"Got a White boy on my roster," grumbled Coach Julian Brown. The six-foot-six, dark-skinned and muscular African American former athlete sighed as he looked at Colin Devlin, a newcomer to the Blackstone College Division One men's varsity basketball team. Coach Brown thought of his halcyon days at Blackstone College, where he lettered in basketball before joining the 2003 NBA Draft. After a fifteen-year career during which he played for the Detroit Pistons, the Miami Heat and New York Knicks, Brown retired. Unable to stay away from the game, he got a job as an assistant coach at his alma mater. The rest was history.
"Yes sir, people call me the second coming of Larry Bird," Colin Devlin said with a smile. The six-foot-two, nerdy-looking White boy with the mousy brown hair and bleak blue eyes certainly didn't look like an athlete. To Coach Brown, Colin looked like one of those science club geeks. According to his stats, Colin averaged twenty points a game at the elite private school he attended in Blacksburg, Virginia, before enrolling at Blackstone College in Blackstone, Illinois. The numbers didn't lie. The dude apparently had the stuff. How in hell does that happen?
"We shall see," Coach Brown said gruffly. Just like that, Coach Brown brushed past Colin, who sighed. The tall, nineteen-year-old freshman player was used to people not taking him seriously as an athlete. Colin knew the kind of reception he expected to get at Blackstone College. The town of Blackstone, located in eastern Illinois, has a population of four hundred thousand and sixty one percent of them are African American. The sole college in town is an HBCU with an all-Black football team. Colin made a wrong turn when he came to Blackstone, or did he?
"Guess I will have to prove you wrong, sir," Colin said to himself as he watched Coach Brown walk away. Even in retirement, the former NBA player maintained a fine physique. The tall man was one of Colin's idols. An NBA player who returned to college after his professional career ended, earned a degree and now taught mathematics on top of coaching basketball at the college level. Coach Brown was the opposite of the dumb jock stereotype. Colin used to have posters of Brown in his bedroom, right next to photos of Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe, Michael Jordan and other sports legends. Why couldn't Coach Brown see that Colin wanted to be just like him?
Colin returned to his dorm that day, said a prayer and went to bed after watching the evening news. Fall season in Illinois was a lot milder than that of Virginia that's for damn sure. The next day, he went to his Criminal Justice classes. Everywhere Colin went on the Blackstone College campus, he got stares. The school was sixty three percent Black, with Latinos and Asians forming the remainder of the student demographic. Here and there, Colin saw White guys and White chicks. Yeah, he was at an HBCU alright. If only Colin's fellow students knew that he passed up on Auburn University to attend Blackstone College. The school has only been in the NCAA Division One for the past six years. It's not a powerhouse yet...
"Hello freshman," came a voice, and Colin looked up to see a vision of beauty approaching him. The curvy, dark-skinned young African American flashed a bright grin as she neared Colin. The tall, awkward White dude froze. There was something familiar about this gal but he couldn't quite place her face. As far as Colin was concerned, he didn't know anyone in town. Perhaps Miss HBCU here was mistaking Colin for someone else.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" Colin asked, and the young Black woman smiled, then introduced herself as Valeria Chester. As a sophomore and a member of the Student Leadership Group, helping wayward freshmen was one of her tasks. Colin smiled upon hearing that. Valeria was gorgeous in Sheryl Swoopes kind of way. The gal was tall and bodacious, and looked more athletic than him. Colin saw a flicker of interest in Valeria's brown eyes and decided to get his Mack on, as they say. What's the worst thing that could happen if Colin asked Valeria for her digits?
"Here's my digits, just be sure to text me before you call," Valeria said with a grin. Colin smiled as he punched her number into his iPhone. Later, he would look her up on social media but for now he was cool and nonchalant. He and Valeria ended up walking together for their next classes were in the same wing of campus. Colin didn't mind the company, since Valeria was cute and outgoing. Some Black guys walking by glared at the two of them. Colin stared right back at them. Valeria ignored them. To each their own...
"That's my stop, Intro to Criminology, I'll see you soon, great meeting you, Valeria," Colin said gently. He held out his hand, which Valeria shook. As she walked away, grinning, Colin admired her fine ass. He went to class, and thus met his teacher, a wizened old Black fellow named Professor Jerrod Blake, and his new classmates. Colin settled into his new digs. He decided to make the most of his new life at Blackstone College.
At the season's first basketball practice, Colin met his teammates. One of them, a tall, handsome young Black man named Stephen Jett, stood out. He looked like the late great NBA player Kobe Bryant, only younger and a bit darker. Colin would remember his first meeting with Stephen because Stephen was the only dude on the team who didn't give him a hard time. After practice, during which Coach Brown yelled at them to be better and faster, the two young men hit the showers.
"Coach Brown seems to dislike me," Colin said to Stephen as they entered the stalls. Stephen laughed at that, as did several of the other young men in the locker room. Colin frowned, thinking he was reading this all wrong. On every sports team, the coaches yell at the players. Coach Brown was a very competitive man during his NBA days and he seemed to retain the same drive as a college basketball coach. Colin just wished the great man didn't seem to hate his guts.
"Coach Brown yells at everybody, Colin, don't take it personal," Stephen assured him. Colin nodded, and showered in the stall next to his new buddy. After getting dressed, the two young men exchanged numbers. Colin never passed up an opportunity to make a new friend whenever he met someone new. Stephen went home, and Colin went to the campus library. He borrowed the Criminology book since he didn't have the money to buy it from the campus bookstore. Most college professors use the same books year after year. Smart students know this and rent books instead of buying them.