One year after epic HBCU basketball turnaround, Langston Lions have 'really come together'

How do you follow up maybe the greatest one-year turnaround in the history of college basketball?

You keep winning. And two-thirds of the way through the NAIA basketball season, that is exactly what the Langston Lions have done.

“Last year’s team was completely new,” second-year Langston coach Chris Wright said after the second-ranked Lions routed Oklahoma City University, 88-50, in a Sooner Athletic Conference men’s basketball game Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena.

“So just having a core group of returners, some guys that have been through the wars with us, is huge. And also, we’re a lot deeper and just kind of bigger and more athletic across the board. We have just been able to swallow some teams up defensively because of our length and athleticism.”

Last season, Wright inherited a 1-27 program, overhauled the roster with talented transfers and ran away with both the SAC regular season and tournament titles, the first HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) school to earn both crowns in the same season. The Lions were ranked as high as third in the NAIA rankings before they finished the season with a 31-3 record and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament Round of 16.

Wright’s encore has been equally impressive as the OCU win improved the Lions’ record to a sparkling 18-0 overall and 12-0 in the SAC.

“If you match his energy, you are going to be right where you want to be,” Langston senior point guard Toru Dean said of Wright. “Because he is a passionate, passionate coach. He loves each and every one of our guys. He uplifts each and every one of our guys. He wants the best for each and every one of our guys. If you match his passion, eventually we are going to be right where we want to be at when it comes March.”

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Langston boosted by former New Mexico State player Anthony Roy

Dean and senior guard/forward Cortez Mosley are the two returning starters from last season’s breakthrough squad. Against OCU, Mosley led all scorers with 19 points and Dean added 14, two of a whopping six Lions to finish the game with double figures in points scored.

“Those guys were huge, huge parts of our 31-3 season last year,” Wright said of Dean and Mosley. “The intangibles and day-to-day leadership that they bring, I don’t think you can quantify it. It made me a lot better coach than I actually am.”

Langston has received a sizable jolt from newcomer Anthony Roy, who leads the Lions in scoring at 19.5 points per contest. The junior guard transferred from NCAA Division-I New Mexico State after a hazing scandal abruptly canceled the Aggies’ 2022-23 season in mid-February. Roy was not named in the lawsuit that stemmed from the allegations and was the last player remaining on the roster before entering the transfer portal, where he found a new opportunity at Langston.

“This is just a part of my journey,” Roy said. “It was just meant to be. I feel like I have been put in a position to really just better myself and just continue to play basketball. I am appreciative of the opportunity to play and I am just trying to get better every day.”

On Tuesday, Roy was named SAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after posting 29 points and nine rebounds against Panhandle State Jan. 18 and another 21 points Saturday versus Wayland Baptist. Against OCU, Roy drilled four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.

“Anthony can score the heck out of the ball,” Dean said. “He is just a three-level scorer. He’s a dog. He is my roommate, too. Great roommate and he is just a dog all around. He knows the game of basketball. The ins and outs. He just makes us a lot better.”

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Langston Lions routing NAIA foes

First-year Langston starters Jay Allen-Tovar and G’Quavious Lennox added 10 points apiece against OCU (5-14, 3-10), while Ronald Mitchell scored 12 off the bench.

The Lions have roared out of winter break with seven wins, all by at least 19 points. Langston had to figure that after last season a sizable target would be on its back and there would be no sneaking up on opponents or taking anyone by surprise this year.

None of that outside noise has mattered.

“I’ve been really proud of them,” Wright said. “We started off the season, our first five games, we were honestly pretty bad. We were 5-0, but I was not happy with where we were at. And to see us really come together after that point, has been great.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Langston Lions still writing epic HBCU basketball turnaround story