Some of VCU Basketball’s all-time greats will take the Siegel Center floor once again this weekend.
Ram Nation, a team stocked primarily with VCU Basketball alumni, will open play in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Saturday at 8 p.m. at VCU’s E.J. Wade Arena at the Siegel Center. Ram Nation will be the No. 2 seed in the TBT’s South Region. It will take on the winner of Friday’s play-in game between Tampa 20/20 and Cancer +1, held at Benedictine.
For the first time, the Siegel Center will serve as host to the TBT South Regional First and Second Rounds July 14-15. Eight first round games will take place on Saturday, as well as four second round contests on Sunday.
The Ram Nation roster features nine former VCU stars, including Eric Maynor and Bradford Burgess, whose jerseys currently hang in the Siegel Center rafters. Other former Rams scheduled to suit up are Jordan Burgess, Jamal Shuler, Brandon Rozzell, B.A. Walker, Jesse Pellot-Rosa, Melvin Johnson, Juvonte Reddic, and current VCU Director of Player Development Darius Theus. Justin Tuoyo, who began his career at VCU, is also on the roster
Maynor is VCU’s all-time leader in points and assists and led the Rams to a First Round upset of Duke in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Bradford Burgess, Rozzell, Theus and Reddic helped lead VCU to the 2011 Final Four. Seven players on the roster are members of VCU’s 1,000-point club.
Former NBA player Reggie Williams, Ryan Richards – selected by San Antonio in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft – and former Xavier standout James Farr fill out the lineup.
This is Ram Nation’s third year participating in The Tournament. It advanced to the quarterfinals last season before falling to three-time champs Overseas Elite. Overseas Elite returns as the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
Now in its fifth year, The Tournament offers a $2 million winner-take-all prize. The 72-team event kicked off June 29 and will continue with a “Super 16” round in Atlanta, Ga. July 26-28, followed by the semifinals and championship Aug. 2-3 at Morgan State in Baltimore, Md.
To purchase tickets for the South Regional at the Siegel Center, click here: https://goo.gl/ZUkwqx
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