More than two dozen players who were not drafted or invited to join NBA Summer League teams participated in the first HBCU Showcase in Las Vegas.
“The showcase is a chance for us to continue creating opportunity for the world’s best talent,” said Morgan Cato, an NBA vice president who is about to become an assistant general manager with the Phoenix Suns. “There’s a perception of HBCU programs not necessarily being able to turn out talent. But all of our investments from the league office are about creating opportunity, creating access, and letting great players really have the opportunity to be seen by teams.
But there’s also a clear belief that if a player is good enough to play in the NBA — whether that player is at a Power Five school, or overseas, or at a low-major school — someone from the league will find them. The showcase lasted a few hours and was basically an NBA practice: Williams, Bethune-Cookman coach Reggie Theus, Fisk coach Kenny Anderson and LeMoyne-Owen coach Bonzi Wells broke the groups into four teams, and after some drills, the players went through scrimmages.
“Why hasn’t it happened? Let’s call a spade a spade: They’re not looking,” Anderson said. “The kids are not getting looked at.”
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