In the midst of a pandemic, the college basketball season has been turbulent to say the least. For the athletes at a lesser known program, in a HBCU, the number of opportunities to make a name for themselves and prove that they can play this game at the highest level is small. Why Not Us on ESPN+ takes us behind the scenes of the 2021 college basketball season at North Carolina Central University.
This second episode, titled “David vs. Goliath,” gets away from the focus of this school being a HBCU and focuses more on the players, allowing the audience to get to know them better. It also gives us our first look at real game action at the Eagles take on the heavily favored Iowa Hawkeyes.
The episode opens with coach Moton having his team play a game of musical chairs. It’s an unorthodox way to end a practice, but the coach uses it as a way to show his players what it’s like when 1.2 million players try to make it to the NBA when there are realistically only about 35 spots. Throughout this episode, Moton makes it a point that he is trying to teach these students about life and not just basketball.
We step inside the dorm room of senior guard Deven Palmer, who is packing as he prepares to go be by the side of his pregnant girlfriend for the birth of his son. Moton stresses the importance of fatherhood and how he wants his players to be there for their children. In a beautiful moment, we get to see Palmer holding his newborn son and talking about how important this moment is to him.
We then jump back to the dorm of senior forward Kobby Ayetey, who talks about moving to America from Ghana for an opportunity at a better life and to play basketball. He explains that, due to the pandemic, he hasn’t been able to travel home and it has now been seven years since he has seen his mother. It’s another emotional segment that includes more words from Moton on how he admires Ayetey’s mental toughness.
We then get to see Moton and his team undergoing COVID-19 testing. The coach talks about how teams have opted out of the season because of safety concerns and the inability to afford frequent testing. These are the kinds of unique scenes we don’t normally get to see with shows like this because of how different this year is in the world of sports. It’s also a very lighthearted scene in which Moton shows off some of his dance moves.
Next, we watch some of the players hit the weightroom. They discuss how the pandemic disrupted their rhythm for the game. Senior guard C.J. Keyser however does mention that it was a blessing for him off the court because it allowed him to focus on his school work. Still, he mentions that at the end of last season, this team felt like no one could beat them and their potential accomplishments were interrupted by the virus.
In another unique segment, Moton leads a weekly coaches meeting focused on scheduling for the upcoming season. With teams dropping out, programs are responsible for filling out their schedules, needing a minimum of 13 games to be considered eligible for the NCAA tournament. Budgets, travel and of course health and safety are all factors they need to keep in mind while reworking their schedule to ensure they have an opportunity to play in the tournament.
The team prepares for their first game of the season against the then-fifth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Their preparation is interrupted though when a player tests positive for COVID-19. That shuts down the team’s practices for two weeks before their season opener. While Ayetey is in quarantine, he and Palmer discuss how the pandemic could be robbing them of their last opportunity to prove themselves.
We then see Moton and his wife Bridget in their home as they prepare for his road game at Iowa. Bridget talks about the career she gave up as an engineer so that she could spend more time with their children while Moton was coaching. It’s a touching look at the life of a coach’s family and the love they share.
As the team arrives in Iowa, they first go through more health and safety protocols, including testing for everyone. We then get a look at a team meeting, during which they go over a scouting report for Iowa, including their National Player of the Year candidate Luka Garza. Afterwards, some of the players discuss being nervous before the game but using that energy to their benefit. Moton explains that it’s going to be a messy opener the night before the game.
Finally, the team steps onto the court to tip off their season weeks later than they normally would have. Things start well for the Eagles, but it doesn’t last long. Moton talks about being concerned about his team’s conditioning, given the face that they just missed weeks of practice. Things eventually get away from NCCU and the heavily favored Hawkeyes win the game 97-67. As they board the bus back to the hotel, Moton explains that he doesn’t think his team believes they’re capable of winning those types of games yet.
This second episode got away from the heavy focus on this school being an HBCU that we saw in the series premiere and just got back to the basics of giving us a look at a basketball team preparing for the season. While this series still sufferers from the same problem of being so far behind where the team actually is in the season now, it feels as though it has hit its stride now. It allows the audience to really get to know and connect with the players, in addition to Coach Moton. If not for the fact that we know how the season is currently going for NCCU, Why Not Us would have its whole audience really pulling for this team.
You can watch Why Not Us on ESPN+ now.