NORFOLK, Va. – For all the havoc inflation has inflicted, one price remains the same – the cost of dreaming.
 
It's something you can still do for free.
 
The only expenses required are hard work, sweat, belief, determination and the occasional tears. 
 
"We call ourselves the dream factory," Howard University men's basketball coach Kenneth Blakeney said following his team's hard-fought 65-64 victory over Norfolk State in Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship treasure at the Scope Arena. 
 
That was Blakeney on top of the ladder waving a net, looking at all the celebratory pandemonium unfolding below him as many dreams became a reality: Howard is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 after erasing a four-point deficit in the final 20 seconds of a thrilling championship contest. 
 
It's a special moment everybody in a Howard uniform has dreamed about since they started playing the sport and committed to The Mecca.
 
With mounds of colorful confetti scattered around the court, Howard players dogpiled and jumped on each other's backs. Howard's coaches cried. Howard's administrators hugged and smiled. Howard fans danced in their seats. 
 
"We feel like this, for us, is destiny," Blakeney said as he sat with a net draped around his neck during the postgame press conference. "I am so happy for our guys that they get to experience (the NCAA Tournament). We talk about March with the pageantry, passion and enthusiasm that goes along with this time of the year, and it's special. For these guys to have a chance to experience this, I am so happy for them, and now they will be a part of history."
 
Howard will open the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed against reigning national champion and No. 1 seed Kansas in a first-round contest of the West Regional. The game will be played Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on TBS. 
 
While Blakeney can share stories of March and show off his 1992 national championship and 1994 Final Four rings that he won as a member of the Duke Blue Devils, he prefers to reflect on the genesis of this moment. It was four years in the making for the Bison program, which rose from the ashes of a 4-23 season in Blakeney's first year to the MEAC penthouse.
 
"Not to sound like this, but the four games we won my first year, we could've won more," Blakeney said. "We wouldn't have won the right way. We had to invest in the culture and the program to be here today. I know all the shots taken about me, our program, and our kids; I haven't forgotten them. 
 
"I heard every one of them. Nobody understood what that process was like and why we had to go through that process. We had to overhaul the culture. Build a culture. Develop a culture. I started two walk-ons by the end of the season. I played guys who had never played before, but they believed in what we were trying to get accomplished. They believed in us as a staff and helped build Howard into what we are today: MEAC champs and going to the NCAA Tournament."
 
One of the first recruits was redshirt junior guard Steve Settle III. He remembers the first year like yesterday as he redshirted during that four-win campaign. That built the foundation for the Bison. The losses weren't fun, but Howard was getting stronger and connected.
 
"I was the first person to commit to this program," Settle said. "For (Blakeney) to put his faith in me and give me an opportunity means everything to me. He was the only offer I had. This is just a special moment because we talked about this, and this team trusted him the entire way. Redshirting hurt because I wasn't able to contribute. I waited my turn, and we were able to turn things around. The work we put in every day is showing." 
 
Throughout Howard's roster, you can go through various stories of overlooked players and afterthoughts. MEAC Tournament Outstanding Performer Shy Odom, who was also the MEAC Rookie of the Year, had few offers. 
 
Sophomore guard Bryce Harris also earned MEAC All-Tournament honors, and sophomore guard Marcus Dockery made a 3-pointer against the two-time defending champion Spartans with 12.1 seconds remaining to bring Howard to within one point. 
 
Graduate student Jelani Williams, who made the game-winning free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining, missed over 1,800 days with knee injuries and transferred into Howard from Penn, which speaks to the quality of student-athletes competing for the Bison.
 
"Coach just believed in me," Odom, a freshman forward with nine points and seven rebounds against Norfolk State, said. "I was doubted during my recruiting process with my injuries. Howard fell from nowhere, and I am so glad I made this choice. This moment feels amazing. We built a brotherhood from the start of the season. Without that, we wouldn't be the connected team that we are. We believe that the most connected team wins games."
 
It also helps that Blakeney has intentionally challenged his players and remains calm during games. Throughout the MEAC title contest, Blakeney patiently stood on the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest like somebody waiting for the next train. It's a pose he's perfected throughout Howard's season as the Bison competed with poise, character, and heart. 
 
He challenged junior guard Jordan Wood to run and complete a marathon. Electric point guard Elijah Hawkins, a sophomore, was also tasked to do something that made him and, ultimately, Howard better. Hawkins, who is 11th nationally in assists, competes with a smoldering fury.
 
"Last year, we were inconsistent, and he put a lot on me," Hawkins said. "He felt like I had to take more control of the games for us to be a great team. Last summer, I focused on controlling the pace, and I got better over the summer. It's helped balance out my play. I feel like coach helped me with that a lot."
 
In a season full of turbulence, tension and triumph, the balanced Bison had six players average at least nine points per game. Howard enjoyed a reservoir of depth that most teams could only dream about. The Bison are 10-deep and enter the tournament having won 14 of their last 16 contests. 
 
What's also been helpful for Howard this season is the bond it had with the 1992 NCAA Tournament team members. Throughout the season, players from that team shared words of encouragement and supported the program. The 1992 squad lost to Kansas in Dayton, Ohio. 
 
Now, Howard can continue to add to its special season. Howard has been championship central lately, with softball, volleyball, men's golf, women's indoor and outdoor track & field and women's basketball each winning MEAC titles in 2021-22, and softball and women's basketball competing in the NCAA Tournament. 
 
This academic season, football finished as MEAC co-champions. Women's indoor track and cross country both won the MEAC title. Men's swimming won the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship. Men's basketball won its first outright MEAC regular-season championship since 1987. 
 
Volleyball, a perennial MEAC contender which won five straight tournament titles from 2015-19, shared the regular-season title this past season.
 
"Our guys are why we got this trophy," Blakeney said. "They did all the hard work and everything we asked as a staff. I give them all the credit. This moment should be celebrated because they've done an incredible job believing, buying in, and moving the program forward."
 
The basketball program will also cherish its chance to dance on college basketball's biggest stage, which is no longer a dream. 
 
"This win is bigger than our basketball team," Blakeney said. "We have an opportunity to talk about our university in a different context and talk about how wonderful our university is and the significant accomplishments that our university has had in terms of producing more PhDs than any school in the country. 
 
"The first Black Supreme Court justice in Thurgood Marshall. [Kamala] Harris, the first Black vice president of the United States. Andrew Young, the first Black ambassador. This is an opportunity to highlight our university and what it stands for, and its legacy since 1867."