Two seasons after graduating from Minnesota Duluth, Joshua Strong became the only Division I basketball player also attending Howard Law School at the same time. That also made him a footnote rarely achieved in college sports these days.
“It’s always good to see something that hasn’t been done before,” said Strong after his last collegiate basketball game at the MEAC tournament earlier this month. “I’ve always been taught to be humble with all these sorts of things, so it’s just become more of my life.”
It might seem that with Strong as a surname, it would be natural for him to exhibit such traits. “The kid don’t take no for the final answer,” said Paul Strong about his son. He, his wife Lori Strong and Joshua’s youngest brother Micaiah Strong all traveled to Norfolk to watch Joshua and the Howard Bison men’s team play Morgan State in a tournament quarterfinals game.
“As a parent, you want all your kids to have confidence that where they’re going is directed by God,” Paul explained beforehand of Joshua, the second-youngest of five children (a daughter and four sons).
“Listening to [Joshua] say that I’m here for a greater purpose than basketball, for him to get to see a bigger picture of what he can do for my community and how education can help other African American males embrace it and don’t keep ourselves in a box.
“As a dad,” Paul continued, “when I look at my sons and see that they’re all blazing their own trail, I’m just thankful. I’m just thankful that nobody can take credit for it. And that’s the beautiful thing.”
The 22-year-old Joshua graduated summa cum laude in only two years at Minnesota Duluth, where he also played basketball. Then he enrolled at Howard and played his last two seasons of athletic eligibility.
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me in terms of production,” Joshua recalled. “It was just kind of an up-and-down year, not very consistent. It was the first time I really had that happen to me, so I had to learn how to deal with that on top of law school. It’s definitely a learning experience.”
But his second and final season started off much better, continued the player and future lawyer. “This year I definitely had a deeper gratitude for the sport,” he added. Unfortunately, he dealt with not being fully healthy all season, “and it was kind of discouraging,” Joshua pointed out.
This also included suffering from a concussion. He says it made him become introspective going forward “on what the Higher Power is trying to show me with this.”
Nonetheless he earned the trust and respect of his coaches and teammates, who voted Strong co-captain.
“I think I’ve grown a lot and become more reflective, but also I think I’ve gotten the taste of what a championship team looks like from last year, and that’s something I could say I am forever grateful for.”
Strong is looking forward to someday competing on another court: “I’m probably gonna go into this law firm that I’ve been working with last summer,” he declared. “They’re like a corporate law firm, and I want to get into the areas like private equity and fund formation and things like that.” With this experience, Strong hopes to work with Black communities and others in economic empowerment.
“Nobody can change his mind about anything that he set his mind to,” marveled his mother Lori Strong. “We’re honored that God has used our kids.”
Said his brother, 20-year-old Micaiah, “He’s just an inspiration for people all over the place.”
Concluded Paul Strong, “My dad never had an opportunity to finish school, and to see his grandkids reaching heights that he could only dream about, I’m just thankful.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.