WASHINGTON 鈥� It鈥檚 been a frantic, furious comeback, from a halftime deficit of 19 to a favored William & Mary team that couldn鈥檛 miss from three-point range early. But only in the final couple minutes does it actually look like Howard, led by the smallest man on the floor, might actually pull off a miracle in front of a few hundred enthusiastic fans who have trekked out to Burr Gymnasium on Georgia Avenue, smack in the middle of D.C.,聽on an overcast Saturday afternoon after Thanksgiving.
The Tribe crack the door ajar one final time, missing the front end of a 1-and-1, and the Bison get the ball back. 5-foot-11 point guard James 鈥淛-Byrd鈥� Daniel III rushes it up the floor. Everyone knows he wants to take the shot, that he鈥檚 Howard鈥檚 best chance, down by one, the final seconds ticking away. He鈥檚 already netted 36 of the Bison鈥檚 76 points on 10-23 from the floor and 13-15 at the line.
In the land of Georgetown and Maryland, of strong mid-major programs like George Washington and VCU, of recent NCAA Tournament runs from George Mason and even American, Daniel is the shining light for D.C.鈥檚 long-overlooked program, a school full of pride and tradition for everything but its basketball program.
He鈥檚 also .
Down one, Daniel really shouldn鈥檛 pull up for a deep, contested three, not when he might be able to get to the basket, get to the line, to find another way to score. But there he is, pulling up from well beyond the arc, his release quicker than his defender鈥檚 ability to react. And there鈥檚 the ball, soaring over the heads of everyone gathered, a collective breath held, the hopes and dreams of what might be for a dormant program floating with it.
The nation鈥檚 leading scorer
It鈥檚 easy to dismiss Daniel as just a volume shooter; as a selfish player who doesn鈥檛 do anything but chuck it; as a guy who launches the ball up whenever he feels like it; as a guy who actually hurts his team by not always taking the most efficient shots. But to do that depends upon聽ignoring his 176 free throws attempted and 154 made, both best in the nation. It means dismissing his 2.8 steals per game, the fifth-best mark in the country. And it requires overlooking what has happened to Howard this season.
鈥淢an, I have never had the injuries I鈥檝e had this year,鈥� laments Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry, who used 11 different starting lineups in his first 16 games. 鈥淐oming into this year, this team was built 鈥� everything we did in preseason, everything we did in practice 鈥� was built around (Daniel), (James) Miller and (Marcel) Boyd. Those are the three guys we鈥檙e going to go through, and two of those three missed most of the year. We were 5-2 with those guys there, playing really well. Now those guys are gone. (Daniel) has had to still try to find a way to get shots up with an unbelievably shrunken court.鈥�
Nickelberry says he understands where people might perceive that Daniel is taking too much of the offensive burden on himself, but insists that it鈥檚 the only way they鈥檝e been able to survive their injury woes. More so, it鈥檚 what Nickelberry has asked him to do.
鈥淓arly in the year, it was 鈥榶ou鈥檙e the greatest thing since sliced bread,鈥欌�� he says of fans’ reactions to Daniel. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 鈥榶ou take so many bad shots.鈥� But it鈥檚 necessary for us to be competitive in any game.鈥�
Nickelberry dismisses the grumbling, choosing instead to compare Daniel to another D.C. college hoops legend.
鈥淗e鈥檚 like an Allen Iverson,鈥� says the coach. 鈥淵ou know, the old school guys sit in the stands, 鈥榟e鈥檚 taking too many shots, he鈥檚 doing this and that.鈥� But the young kids come in and get excited, because he鈥檚 so fast, he jumps so high on his three.鈥�
Daniel has brought a different energy to campus, one which hasn鈥檛 existed in years. His season low 鈥� season low 鈥� is 19 points.聽But it takes more than energy to turn a program around, especially one coming off 11 straight losing seasons and just two years with double-digit wins going into his freshman year.
In it for the long haul
Of the 15 players named to the three MEAC all-conference teams last season, all but six played their final year of eligibility as seniors. Daniel, a second-team selection, was the youngest as a sophomore. Coppin State鈥檚 Sterling Smith (Pittsburgh) and Hampton鈥檚 Deron Powers (Hofstra) used that springboard to transfer to larger programs. Standout Norfolk State forward RaShid Gaston transferred to Xavier.
Not Daniel. He stayed in D.C., to watch Nickelberry鈥檚 plan come together as he predicted it would.
