Aaron Nkrumah NBA Draft buzz is building fast, and the timing couldn’t be more significant for HBCU basketball.
Tennessee State guard Aaron “AK” Nkrumah didn’t expect to even attend the NBA’s G League draft combine in May. He received a late invitation days before the event after a spot opened up. Once there, he impressed scouts with his athleticism, versatility, and hustle, earning a promotion to the NBA draft combine and transforming overnight from an under-the-radar prospect into a name on actual draft boards.
“When I scored 22 in the G League combine, that’s when I knew — ‘All right, I could really play with these guys,'” Nkrumah told Andscape. “I just needed the platform. I just needed the stage to prove that I belong.”
It’s been nearly 15 years since an HBCU player heard their name called on draft night. The Orlando Magic selected Norfolk State center Kyle O’Quinn with the 49th overall pick back in 2012. Now, after working out with more than half the league’s teams, Nkrumah stands on the verge of ending that drought during this week’s 2026 NBA Draft in New York.
A Winding Road From Outdoor Courts to Division I
Nkrumah’s path to this moment looks nothing like a typical draft prospect’s résumé. The Worcester, Massachusetts, native started out playing pickup ball at outdoor parks and didn’t join an organized team until middle school. He began his college career at Nichols College, a Division III school in his home state, before transferring to Worcester State for the 2022-23 season.
That move paid off immediately. In his first season at Worcester State, Nkrumah averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game and earned Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. He followed that up by bumping his scoring average to 20.0 points per game and repeating as conference Player of the Year.
Rather than settle, he entered the transfer portal hoping to prove he belonged at the Division I level. Former Tennessee State head coach Brian “Penny” Collins and assistant Joshua Bone Jr. recruited him, and Nkrumah made the jump to the historically Black university for the 2024-25 season.
Finding His Footing at an HBCU
The transition from Division III to Division I basketball wasn’t seamless. “The biggest growing pains I had making a jump from D-III to D-I was the physicality and understanding for the game,” Nkrumah said. “I just had to embrace all the information coaches are giving me while trying to produce, so it was a lot to soak in.”
Bone, now an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State, watched that adjustment happen up close. He remembers Nkrumah delivering powerful dunks in practice that stopped the gym cold, and he saw a combination of athleticism and leadership that set Nkrumah apart from his teammates. “He trains like he has something to prove from day one,” Bone said. “He’s always been the hardest worker on the team.”
In his first season at Tennessee State, Nkrumah averaged 10.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, crediting Collins with sharpening his basketball IQ.
A Coaching Change That Could Have Derailed Everything
When Collins left Tennessee State in the summer of 2025 to join the Memphis Grizzlies, Nkrumah faced a decision many transfer players confront: stay or leave again. He chose to stay, along with several teammates, to play under new head coach Nolan Smith, a former Trail Blazers guard who won a national championship with Duke in 2010.
“Everyone enjoyed playing with each other, so we all decided to stay and play for each other,” Nkrumah said. “We were really bought in to what he has to offer and obviously his championship DNA.”
That decision turned into the best season of Nkrumah’s career. Playing under Smith, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 steals per game, earning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year honors and leading the Tigers to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994. He scored 21 points against No. 2 seed Iowa State in that tournament run.
A Coach’s Frustration With How Scouts Overlook HBCU Talent
Smith didn’t hold back when discussing how late Nkrumah’s recognition came. He called the last-minute combine invitation nearly disrespectful, given everything Nkrumah had already accomplished.
“That to me was almost disrespectful to HBCUs and the talent at HBCUs, that a guy like Aaron Nkrumah gets overlooked,” Smith said. “But it’s OK — it’s all part of his story.” Bone echoed that frustration from a different angle: “I think a lot of these scouts — they know what they’re doing, but they’d rather go to the Tennessees or Kentucky and Dukes to find these guys. But he just sheds light on HBCUs, and you never know what you’re going to get, so you can get a steal.”
What’s at Stake on Draft Night
Nkrumah enters the 2026 draft as a second-round prospect with realistic two-way contract potential. If selected, he would add to a proud but quiet legacy. Tennessee State and Jackson State are tied for the most NBA draft picks among HBCUs, with 23 each — though neither program has produced a draftee since the mid-1990s.
He plans to spend draft night with family in his hometown of Worcester, fully aware of what the moment would mean beyond his own career. “It would be a dream come true,” Nkrumah said. “It will just let you know, if you can play [high-level basketball], they will find you.”
For an HBCU basketball landscape still searching for its next true breakthrough story, Aaron Nkrumah’s name getting called this week wouldn’t just be a personal victory. It would be proof that the talent pipeline scouts keep overlooking has been there all along.
