Blake Harper used to be Howard’s ‘towel boy.’ Now he’s the best player on the team.

Howard University freshman guard Blake Harper was once known as the team’s “towel boy.” Now he’s the team captain and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year – and the player the Bison hope will serve as a catalyst in their pursuit of a third consecutive MEAC tournament championship title.

The Bison (12-19, 7-7 MEAC) look very different from last year’s conference championship team after losing three of their top scorers from a season ago. Entering the MEAC tournament as the No. 4 seed, Howard will play No. 5 seed Morgan State University in the quarterfinals on Thursday. 

Harper, who also was named MEAC Rookie of the Year, finished the regular season as the top scorer in the conference, averaging 19.3 points per game. He ranked No. 2 in the conference in rebounding, averaging 6.3 per game.

Though his stats have drawn national media attention, individual accolades aren’t his primary focus. As he makes his conference tournament debut, he has one goal in mind.

“We’re winning it all. That’s why I came here,” Harper said. “I came here to win it all. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”

Coming out of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., Harper had only one Division I scholarship offer — Howard. 

When Harper arrived on campus in June 2024, he was ready to prove himself. The Bison were gearing up to play four games against international competition in Brazil later in the summer, but Harper faced one key challenge: He had to pass a conditioning test in which players must run the length of one basketball court and one volleyball court, 153 feet long in distance, 10 times in two minutes. After those 10 reps, players must repeat the drill six more times. 

Standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 235 pounds at the time, “I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.

After failing the test multiple times, over the next two months, Harper ramped up his exercise and changed his diet. Each day, he also drank a gallon of water and performed the exact test he needed to pass six times to prepare. Tyler Thornton, an assistant coach and director of player development, worked in the gym with Harper every night, timing his runs and guiding his physical transformation. However, Harper’s efforts still fell short.

“Every day after the guys practiced, I would go up and wipe the guys’ sweat off the court until I could make my conditioning test. … My name was ‘the towel boy,’” Harper said.

After weeks of hard work, Harper got into conditioning shape, losing 34 pounds in the process. 

“It kind of came down to how bad I really wanted it,” Harper said.

Harper’s work wasn’t immediately visible to others, but in the gym after the team’s practice, Thornton saw the transformation.

“Even if I didn’t make my run, I’d still be in the gym with Coach Ty [Thornton],” Harper said. “He always believed in me.” 

Eventually, the time put in the gym paid off. In August, Harper passed the test and traded his towel duties into a Bison jersey. During the final game of the team’s international tour of Brazil in August, Harper scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added five assists to lead the team to victory. 

“I think at that point, that might’ve been one of the best stat lines in the last few years of him playing basketball, and something really clicked for him just then how easy that game was, how easy it flowed,” Thornton said.

In Howard’s season opener on Nov. 4 against No. 1-ranked Kansas, the Bison lost 87-57, but Harper, the team’s top scorer, put up 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. The performance earned him his first MEAC Rookie of the Week honor — one of the 18 he collected this season.

After a series of tough losses to Drexel, Hampton and Yale universities, the Bison found themselves at a midseason crossroads going into the new year. The coaches decided to appoint a new team captain, and Harper emerged as the leader.

“Our group went from a guy who wasn’t passing his conditioning test to a guy who overcame that and at this point of the year was named captain by his teammates,” Thornton said. “So [Harper] kind of went from a guy in the back of the team in terms of hierarchy to the No. 1 guy in our group, and that just came with the hard work and the consistency that he’s been able to bring.” 

Harper’s teammates have shown an appreciation for his leadership.

“You know, some people look at him as the younger guy, but the guys actually respect him in a way because he knows what he’s talking about,” said freshman guard Isaiah Brown, Harper’s roommate. “[Harper] leads us in a way. He is good at uplifting everyone around him on and off the court. He’s funny and always smiling.”

Harper has been the leading scorer in 13 of Howard’s games this season, and he has posted five performances of 30 points or more, including a 30-point triple-double. 

“He has a lot of IQ for a freshman. … He knows how to use his size, his body, and he’s a good listener, and he picks up everything quick,” Brown said. 

As Harper leads the Bison into the MEAC tournament, Thornton believes the freshman standout needs to trust his teammates – and himself – to win. 

“I just want him to come in and play with a free mind but also understand that he doesn’t have to do it all by himself,” Thornton said.

Harper recognizes what’s at stake this week – and what it’ll take.

“It only takes three games, and I feel like, when we connect it, we’re going to be the best team in the conference,” Harper said. “I feel like we are the best. We just got to go out there and prove it in Norfolk.”