Photo courtesy of Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
Carmen’s Crew the Ohio State alumni team that’s participated in the annual TBT Tournament every year since 2017 had the opportunity last summer to become just the second team ever to win back-to-back titles. With a roster that included the likes of Aaron Craft, William Buford, Jon Diebler, and David Lighty, the squad of (mostly) former Buckeyes were one of the favorites to win the $1 Million, winner-take-all tournament in 2020 after beating the Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) in 2019.
Instead of repeating, they did the exact opposite, bowing out in the first round to 16-seed House of ‘Paign (Illinois alumni plus Mike Daum), 76-68. Now, seeding in TBT is not the same as seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Seeding is determined based on prior performance as well as the tournament’s perception of the overall roster. Because Carmen’s Crew won TBT in 2019, they were the top-seed by default. House of ‘Paign was new to TBT last seaso
2021 F Ramses ‘RJ’ Melendez verbally commits to Illinois
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The Fighting Illini’s success this season has distracted us from the fact that Brad Underwood’s staff had surprisingly only secured one commitment from the class of 2021. Illinois was finally able to add another name to that recruiting class Monday evening. Ramses “RJ” Melendez announced his commitment on Instagram:
Melendez, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Central Pointe Christian in Kissimmee, Fla., is rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports composite rankings (97th nationally) and a three-star by Rivals (145th). He chose the Fighting Illini over offers from schools including DePaul, Dayton, Iowa State, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia Tech & Florida. Melendez also played for his native Puerto Rico at the U17 World Championships
House of ‘Paign returning to TBT in 2021
Bring back Mike Daum, please.
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And now, they’ll be back in 2021.
According to Malcolm Hill on Inside TBT podcast, House of ‘Paign will be officially returning to The Basketball Tournament field this summer. BREAKING : Malcolm Hill tells @InsideTbt that House of Paign (@IlliniTBT) will return for TBT 2021!
There’s still a lot of unknowns about this summer’s tournament, including if it will be in a bubble like last summer, how many teams will play, and where it will be played (with Champaign still as a possibility).
We also don’t know who will be on Mike LaTulip’s team, which last year included Hill, Andres Feliz, Leron Black, Michael Finke, and some non-Illini, like heartthrob Mike Daum.