NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 18, 2024

Kenneth Blakeney

UD Arena

Howard Bison

Media Conference

KENNETH BLAKENEY: First, it's just great to be in Dayton, like, really, really cool to be here. Dayton's a basketball city. And coming into the arena on the bus, I got chills and emotion because I've watched this game for numerous years and have seen some great basketball here. Very grateful and thankful to be here and excited to play a really good Wagner team tomorrow.

On our year, it's been somewhat fascinating and challenging. We've played this year with probably the most injuries of any team in the country. We lost 82 games this year due to injuries with guys that are in our rotation.

So for us to be able to be here and have a chance to play in March, be a part of March Madness, is truly a blessing and just very grateful.

Q. We talked to Seth about just his journey. Why did you want him to come play for you? And what's he been like to have a guy with that kind of experience and obviously older than all the other guys on your team?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: When we started talking, I didn't know -- and he didn't know -- at the time if he would be able to play this year. But Seth, with his previous experiences, I certainly knew more about him being a Harvard guy than probably a lot. I wanted him as a part of our program, regardless if he could play or not. We do so much work in the social justice space that he and his profile, his resumé, what he's done in his life, has really fit who we are as a basketball program.

So healthy or not, I thought it was important for him to be at Howard and to be a part of our basketball program.

On the floor, it's been a transition for him. Our culture is different. And we require our student-athletes to get outside of themselves. And Seth is a very quiet person, at least with in the structure of our basketball program initially.

And to see him grow into a leadership role, we're not here if he doesn't grow into that leadership role and become a vocal, emotional leader of our basketball team.

Q. You're a DMV guy through and through, so you know the quality of college basketball in the DMV region. What's it like for you and this program to kind of have the torch right now for this region, for the DMV? You're the only team from the Big Dance in the D.C. region, how much pride do you take in that, coach?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: It's incredible. To think about it, Howard basketball was when I was growing up Howard Athletics, growing up in Washington, D.C. there were a lot of people that thought that Howard didn't care about athletics.

It was a place that there was so much talent right around the DMV and it didn't seem like the student-athletes that were in high school wanted to attend Howard.

And it was almost like a place that you went if you didn't have anything else.

And I think since Mr. Kery Davis was hired by Dr. Wayne Frederick and the two of those guys had a game plan of making basketball, making football, making women's basketball, making volleyball, making softball a priority, under the leadership, under Mr. Davis' leadership, our athletic program has really thrived. I don't think we've had as many championships previously as we've had under Kery Davis' regime as athletic director. To say we're the torch bearer of basketball and DMV it's an honor because I grew up watching Georgetown. I was a Georgetown fan. I was a Maryland fan. I saw guys that went to GW. I saw George Mason.

I was a huge fan of some guys that played at American University. And to see that today we have become the team with the most wins over the last three years with back-to-back NCAA appearances is unbelievable.

Q. Right before you came in, Seth took a couple seconds to talk about the journey that Jordan has had as a basketball player. What has it been like to have a guy like Jordan on your team, him being a graduate student?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: It's been great. It's been great. And taking transfers in a transfer portal has kind of changed obviously the landscape of college basketball. And with that, you have guys that have gone to two, three, four different universities, and sometimes it takes a little bit of an adjustment for young men, young women to get acclimated to their environment. And I think that was just one of the things that Jordan had to get adjusted to. First and foremost a fabulous dude. Super young man. High character. Really intelligent. Kills it in the classroom. Very well loved in the DMV.

And right now he's playing as good basketball as any guard in the country. Him being injected into the starting lineup as our point guard has evolved us and made us a little more of a dynamic basketball team because now we have five scoring threats that are out on the court at every position?

Q. This now is the second year in the NCAA Tournament, back to back MEAC Tournament champs. What do you think has been the key to success for you at Howard?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: I think the key of our success has been our culture and that has been something that from day one we tried to establish and build. It's kind of interesting because playing at a high school like demathic high school for Coach Morgan or Duke University for coach Mike Krzyzewski, the culture was already built and developed. I didn't understand exactly what was going on, it was just like as a young player you get in the back of the line and you follow. And we didn't talk about culture because Coach Wootten had been there for 30 years and Coach Krzyzewski had been there for maybe 20 years before I got there. And it was just one of those things that you kind of just followed command.

