The theme for the sports section this year was: star power. In my third and final year in the position, the sports section was able to use creative angles in order to share the stories of an increasingly diverse set of budding stars across Bison athletics.
Basketball was the most fun sport to cover this year, as Blake Harper’s all-time great freshman season added a heightened level of excitement to the season, for a fanbase that had not seen a freshman campaign of his caliber in school history. This excitement for Howard basketball fans was amplified by the stellar freshman season that Saniyah King put on display for a women’s basketball team that won their first WNIT game in school history.
The shifting landscape of college athletics allowed us to explore ways that these stars might capitalize on increased platform visibility along with transfer portal opportunities. We are fortunate to be reporting on college athletics while these relatively new aspects of sports are evolving, and we really got to dive into how these things impacted HBCUs.
Some of the feature stories that we put out this year were the highlight of our coverage, as it allowed us to connect readers with the stars in the athletics program. We shared Ukraine native Danlil Kaban’s story during his stellar freshman campaign with men’s soccer, and his unique journey strongly resonated with readers. Track and field star Chase Drewerey, who appeared in Starz’ Power, opened up about his inspirations and process while training and fulfilling obligations for his budding acting career simultaneously in a story that captured the multi-sided nature of the Howard experience as an athlete.
Entities outside of Howard contributed a lot to our storytelling as well, as identifying and exploring the intersection between national stories and the Bison community challenged us to grow. ESPN First Take’s stop at Howard University was a legendary event in the school’s history, and I believe that The Hilltop’s coverage of it was second to none. We dove into the moment that Stephen A. Smith and basketball reporter Harmony Bailey shared where she asked him an interview question 14 years removed from their first interaction in a dialogue that left Smith speechless. We also got the chance to speak to student-athletes who were featured on the show, but what was most special to me is that I had the chance to be featured on the show, in a once-in-a-lifetime experience that wouldn’t have been possible without The Hilltop.
Legendary DMV fighters Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. held the press conference at Howard ahead of their fight which saw Davis leave the ring unvictorious for the first time in his illustrious career, and Roach catapulted into boxing superstardom by going toe-to-toe with Davis in the fight that ended in a draw.
This year saw stars in athletics emerge from and descend upon Howard University, and as a publication, we were at the forefront of that movement, and I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter way to end my tenure as Sports Section Editor ahead of graduation.
As much of this year’s editorial staff moves on, I am confident and hopeful that the next crop will elevate coverage, and continue to amplify the stardom of the Bison.
Thank you to The Hilltop!
