Seth Towns’ college basketball career is the epitome of the saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” He entered extremely rarifies air this season, as it’s marked his eighth in college. Yes, you read that correctly. This is Towns’ eighth season as a college hooper, where he’s playing for Howard University and working toward his third degree.

Towns, originally from Columbus, OH, graduated from high school in 2016 as a top-100 recruit. With more than 20 scholarship offers, he committed to Harvard University over the likes of high majors like Ohio State and Michigan. He lived up to his hype, becoming an instant impact player for the Crimson and, as a sophomore, winning Ivy League Player of the Year and being named AP All-America honorable mention. Unfortunately, injuries would cause him to miss the following two seasons.

Hoping for a fresh start, Towns transferred home to Ohio State University, where he suffered another serious injury, causing him to miss yet another season. He then announced that he’d be stepping away from the game completely to focus on his health, both physical and mental.

The time away helped Towns get more aligned with what he believes his purpose is. If he was going to give basketball another try, the only school he wanted to play for was Howard University.

“I knew off jump that I wanted to go to Howard if I had any eligibility left,” Towns tells me.

“I feel like the value of something like attending an HBCU isn’t always seen clearly,” he says when asked about his decision to attend Howard. “It’s [Black people’s] to build, ours to protect and ours to cultivate into this huge magical thing.”

Photos via Getty Images.

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