The hidden history of Johnson C. Smith's Brayboy Madness

CHARLOTTE (CAROLINA SPORTS LIVE) — There’s a lot of chaos that happens at a Johnson C. Smith basketball game.

“Cheerleaders cheering, dancing girls dancing. The football team in the stands acting up,” says Stephen Joyner, Sr., the men’s team’s former longtime coach.

Basically, it gets real loud.

“When students are here, and they are engaged, it’s usually cliché, but it’s electric,” agrees 78-year-old Calvin Banks, a JCSU alumni and longtime fan.

Or to be more accurate….

“It’s just Brayboy Madness,” Banks smiles.

That’s how it’s been known since the 1980s. The term coincided with the sudden resurgence of the Golden Bulls men’s team. Sports Illustrated took note, calling their home one of the loudest places to play in the country.

“We were playing great basketball during those times, and we think it was well deserved,” says Joyner Sr, for whom the school named its court.

The secret was out about JCSU, a program that had once become a hidden hotbed for basketball players in the Carolinas.

“Back when I was in school, for a lot of black players, they went to HBCU black schools, because they weren’t being recruited in the early 60s,” says Banks.

Ultimately, a lot of greats ended up coming here. Like Curly Neal, class of 1963.

“You were watching him perform with the Harlem Globetrotters. You say ‘Okay! That’s a Smith guy,” says Banks.

Then there’s the case of two Earls. The first was a short timer, not to mention one of the game’s greatest what-ifs, having never played in the NBA.

“I came to school in 1965. One of my classmates was Earl Manigault,” says Banks. “Playground legend (from) New York. Earl didn’t get a lot of playing time his freshman year. He said, ‘Forget this.’ He was gone.”

While the other played against JCSU as a member of Winston Salem State, who would later become one of the sport’s all-time legends.