Arizona Basketball: Six Wildcats playing in The Basketball Tournament

With The Basketball Tournament (TBT) set to return, a few former Arizona Basketball stars will prepare with the hopes of taking home the hardware. 

The 2021 The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is on! The tournament starts in four Mid-West regions this season: Wichita (Kansas), Columbus (Ohio), West Virginia, and Illinois, with a $1 Million prize at stake for the players and coaches of the winning team in this single-elimination, win or go home tournament. This year, the tournament will feature six former Arizona Basketball stars.

What is different about games in the TBT? For one, games do not culminate when the clock strikes 0:00, but rather the tournament uses the Elam Ending, where each game ends on a made basket. It was the same ending adopted by the NBA during the 2020 season for the All-Star game.

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The Ringer was beyond happy with the Elam Ending which rids the game of intentional fouls in the final minutes, “The Elam Ending made the NBA All-Star Game fun as hell.” The Elam Ending was originated by Nick Elam who called it the “Hybrid-Duration” format: 

"The Elam Ending calls for the game clock to be shut off at the first dead ball under four minutes in the fourth quarter or second half. A target score is then established by adding eight points to the leading team’s score. For example, if the score is 80-72, the two teams will play until someone reaches 88. With no game clock in play, trailing teams are allowed to focus on getting stops and buckets, rather than intentionally fouling."

Rolling Stone magazine described the tournament as follows: “TBT appeals to the belief that maybe, just maybe, you and your buddies can catch fire for a few games and shock the world. It is more than simply a hoop junkie’s dream; it is, perhaps, the highest-quality basketball this side of the NBA”

To date, former Arizona Basketball star Kyle Fogg has to be the most famous player and Wildcat to have participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) winning four championships. Fogg was on the inaugural Overseas Elite roster for TBT in 2015. In that first season, Overseas Elite beat Team 23 in the final game, 67–65, and became the first TBT Champions to claim the $1 million prize.

The following season, in 2016, Fogg and Overseas Elite defeated Team Colorado 77–72 in the Championship game, earning an additional $2 million team prize. Fogg and Overseas Elite again returned as champions in 2017 beating Team Challenge ALS, 86–83, the game was televised on ESPN for the first time. Fogg logged a game-high 29 points and earned All-Tournament honors for the second straight year along with Tournament MVP.

If that wasn’t enough, Fogg and Overseas Elite for the fourth consecutive season won the 2018 Championship over the Eberlein Drive 70-58.

Neither Overseas Elite nor Fogg will be playing in the TBT for 2021, but six former Arizona Basketball stars hope to follow in his footsteps.

The Wildcats in the Tournament are…

1. Brandon Randolph – Team: No. 13 Mental Toughness – Region: Wichita – First game: July 17, 2:00 PM CDT/1:00 PM MDT – Opponent: No. 4 L.A. Cheaters
2. Chance Comanche – Team: No. 4 L.A. Cheaters (Drew League) – Region: Wichita – First game: July 17, 2:00 PM CDT/1:00 PM MDT – Opponent: No. 13 Mental Toughness
3. Derrick Williams – Team: No. 4 L.A. Cheaters (Drew League) – Region: Wichita – First game: July 17, 2:00 PM CDT/1:00 PM MDT – Opponent: No. 13 Mental Toughness
4. JP Prince – Team: No. 9 Ballineers (Tennessee Alumni) – Region: Columbus – First game: July 23, 2:00 PM EDT, 12:00PM MDT – Opponent: No. 3 Men of Mackey
5. Mark Lyons – Team: No. 3 Zip ‘Em Up (Xavier Alumni) – Region: Columbus – First game: July 24, 8:00 PM EDT, 6:00PM MDT – Opponent: No. 14 Ohio 1804
6. Rawle Alkins – Team: No. 1 Eberlein Drive – Region: Wichita – First game: July 17, 5:00 PM CDT/4:00 PM MDT – Opponent: No. 16 NG Saints

Randolph is playing Comanche and Williams who will both be playing for the Drew League’s team, the L.A. Cheaters, in the first round, so only one team will survive. The Drew League’s team last tournament went pretty far. Savage Life King Rawle landed on a No. 1 ranked team, so he may have the best chance at the bag. There are 64 teams in total, 16 per region much like the NCAA Tournament, four rounds, and the Championship final four which will air on ESPN.

Fun Fact: The Suns Chris Paul is a partner with the TBT.

We wish all our Wildcats good luck in the upcoming exciting TBT! Go Cats!