鈥淗e talked about this year, our third year in general,鈥� says Daniel of Nickelberry鈥檚 recruiting speech. 鈥淗e said our first two years were going to be rough. Our first year (in which Howard went 8-25) he especially said was going to be rough. When we get through that second year, we were going to be able to build. Third year, this was going to be the year where the program turns around, where we can make this run. He said that from the gate.鈥�
Daniel had reason to believe. He鈥檚 known Nickelberry since his elementary school days, attending camps run by the former Hampton coach in Daniel鈥檚 backyard. Daniel鈥檚 father 鈥� the original J-Byrd, a nickname with an origin unknown to the Howard star 鈥� was a local high school coach, who already had a relationship with Nickelberry. So when he came to recruit Daniel to Howard, the decision was easy.
鈥淚 knew when I came up here to open gym,鈥� Daniel says of the decisive moment in his recruiting process. 鈥淗e really just instilled a confidence in me that he really believed in me. He had the full support. My parents supported him. So it was a great fit.鈥�
Now that he鈥檚 been on campus for a couple years, Daniel has experienced the school鈥檚 proud tradition firsthand, and understands better the opportunity he and his teammates have to raise the school鈥檚 profile through what they do on the hardwood.
鈥淧eople from Howard, they鈥檙e really prideful,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he tradition here is just crazy. People really take care of the school, they love it.鈥�
Dreaming of the dance
Still, Howard doesn鈥檛 get a lot of chance for showcase games. Even Saturday鈥檚 tilt with Harvard won鈥檛 be televised, despite the buzz it may generate locally. In fact, only one game on the rest of the Bison鈥檚 schedule is slated to get national TV coverage 鈥� their Feb. 1 road game at Maryland-Eastern Shore, on ESPNU.
That鈥檚 why making the NCAA Tournament, nearly a foregone conclusion for many power programs, is the Holy Grail for schools like Howard. But to become more than a footnote on America鈥檚 brackets, you need a transcendent player capable of greatness on the biggest stage. Think C.J. McCollum at Lehigh in 2012, Stephen Curry at Davidson in 2008, Bryce Drew at Valpo in 1998, or Steve Nash at Santa Clara in 1993. You need someone not only capable of scoring 30, of carrying you against a stronger opponent. You need somebody who can hit that shot.
鈥淲e need this 鈥� the athletic program needs for basketball to be successful,鈥� says Nickelberry, who notes that his recruiting has already taken a major leap, but that for the progress to transcend basketball, it needs that marquee moment.
鈥淲e鈥檝e taken the jump, but getting in the Tournament, getting in the postseason validates it.鈥�
Daniel agrees.
鈥淥h man, that鈥檚 everything. That鈥檚 the goal. That鈥檚 the season, to get to the Tournament,鈥� he says.
Daniel says the team鈥檚 goals coming into the season were simple. 20 wins. A MEAC championship. An NCAA Tournament berth. But he also knows it鈥檚 not as easy as just saying it.
In case he ever forgets, there鈥檚 a constant reminder hanging in the south rafters of the Burr, a lone swath of navy blue with white lettering on its own rail. It鈥檚 the 1991-92 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion banner, a signifier of just how long it has been since the program has been to the dance 鈥� 24 years, longer than anyone on the team has been alive.
But that doesn鈥檛 mean Daniel doesn鈥檛 know what it would mean for the program.
鈥淥h yeah, I do, I do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t would really just boost the program up tremendously. That鈥檚 what the Tournament does to every school. You could say that any small school that makes a run in the Tournament, that鈥檚 just what the Tournament does.鈥�
To get there, Howard will look to Daniel to carry them, to score, to hit the big shot. The one that might win the MEAC Tournament, that might return Howard to the promised land of college basketball. The one that hangs in the air with the chance to beat William & Mary.
Finding his聽spot
Daniel took the same shot last season, from just about the same spot, after Howard had blown a late nine-point lead at home against Hampton, their hopes of a winning season slipping away. And he missed.
It was Howard鈥檚 11th straight defeat at the hands of the Pirates, Nickelberry鈥檚 former school. Even though others contributed to the defeat 鈥� four teammates combined to miss seven of the team鈥檚 final eight free throws 鈥� the loss ate at Daniel. He went out to the spot to practice, over and over, to make sure he wouldn鈥檛 miss the next time the ball was in his hands with the game on the line.
Two days later, Howard faced a Norfolk State squad looking for its 11th straight win over the Bison. Howard forced the game to overtime, and, trailing by one, Daniel dribbled the clock down, created space, and found the spot. His deep three flushed the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded, sending The Burr into pandemonium as his teammates mobbed him on the court.
Flash-forward to the gray, late-November Saturday against William & Mary, and here is Daniel again, at that same spot. The ball is already out of his hands, a shot that suddenly doesn鈥檛 look so desperate, but rather rehearsed, calculated. Now it鈥檚 a shot that he鈥檚 visualized, that he鈥檚 promised to himself he won鈥檛 miss again, not now, not when it really matters. It鈥檚 a shot he鈥檚 hit before, the one that Nickelberry wants him to take.
It鈥檚 all a part of the plan. And it鈥檚 good.
