan-Fried Chicken on adjacent handball courts; The AKAs stroll by and a youth marching band plays during game breaks. Amplifiers were chanting from the baseline. classic Marvin Gaye blasting from the speakers. And even Harlem’s own Pee Wee Kirkland. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were in for the greatest comeback on Earth.
Still, the main reason hundreds of people gathered on this day was to see 40 of the best HBCU hoopers in the country put on a show. After a hotly contested and action-packed girls game that set the tone, the boys game that followed was just as exciting. Both games were filled with highlights galore, overshadowed but shining examples of the high-level talent flooding the HBCU basketball community and how they can compete with the best of them.
HBCU basketball has historically lacked marketing and promotion compared to its PWI counterparts, but that tide is slowly but surely turning. They may never be able to compete with the majors when it comes to resources, but the experience of HBCU hoops is second to none, and the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic puts it on full display, creating a story high and mighty for HBCUs. about HBCU conferences and the HBCU lifestyle.
“For us, the scoreboard doesn’t matter,” says Darryl. “Our mission is to provide opportunity, access and resources to help people make better life choices.”
Sometimes, that “better life choice” means sticking to your roots and carving your name into the beautiful fabric of HBCU culture.
Photos by Curtis Rowser III.
