Hi everyone!

I'm writing to put this idea out there with the hopes that someone better than me will help make it happen.

Every summer, there's a 64-team basketball tournament confusingly named "The Basketball Tournament" (TBT). All the games are on ESPN platforms, and the winning team splits a $2 million prize. It's free to participate; the only catch is that you need get the players, obviously, and get people to sign up (for free) on the TBT website and vote your team in.

The teams are primarily made up of former college players not quite good enough to play in the NBA. You see some G-League players, some guys who play in the Vegas Summer League, a lot of guys who have played or are playing internationally and are home during their off season.

Many of the teams are alumni teams. Last year, Ohio State, VCU, Syracuse, Marquette, Bradley, Pitt, Iona, Utah, Colorado, St. Louis, Villanova, USF, and more fielded alumni teams.

I always thought it would be awesome for William & Mary to field an alumni team, and this would be the perfect year to do it: one of the regionals is being held in Richmond, VA from July 13-15. If the format is the same as in past years, the players will need to get to the first round themselves, and if they advance, TBT will pay for the team's travel for the next two rounds.

I put in a half-hearted effort last year, which mostly consisted of me Facebook messaging Brandon Britt and seeing if he wanted to drum up interest. He seemed interested, but it didn't go anywhere. I've since moved out of the area, but the truth is, I'm just not really connected enough to take the lead.

So, I'm putting the idea out here with the hopes that someone will take the ball and run with it. I'm happy to help in any way I can -- I can pass along my contact at TBT, and I'm sure I could useful on the get out the vote front. But the big pieces are going to be 1) connecting with the players, and 2) connecting with the school. The better organized teams run a mini camp of sorts to get everyone on the same page. The savvier schools embrace it, hosting the teams and letting it serve as a showcase for the school.

If anyone has any questions, let me know. Go Tribe!

https://www.thetournament.com/

Sounds cool. If you can get the players previously mentioned in the other thread (Marcus, Daniel, Terry, Omar) then I would be glad to volunteer to be the 5th man standing around trying not to get in their way.

Ha! See, I was sort of hoping that you would bring in all the talent and I would soak up the glory. Your plan just sounds ridiculous.

For anyone interested, the 2018 edition is underway. Half the first-round games were played last weekend. Most notably, VCU hosted a regional and had capacity crowds for both of their alumni team's (Ram Nation) victories. ODU's alumni team won a game before falling to the three-time reigning champion, Overseas Elite.

The second set of first round games take place this Friday-Sunday. Among the players competing is William & Mary's own Marcus Thornton, who will be suiting up for Armored Athlete. They play on Saturday at 3:10 against a team of DC area players, DC on Point. If they win, they'll play the winner of Gael Nation (an Iona alumni team) and Team Sideline Cancer at 2:50 PM on Sunday. All of this round's games are on ESPN3.

https://www.thetournament.com/players/marcus-thornton