Defending Champion Overseas Elite, Baltimore’s City of Gods, Bradley’s
“Always A Brave,” University of Colorado Alumni Team Advanced From A National
Field Over The Past Three Weeks
WHAT: Semi-finals
of “The Basketball Tournament,” a $2 million winner take all event that started
with 64 teams from all over the country.
WHERE: Fordham University’s Rose Hill
Gym, Bronx, NY
WHEN: Semi-finals Saturday at 5 and 7 (live on ESPN) -- Winner Take All Final Tuesday August 2 at 7 pm (Live on ESPN)
WHO: #2
seed Overseas Elite (South Champion) -- Defending Champions, never lost,
11-0 in two years of TBT. Familiar names include: DJ Kennedy (St. John’s), Kyle
Fogg (Arizona), Errick McCollum (brother of Portland star C.J.), Myck Kabongo
(Texas), Paris Horne (St. John’s), St. Joseph’s alum Todd O’Brien, and South
Carolina’s Jhondre Jefferson.
#1 City of Gods
(Northeast Champion) -- City of Gods features a number of players with
Baltimore ties on their roster, including former Georgetown Hoyas Chris Wright
and Michael Sweetney, (Knicks lottery pick), George Washington University
alumni Lafonte Johnson, Lasan Kromah, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Maryland alumnus
James Gist, Drexel alum Phil Goss, Temple alum David Hawkins, James Wright and
Dermarr Johnson from Cincinnati, Xavier Silas from Northern Illinois and Omar
Strong from Texas Southern. City of Gods
is coached by long-time NBA and International pro development coach Joe
Connelly III, a Morgan State grad and brother of Phoenix Suns Asst. GM Pat and
Denver Nuggets GM Tim. Probably their
best-known player is Mensah-Bonsu, who played in the NBA for two-plus seasons
with the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Houston
Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, and played overseas for several years.
#9 Always a Brave
(Midwest Champion) -- Lowest remaining seed in TBT. Always A Brave advanced
out of the Midwest Regional in Chicago and the Super 16 in Philadelphia. The squad, which is primarily the reunited
squad from Bradley University that advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2006 NCAA
Tournament, overcame #6 seed Golden Eagles Alumni (a Marquette alumni squad),
89-81 in the Super 16 nightcap Saturday night in Philadelphia. Coached by
retired Bradley assistant coach Chuck Buescher, Always A Brave’s roster
includes Bradley 2006 NCAA Sweet 16 alumni players Tony Bennett, Jeremy Crouch,
Will Franklin, Phillip Gilbert, Patrick O’Bryant, Daniel Ruffin, Matt Sally and
Marcus Sommerville, plus later Bradley alumni Walt Lemon, Sam Maniscalco and
Andrew Warren, and Indiana alumnus A.J. Guyton.
#5 Team Colorado
(West Champion) -- Team Colorado advanced out of the West Regional in Los
Angeles and the Super 16 in Philadelphia.
Team Colorado won over #7 seed Team Utah, 83-78, Saturday night in
Philadelphia. All 11 players and coach
Dwight Thorne II are alumni of the University of Colorado, including Dominique
Coleman, Austin Dufault, Marcus Hall, Marcus King-Stockton, Levi Knutson,
Jayson Obazuaye, Marcus Relphorde, Richard Roby, Scott Senger, Shannon Sharpe
and Calvin Williams.
ABOUT TBT: Conceived by CEO Jonathan Mugar as the
ultimate opportunity for fans, athletes and social media mavens to live out
their dreams and chase once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, TBT is a high stakes
sports/media event that is changing the way people consume professional sports.
In its first two seasons, The Basketball Tournament drew over 400 team entries
and over 100,000 participating fan entries from around the country.
Participants range from professional players and recent college stars to pickup
basketball players and fans who have never even played the game. Among the event’s advisors are Tony Ponturo
of Ponturo Management Group, Andy Dolich of Dolich Consulting, and Len DeLuca
of Len DeLuca & Associates, LLC.
CONTACT: Jesse Leeds-Grant (credentials) jesse@thetournament.com 845-612-9323
Joe
Favorito/917-566-8345 joefavorito2@gmail.com