Western Wayne Today

Wayne State University's men's basketball team is set to host Talladega College in an exhibition game as part of the first Hoops and Culture HBCU College Expo. The event will take place on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Wayne State Fieldhouse.

The Hoops and Culture event, organized by the Horatio Williams Foundation together with Wayne State's Department of Athletics, will run from October 29 to 31. Four exhibition games are scheduled for Thursday, October 30, with Wayne State facing Talladega College of the NAIA.

Head coach Bryan Smothers enters his fourth season leading the Warriors. Smothers, a former player and WSU Hall of Famer, has compiled a record of 37-46 overall and 23-33 in league play during his tenure. Last season, Wayne State finished with a 15-14 overall record and went 11-9 in GLIAC competition, marking their second consecutive appearance in the conference tournament—a feat last achieved in the 2017-18 season. The team's postseason ended with a loss to Ferris State in the quarterfinals.

Returning players include senior forward Kelvin Tamakloe, senior forward Carlos Paul III, junior guard Jordan Briggs, graduate guard Jon Brantley, and redshirt sophomore guard Adam Ayrault. Tamakloe played in 28 games last season—starting 22—and averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Paul III is the top returning scorer after averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds over 29 games (six starts). Briggs appeared in all 29 games last year, starting ten times and averaging 8.1 points per contest.

This year's roster features eight new players—two freshmen and six transfers. Coaching staff changes include Will Vergollo's promotion to Associate Head Coach and Gjon Djokaj joining as third assistant.

Wayne State's schedule consists of 27 games—25 within NCAA's Midwest Region—with twenty GLIAC matchups and fifteen home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The regular season begins at home against Michigan-Dearborn on November 14 at 4 p.m.

"We have five of our seven non-conference games at home, which is important so that our fans and supporters get many opportunities to support our program," said Smothers. "We look forward to having our fans come out and help us make the Fieldhouse a difficult place for our opponents."

"Conference play will be slightly different this year as some of the travel partners have changed from years past," added Smothers. "For example, starting the new year at SVSU then traveling up to LSSU is a different arrangement than we are used to. Before, SVSU was a standalone game and the LSSU trip was a part of our road trip to Ferris State. Some of the logistics have changed but the goals are the same, win as many as you can on the road, and protect your home court in order to be in position for a regular-season championship and seedings. Our February home slate will also be a key to the overall success of the season."

The top eight teams from regular season conference standings will qualify for the GLIAC Tournament beginning March 4; higher seeds host each round through finals on March 8.

In this year's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll released October 22, Wayne State was predicted to finish seventh among eleven teams.

Alongside Wayne State vs Talladega College at Hoops and Culture Expo are three other contests: Wilberforce vs Grand Valley State at noon; Central State vs Detroit Mercy at 5 p.m.; Tuskegee vs Eastern Michigan at 7:30 p.m., all held at Wayne State Fieldhouse with Amazon as presenting sponsor.

The multi-day event includes additional activities such as a welcome reception powered by Detroit Medical Center on Wednesday evening (October 29), wellness events, book signings by Earn Your Leisure on Friday morning (October 31), trade school resource fairs, panel discussions about business pathways moderated by Earn Your Leisure, networking mixers, and closing remarks sponsored by Gilbert Family Foundation.