The sneakers of the women鈥檚 basketball team squeaked on the shiny new court at Paul Quinn College, Southern Dallas鈥� historically Black college and Texas鈥� first HBCU.
For the first time last Saturday, the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams played on their new home turf: a black and white basketball court depicting historical images of the Dallas skyline from the 1920s.
The court received national recognition after dubbed it one of the best court designs in the country. Designer Ryan Parker, with Creative, says it鈥檚 surreal.
鈥淲hat really resonates with people is that it tells a story, it鈥檚 not just a basketball court,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I love about it.鈥�
The foundation for the court鈥檚 design was to highlight both the history of the college and the area in southern Dallas where it's located. Parker used historical images from 1919 and 1920, when segregation laws were still in place in Dallas, to capture the history of Paul Quinn and show how the institution has changed since then.
Paul Quinn President Michael Sorrell painted a picture for the design that Parker couldn鈥檛 shake.
鈥淗e said 鈥榳hat used to be our ceiling is now our floor,鈥欌�� Parker recalls. 鈥淚 was blown away by that.鈥�
With COVID protocols, a maximum of 500 Quinnites were allowed to fill the stands for last week's games. The basketball court, which doubles as the school鈥檚 new Health and Wellness Center, can fit up to 1,100 people.
Kesmyre Smalls, who plays volleyball for Paul Quinn, is just proud to support her team in person.
鈥淲ith COVID going on, we have to support our Quinnites,鈥� Smalls said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first game in our new gym so we gotta tee 'em up.鈥�
The basketball teams had been off for an entire year because of the pandemic. Erica Anderson, the head coach of Paul Quinn's women鈥檚 basketball program worked to get the team mentally ready to get back on the court, and she said the new facility helped with the players' confidence.
鈥淭hey were continuously bringing up the fact that we have to be extremely successful this year because everybody knows who we are now,鈥� she said.
At the end of the day, Anderson just wants them to be successful, no matter where they play.
Both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams play in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) league. This year, the men鈥檚 team will play five NCAA Division 1 teams including University of Missouri, Texas State University and Tarleton State University.
The next home game for the women's team will be on Nov. 26 and 27 against Dillard University and Philander Smith. The men's basketball team will return to their home turf on Dec. 16 against University of North Texas at Dallas.
鈥淧aul Quinn is a very small school in Dallas,鈥� freshman Michaela Johnson said. 鈥淲ith the new gym, it鈥檚 gonna put Paul Quinn on the map.鈥�
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Keren Carri贸n is a corps member with , a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Got a tip? Email Keren at Kcarrion@kera.org. You can follow Keren on Twitter .
