Howard men's basketball cancels rest of 2020-21 season

Howard's men's basketball team is forgoing the rest of the 2020-21 season due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, the school announced Tuesday.

The move was made after five games and a lengthy shutdown that hasn't allowed the team to play since Dec. 18.

"We had several team members test positive in January and were forced to place the program on hold, cancel several games, and finally cancel our season. It was and remains the right thing for us to do," head coach Kenneth Blakeney said. "Ultimately, our No. 1 priority is to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes, both mentally and physically."

Plenty of buzz surrounded the Bison entering the season. Freshman Makur Maker, ESPN's No. 16th recruit in the 2020 class, became the highest-ranked basketball player to commit to an HBCU since ESPN's database began tracking in 2007. Maker played in Howard's first two games before suffering a groin injury.

Their most notable postponement was a nationally televised contest against Notre Dame, scheduled for Jan. 18 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The game was scheduled to be Notre Dame's first ever on an HBCU campus.