Around The Basketball League: Thanks To HBCU Basketball Success At Winston-Salem State, Rob Colon Embodies Tough All-Around Pro Game For The TBL's Carolina Coyotes

From winning a National Championship in 2020, to navigating the rocky waters of professional basketball, Rob Colon is making an immediate impact in Columbia, South Carolina through sheer resiliency.

Columbia, South Carolina — Tucked away in the quaint North Carolina town of Winston-Salem sits Winston-Salem State University, a historical black public university with deep roots in the community dating back over a 130 years and counts NBA Hall of Famer Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, NASCAR driver Rajah Caruth, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, religious leader Louis Farrakhan, and legendary Tuskegee Airman, Spurgeon Neal Ellington, as some of their notable alumni members. Those five men and former Rams along with countless others down through the storied history at WSSU have lived-out the school motto in one way or another. 

They entered to learn. 

They departed to serve. 

You can go ahead and add Robert Colon’s name to that impressive list.

Entering the third week of play in The Basketball League with the Carolina Coyotes, “Rob” has shown a consistent prowess for serving up the competition on the court in a professional league equally founded on imparting some hoops wisdom before guys venture off to play internationally, in the G League, or even seize their shot at living out their own dreams of playing in the Association. That’s a strong goal to have, an objective that’s beginning to take shape on the floor for the Coyotes’ guard in the first four games of the TBL season in the steep Southeast Conference. 

“I am just happy to be able to be playing the game that I love every day, honestly. This is getting me ready for what's next in my life with basketball and this experience. ” Colon told Around The Basketball League when asked about settling in with his new team in the TBL. 

The Coyotes are currently sitting at 3-1 on the season tied for first in the Southeast right alongside the 3-1 Tallahassee Southern Kings.

“I love impacting the game in more ways than just scoring.”

A 2016 graduate of Northside High School in Jacksonville where he ranked among the Top 50 in the state of North Carolina, Rob moved on to display his natural abilities playing WSSU under head coach Clem Hill Jr. and became a deadly shooter each time down the floor. 

Over his four-year career at the NCAA Division II program, he became the second all-time leader in three point field goals made in program history, ranks seventh in scoring (1,737 career points), and tenth in assists. With a well-rounded game, those numbers were enough to etch his name in the WSSU history books as the 47th all-time leading scorer in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Rob also went out a winner in unforgettable fashion. Two years ago he experienced the true madness of March after hitting three free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining to complete a late comeback by WSSU as the Rams defeated Fayetteville State University 63-62 to capture the 2020 CIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament title at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rob finished with 25 points in the championship game and was named Tournament MVP. 

“I feel as a point guard that I need to keep developing my mid range game, seeing how good other point guards have it in their games. My strengths are still shooting the ball, passing, and defending. My toughness comes from where I am from and playing HBCU basketball at Winston-Salem State University.”

That toughness and resilience keeps propelling him forward in his professional career. Rob signed to play professionally in Bolivia and then the Dominican Republic before suiting up back in the states for the Coastal Elite Pirates of the ECBL in 2021. While back home, he also solidified his brotherly bond in basketball further by playing for HBCUnited in the TBT on a squad that included Arnold Fripp (Coppin State), Lamar Morgan (Coppin State), Jermaine Marrow (Hampton), Phil Carr (Morgan State), Charles Williams (Howard), Derrick Jamerson (Norfolk State), Steven Whitley (Norfolk State), Cletrell Pope (Bethune Cookman), Ron Jackson (North Carolina A&T), Tiwian Kendley (Morgan State), and was coached by current Howard assistant coach, Jake Brown.

“Joining that team was a no-brainer for me. We had a bond because of the HBCU movement. We were playing for something,” Rob added before shifting his attention to playing professionally. 

“Those times were good overseas but they are very different from the United States. I plan on playing internationally again, but my dreams and goals are to make it to the NBA. The thing that surprised me the most (about turning professional) is the process in which you are selected to play overseas. There are a lot of talented players in the United States who still haven’t gotten an opportunity, so my advice to give a player is to keep working hard and don’t let up on anything that you do.” 

After the first week of TBL action Colon’s name was splattered all over TBL stats leader board where he ranked among the best rebounders (13 total rebounds, 11 defensive rebounds) and distributors (11 assists) to go along with his 21 point, 2 block, and 1 steal performance in Carolina’s 120-17 road victory over the Raleigh Firebirds. Eleven days later, he was at it again against the Firebirds by scoring 31 points and grabbing 8 rebounds to give the Coyotes the 121-117 win and improve their record to 3-1 on the season. On the season, Rob is now averaging 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and leads the team in assists with 7.7 dimes per game. 

With both the Huntsville Hurricanes and Gulf Coast Lions next up on the TBL schedule for Carolina, Rob gets back to work on the court in Columbia clutching two characteristics that served him well on and off of the floor just a 170 miles up the road in Winston-Salem.  

“It meant everything to me to play at an HBCU school because of the culture and the love I received from everyone during my four years of basketball,” Rob explained fondly. 

“I learned how to lead and win.”

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Wendell Maxey has covered and written about professional basketball and sports for 19 years and has previously been featured on ESPN.com, NBA.com, USA Today, FOX Sports, and SLAM Magazine among other publications and outlets. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn or read through his archive on Linktree.