WASHINGTON (March 23, 2023) – BOXTOROW released its 15^th HBCU Awards for Division I men's college basketball where Howard University saw head coach Kenneth Blakeney and second-year Bison Elijah Hawkins (Washington) receive recognition. The announcement came Thursday.
 
Blakeney was named 2022-23 HBCU National Coach of the Year while Hawkins made BOXTOROW All-American First Team.
 
Blakeney earned his first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bison to their first outright league regular season title since 1986-87, going 11-3 in conference play. On March 11, the D.C. native guided HU to its first tournament championship since 1992 and a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 31 years.
 
Hawkins wrapped up his sophomore campaign on the All-MEAC First Team after leading the conference in assists per game (6.0), which ranks 11^th in the nation. The two-time All-American shot a season-best 44-percent (54-of-116) from downtown while orchestrating the league's top three-point attack, shooting over 37-percent from behind the arc.
 
Eleven (11) schools are represented on this year's BOXTOROW All-America teams, led by 2022-23 BOXTOROW Player of the Year Joe Bryant, Jr., from Norfolk State.
 
BOXTOROW has administered the All-America team since 2009.
 
Ending their season with a 22-13 record, the Bison won both the conference tournament and the regular season championship, marking their fifth and fourth times winning them, respectively.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com and/or BOXTOROW at www.BOXTOROW.com.