Earlier this month, 2022 Howard University graduate Randall Brumant signed his first professional basketball contract.
Brumant inked a deal with Romanian professional basketball club CSM Targu Jiu. Brumant’s signing adds his name to a six-person list of former Bison signed to play professional basketball this season. He joins Makur Maker, CJ Williams, Tai Bibbs, Kyle Foster and RJ Cole.
Brumant gave his first statements since arriving in Romania in a press conference on Wednesday. Brumant told fans, “Romania has a strong league. I thank CSM for the opportunity.” Concluding his statement, Brumant said, “It’s a big change, but I’m trying to adapt to what Romanian culture means.”
The six-foot-seven 220-pound forward arrived at Howard in the fall of 2021 from Columbia University as a graduate student. This was following the Ivy league’s cancellation of the 2020-2021 basketball season due to COVID-19.
Brumant was throwing himself into a unique situation going to a new school, having not played the prior season and being the longest-tenured college basketball player on his new team. Brumant expressed that taking that leap helped him develop skills that would allow him to be ready to play at the next level.
“I came into Howard as a grad transfer on a team where a lot of people did not have a ton of playing experience (either they were freshmen or due to Covid). So even though I was new, I was immediately put into a leadership role which helped me develop in a lot of ways I hadn’t before,” Brumant detailed. “It definitely taught me how to manage more detailed situations, and communicate better to keep everyone on the same page.”
While at Howard, the Houston native was an “iron man,” starting in all 29 games for the Bison. In those contests, Brumant averaged nine points to go along with five boards per contest while shooting a league-high 62.8 percent. This was enough for Brumant to be named to the 2022 Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) All-Conference third Team. Brumant was also one of only 24 players selected to participate in the 2022 HBCU All-Star game in New Orleans.
Following his success at the landing spot of his last leap of faith, Howard University, Brumant looks forward to jumping head-first into another unique and unfamiliar situation.
“I’m most looking forward to the opportunity to further work on my game and showcase it against better and better competition,” Brumant said. When asked about the adjustments he anticipates, Brumant answered, “I think the experience of living in a different culture for a while would be fun and eye-opening. European basketball is a little different style-wise than America, but I think the biggest adjustment will be everything else off the court.”
Howard’s six current professional basketball players are evidence that there is a growing opportunity for HBCU athletes to get to the next level. Brumant believes talent has always been there, but other factors are the reason for the continued growth of opportunities.
“Honestly the talent is there with HBCU athletes. I think the more exposure/coverage HBCU sports gets, the more professional opportunities will be there for those who want it bad enough,” he said.
Copy edited by Alana Matthew
