Past UCSB basketball stars will play in The Tournament this summer
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -
The Basketball Tournament is a 64-team, single-elimination event that will take place during July and August, and will consist of teams primarily made up of alumni from NCAA programs.
Former UC Santa Barbara basketball players D.J. Posley and Alex Harris, acting as General Managers, are creating a team made up mostly of former Gaucho players to play in the event. The team will be called The Locos. Posley will also act as the sponsor and head coach while Harris will be an assistant coach and player.
"This is a great chance to get former players together from different eras engaged and competing with each other," Posley said. "We believe this is a great opportunity to create a pro club of former Gauchos to compete for UCSB and the city of Santa Barbara again. It gives the fans of the program the opportunity to continue supporting the successs of the athletes in sports and in life."
The team rosters will consist of a minimum of seven players and a maximum of 10. To qualify for participation in TBT, teams must submit their rosters by June 15.
The Regional portion of the tournament will take place at four locations: Wichita State (July 16-20), West Virginia (July 17-21), Illinois State (July 24-28) and Ohio State (July 23-27). Two teams will advance out of the Regionals and face off over Championship Weekend at Dayton on July 31-August 3. The championship game will be televised by ESPN on Aug. 3 at 9:00 p.m. and there is a winner-take-all $1 million prize for the victorious team.
In addition to Harris, the 2008 Big West Player of the Year, the team has received commitments from 2010 Big West Player of the Year Orlando Johnson as well as Michael Bryson, Leland King, Max Heidegger, Devearl Ramsey, Brandon Cyrus and Ami Lakoju. Bryson, King and Heidegger were First Team All-Big West selections while Ramsey was honorable mention.
Fans will also have an opportunity to participate in the "Fan Contest." Information on how to participate as a fan, tournament rules, past results, etc., can be found at TheTournament.com.
Former UCSB players interested in participating or fans interested in helping to sponsor the team are asked to email Posley at dw@lotterypick.digital.
Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics
