WASHINGTON 鈥� This was supposed to be the year.
The secret from the hilltop leaked out last season due to an unforeseen set of circumstances. Injuries to several key members of Howard鈥檚 basketball team left James 鈥淛-Byrd鈥� Daniel as the team鈥檚 lone go-to scoring option, a role he happily ran with all the way to becoming . With Daniel returning for his fourth year alongside fellow seniors Marcel Boyd, Soloman Mangham, Damon Collins, Tyler Stone and redshirt Junior James Miller, this was Howard鈥檚 best chance to show D.C. and the outside world how much it had grown, that it was ready for a run to March Madness, for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.
The Undefeated knew. started a web series to follow the team this season. With four straight games in a week-and-a-half鈥檚 time against other local schools, the nonconference schedule was rife with potential drama. But what was supposed to be a chronicle of Daniel and company鈥檚 ascent to college basketball relevance has been something entirely different to date.
Before the campaign could even begin, Daniel went down with a high-ankle sprain and has not played yet. A late-December return looks like the best case scenario for the starting point guard, but Howard鈥檚 injury concerns run far deeper.
Boyd hasn鈥檛 played since the Georgetown game on Nov. 27 with a foot injury. Miller posted back-to-back 30-point performances against Georgetown and American, emerging as another potential weapon for Nickelberry. Then he, too, went down with a wrist injury in the team鈥檚 game against Maryland after 12 scoreless minutes. He could be out another month.
On Sunday, head coach Kevin Nickelberry had to choose which banged-up player to start against George Washington, Collins or junior guard Dalique Mingo. He went with Mingo, bringing Collins off the bench. The latter lasted just five minutes before rolling an ankle, coming out at halftime on crutches with an ice pack wrapped over the injured area.
鈥淭his heralded group of seniors have only played together in 37 games in four years,鈥� said Nickelberry after Howard鈥檚 79-62 defeat, where he lost his fourth starter this season. 鈥淗opefully we can get these guys back on the floor for the stretch run.鈥�
While he鈥檚 happy with his team鈥檚 fight amid the circumstances, it was impossible for Nickelberry to hide his disappointment at not having the team he wanted for the showdowns against Georgetown, American, Maryland and GW, having come away with just one win.
鈥淎fter this year, I鈥檓 going to be miserable at this opportunity we wasted,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he team that we had on paper, coming into the summer, was a team that could have gained some respect for Howard.鈥�
The injuries have changed the story for The Undefeated as well. Jerry Bembry, who heads up the editorial side of the project, was at Sunday鈥檚 game, video camera in hand. While the footage of game highlights will no doubt be part of the next episode of 鈥淰iew from the Hilltop,鈥� so will the footage of Collins loping his way on crutches through the bowels of the Smith Center.
鈥淲e have to readjust what we鈥檙e doing every week,鈥� said Bembry of the project. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 a story of injuries. It鈥檚 a story of tragedy, with a kid losing his mom just before Christmas.鈥�
Yes, the season has been a story of loss off the court as well. The night before Howard鈥檚 game at Maryland last Wednesday, senior guard Kofi Andoh鈥檚 mother passed away following a three-year battle with cancer. Not normally a starter, Andoh took the court in College Park to begin the game. He scored Howard鈥檚 first points.
Of course, even if Howard had somehow won all those local games, there is no guarantee the Bison would have made the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. The path to the dance for teams in the MEAC always leads through the conference tournament, with only the one automatic bid available to the champion.
But that doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 perks to doing well in the conference regular season. In addition to first-round byes, the top two seeds play their quarterfinal games the Wednesday of Championship Week, giving them a day off before the semifinals that the lower seeds don鈥檛 enjoy. Last year, Howard struggled its way to the 10 seed, where the Bison were knocked off by seventh-seeded North Carolina Central.
This year鈥檚 path may go through NC Central again. The Eagles own a 6-4 nonconference mark heading into Tuesday鈥檚 tilt at LSU, having already taken down Missouri in Columbia and having pushed Ohio State to the wire in a six-point loss in Columbus. None of that will matter for the Eagles come March either. Only one MEAC school will get the chance to play on the sport鈥檚 biggest stage.
Whenever rain clouds form over a narrative, the race to trace the silver linings begins. But one doesn鈥檛 have to squint too hard to see where Howard鈥檚 early adversity may have offered the Bison a chance to realize the full potential of their team. Mangham has emerged as a steady scoring threat, shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. And freshman Charles Williams has emerged as a potential difference maker, setting a career high with 21 points against Maryland, then pouring in 27 just three days later against GW.
鈥淵ou just see his confidence go up and up every game,鈥� said Bembry of Williams. 鈥淭hey have another scoring option if Miller doesn鈥檛 come back early.鈥�
The Bison have three winnable home games before hitting the road for three tough, late-December road tests at Old Dominion, VCU and Harvard. When Daniel, Boyd, Collins and Miller do return, if Howard can get back to full strength and up to speed, the Bison may finally realize the potential Nickelberry saw when he recruited this now-senior class years ago.
鈥淏y league play, I expect to have them all back,鈥� Nickelberry said of his team, which will open its MEAC slate with Florida A&M at Burr Gymnasium on Jan. 4. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to play us. We鈥檙e going to be a scary team.鈥�
