Another Sign of Duke Basketball ‘Brotherhood’ Coaching Prowess

Former four-year Duke basketball guard and 2010 national champion Jon Scheyer boasts a 124-25 overall record through his first four seasons as head coach of the Blue Devils, marking the most wins of any Division I head coach across their first four years at the helm. But the 39-year-old is by no means the only member of “The Brotherhood” excelling in the college coaching ranks nowadays.

Two former Duke basketball players each guided an HBCU program to the NCAA Tournament last season. And those two head coaches, Howard’s Kenny Blakeney and Tennessee State’s Nolan Smith, are now set to have their 2026-27 squads square off against each other during NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

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As The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman first reported on Tuesday morning, Howard and Tennessee State will head to Phoenix in February as this year’s invites to the NBA HBCU Classic.

An official NBA Communications release confirmed the matchup:

“The NBA today announced that the 2027 NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T will feature the Howard University and Tennessee State University men’s basketball teams on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Hardwood Central within Jam Session (Phoenix Convention Center), as part of NBA All-Star 2027 in Phoenix.

“Tennessee State University will make their first appearance participating in the Classic, while Howard University will compete for the second time after capturing a win in the inaugural NBA HBCU Classic in 2022. The 2027 NBA HBCU Classic will air on ESPN and NBA TV at 12 p.m. MT.”

Duke Basketball Champ Kenny Blakeney in Eighth Year as Head Coach

Blakeney, who was a freshman reserve guard on the 1991-92 Duke basketball national championship squad and whose Bison staff includes 2000-01 Blue Devil national champion Nate James, has posted just a 97-107 overall record across seven seasons at Howard. However, he took over a program that hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 1992, and it has now played in March Madness in three of the past four years.

Last season,…

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Publish date : 2026-10-13 23:20:00

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