So for me trying to build and establish culture was truly something that was challenging for me. Dr. Joe Carr, one of the leading leading sports psychologists in the country is certainly responsible working with us to help us establish and build our culture. He has been such a mentor for me over the last few years, and he's somebody I've known since I was 14 years old, translate to our student-athletes that they get and understand it's been phenomenal.

Q. You talked about the things that sports, the way they've developed at Howard. I wonder, with all the changes that are happening in college sports, some of the various things that have been floating around there about how maybe the tournament can change, how important do you think it is to have schools of all sizes, and you've got obviously a breadth of experience at different kinds of schools, kind of involved in this in the field of 68?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: That's the beauty and the magic of March. If you take that away, you're not going to have 12 5 upsets, 16 1 upsets, UMC, Georgia, George Mason in the Final Four. The two teams in the Final Four last year.

That is the beauty and the magic of what makes March Madness March Madness. There's so many brackets that get tossed out the window, and that may be the issue. But it's what makes March special. And that's what I talked to our team about is March is different. There's a magic that goes on if you play with a spirit, if you can stay connected, if you can be the most enthusiastic passionate team, anything can happen to your team in that period that you're playing in March Madness.

It would be extremely disappointing if that happens, but I do understand the business of sport.

Q. You mentioned the madness, and you highlighted George Mason. Obviously you were talking about the 16-1. We had one here last year with FDU going on to Columbus to beat Purdue. Is there more excitement of looking back to 2023 as a 16 seed to now being in the First Four and being a 16 seed?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: I think when you think about it, I don't want to -- you just want to be here. Being here means something. And I get chills in my arms. It's a big deal to have a chance to compete at this level.

Like, tomorrow the basketball world will be watching this game here in Dayton, Ohio. This gym symbolizes something about March that kicks off the tournament that is so really cool about basketball.

And so I just love what the pairings of a 16-1 -- some of those games are out of control with the scores. But some of them are great games. But when you go through the pairings and you see mid-majors that can advance and have a chance to bust some brackets, that's what this is all about.

You have really good basketball teams. You may have better basketball teams that are playing in March that are low-major, mid-major teams than Power Five teams. So to have that opportunity to compete on an even playing field with neutral refs on a neutral court is really cool.

Q. Before a big game like this, what do you do to get your team prepared?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: There's not much today or yesterday that we could do. We played Saturday afternoon. After our game, our women's basketball team, Howard women's basketball team, played Norfolk State in the MEAC Tournament. And some of the players and some of the staff went back over and watched.

We got on the bus after that game and drove back to D.C. By the time we get home it's 11:00, 11:30. So I couldn't sleep. I was pretty jacked up. Just stayed up and watched everything on all the different sports networks. And looked at, surfed the Web a little bit and took it in.

You wake up the next day and it's, like, you can't practice because we just played three games in three days. So the best thing we can do at that point in time is just let our bodies rest, try to get some sleep, eat, hydrate.

And at 6:00 we met for our watch party and found out where we were going. By 7:00, 7:30, I was home at my kitchen table watching tons of Wagner until I went to bed.

And then waking up this morning at 7:00, trying to pack and meet our team on the bus for 8:30 departure from Howard University. Got a 10:30 flight. Got here around, I don't know, 12, 12:15. Checked in my hotel. Got a meal. Got a nap. Watched some Wagner, and here we go.

Q. I think I talked to you about this last year. You guys have been huge in the community. Scott mentioned it earlier. You're from the area. I read the Bison Blasts. I know you talked about growing up in the area. Is that a big push for you to do things in the community, especially because you're from the community?

KENNETH BLAKENEY: It's a big push for me to do things that I think expose our guys and educate them in a different way. Certainly there's your education that you get on the campus of Howard University. But being in Washington, D.C. -- I think being in any city or any place that you're there to get an education, there's an opportunity and an obligation as an educator to expose and to put your students in situations where they will grow, develop and become better men, better women, and future leaders in the community.

So it's all about giving our students an education that they can't get inside the gates of Howard University. So if we can expose our young men to the White House, we're going to do it. If we can expose our young men to Capitol Hill we're going to do it.

Last year our social justice project was Black maternal health. In that, we spent probably five or six different opportunities with the Vice President of the United States doing things with her.

We were on Capitol Hill for this year, we were with Pete Buttigieg. We've done so much within the structure of things we can do in Washington, D.C., but it only benefits our players and exposes them to things they cannot get inside the gates of Howard University.