HBCU president shows up grad student’s basketball skills in viral video
In a clip seen by millions, Dr. Makola Abdullah, Virginia State University's president, happily schools a student who had no idea he can hoop.
Sometimes, you have to take the youngsters to school. Especially at school.
In a new viral video, Virginia State University’s president, Dr. Makola Abdullah, does just that. He schools one of his graduate school students with his basketball skills.
Afolabi Oyeneyin shared a video of himself recently on Twitter, a clip in which he shows off his mastery of basketball in spots on campus, hilariously crossing over fellow students and even a security guard. Everything was going great for Oyeneyin — until Dr. Abdullah showed up.
In his tweet, Oyeneyin wrote, “I was walking around Virginia State & the President of the school just embarrassed me.”
In the clip, Abdullah immediately steals the ball from the 24-year-old and even bounces it off Oyeneyin’s head before crossing over him, all to the absolute delight of those standing by, cheering.
“I’m not gonna lie, it took a lot for me to post this,” the grad student added to his tweet, along with a laughing emoji, admitting “he definitely got me tho.” Oyeneyin vowed that a rematch between the two men would be coming soon.
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The viral video has garnered more than 5 million views as of Monday morning. Dr. Abdullah commented on it, saying, “You already know it’s all love. I can’t wait until everybody is back on campus.” The two posed for a photo clad in face masks.
One commenter wrote: “Appreciate this might be hard to post, but you and the Prez made a lotta people smile. Thank you for that.”
Virginia State University, an HBCU founded in 1882, is located in Petersburg, Virginia. The college is well-known for its agricultural, business and education programs. It is also a Division II school, where Oyeneyin played on the basketball team.
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Dr. Abdullah has been president of the university since 2016. The Chicago native is also the chair of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Board of Directors.
As for Oyeneyin, he might agree that his viral video fits the VSU motto: “A Transformative Experience.”
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