{"id":152213,"date":"2025-10-10T15:47:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T19:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?p=152213"},"modified":"2025-10-29T10:46:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:46:44","slug":"hbcu-basketball-ciaa-north-figures-to-be-battle-royal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/10\/10\/hbcu-basketball-ciaa-north-figures-to-be-battle-royal\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCU Basketball: CIAA North figures to be battle royal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Liv Antilla (AKA Liv4Hoops) breaks down HBCU basketball starting with the CIAA North <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

October is in full bloom, which means college basketball, HBCU basketball and CIAA basketball are all right around the corner. Virginia State is predicted to win the northern division and the league. <\/a>But if you\u2019ve watched the oldest HBCU basketball league for more than a minute, you know these rankings don\u2019t mean a thing once the ball is tipped. The only thing they do is give you a target on your back or a cute little graphic to post on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s break it down, raw and unfiltered. The CIAA North is up for grabs: who is hungry enough to take it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia State: Heavy is the head that wears the CIAA crown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, Virginia State is a clear frontrunner to repeat as the CIAA champions, but no team is invincible. Which means we\u2019re going to find out very quickly who\u2019s ready to battle night in and night out. Who can take punches and throw \u2018em back? Who has the culture, the coaching and the killer instinct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into his 12th season at VSU, Lonnie Blow has one of the most secure cultures in the CIAA and HBCU basketball. Coming off of a CIAA Tournament Championship and D2 National Tournament Appearance and an opening round double digit win. Returning key players like Jacob Cooper and incoming weapons makes this team dangerous: with the skill and experience to run it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can have all the talent in the world, but it comes down to playing together, sacrificing, being on the same page as a team,” Blow said at CIAA media day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VSU is the hunted. They\u2019ve been there. But now they have to prove they can do it again.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Bobby<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Virginia Union likes winning ugly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No team in the CIAA mucks it up and plays uglier — and I mean that as a compliment — than Virginia Union. They drag you into the mud and make you fight for every inch. That has been the blueprint for forever at the HBCU that has three national championships and head Jay Butler follows it to the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing CIAA 24-25 Rookie of the Year Bobby Gardner could take a huge leap and that is truly expected heading into his sophomore season. The coaching staff has high expectations for Gardner, and us as fans should as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe come in and preach defense from day one,” Butler said at CIAA media day. “We\u2019re gonna make the game look ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pretty wins. Ugly wins. They all count the same and VUU plans to stack them.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Lincoln University head coach Julius Hodge chats with a referee prior to his team’s game against Winston-Salem State.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Julius Hodge puts his stamp on Lincoln <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Year Two of the Julius Hodge era is here and we can fully see his vision, his culture and what he is expecting for Lincoln. The Lions were picked 5th overall and Hodge is using that as rocket fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUs being picked 5th in the preseason polls is like Christmas,” Hodge said. “I get to go to my guys in practice and let them know what the rest of the league thinks of us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lincoln has reloaded with the departure of graduates and transfers. Hodge was able to go out and recruit exactly what he wanted to fit his system and who will buy into what he has planned at one of the rising programs in HBCU and D2 basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Day At Bluefield State<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Luke D\u2019Alessio departed from winning CIAA Coach of the Year at Fayetteville State and took over at Bluefield State in what amounted to a coaching swap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings I like about this team is we are really deep,” D’Alessio said. “This is one of the deepest teams I’ve ever had. We have 12 players that can really play .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people may look at Bluefield State, see the location, see some of the resources and may think D\u2019Alessio can\u2019t get it done. Well, doubt him if you want, but the man builds a winner. He’s won championships in all of his HBCU stops. Will his success at Bluefield State determine if he can actually coach or if being in an ideal location like Fayetteville State was the catalyst to his recent success in the league?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowie State has a chemistry test <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BSU has 12 new players. That is not a typo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have 12 new players\u2026 I’m really excited about the group,” says Darrell Brooks. “They have tremendous work ethic, they are together.. As a coach those things are really really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulldogs are a mystery. How fast can they gel and build chemistry to get early wins and stay competitive? If they can\u2019t? It could get ugly this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECSU trying to get out of the cellar <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last season was a disappointment, and head coach John Richardson III admits it. But this year? He\u2019s locked in. A team that on paper was talented, just couldn\u2019t get it done on a nightly basis. With the CIAA selected DPOY and an All-CIAA Back Court selection. What was the issue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, last season was a come to Jesus for me\u2026 I was able to study the teams and coaches in this league.\u201d – Richardson III<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will ECSU bounce back and rise within the Northern Division and the conference?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Basketball in the CIAA North figures to be a royal rumble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":152220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.136,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.6785,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.85,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.2,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.9,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.27,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.02,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.47,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573635622,573627540,573627536],"tags":[1809557,573627544,39247854,667244,813301],"class_list":["post-152213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-2026-hbcu-basketball","category-ciaa","category-basketball","tag-ciaa","tag-featured","tag-hbcu-sports","tag-virginia-state","tag-virginia-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHBCU Basketball: CIAA North figures to be battle royal - HBCU Gameday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HBCU basketball is heating up as October unfolds. 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