Vote for JMU Basketball Alums to Play in The Basketball Tournament

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual 5 on 5 single elimination tourney that anyone over 18 can play in. The field will be made up of 64 teams competing for the winner-takes-all $2 million prize. ESPN will be broadcasting the games from the round of 16 on. This is the fourth year and it really is a fun event. But it’s not just for regular weekend warriors. Past tournaments have featured guys like Mike Bibby, Matt Bonner, and others with NBA experience. Most teams feature former college players and overseas professionals. It’s legit hoops.

Why is this important? Because former JMU Basketball manager Joe Kuykendall and former JMU Basketball Video Coordinator Kevin Allbright have put together a team. Of course it’s a team of former JMU ballers. It’s called the “The Founding Fathers.” So far, Ron Curry, AJ Davis, Devontae Morgan, Kyle Swanston, and James Millen have signed on. Other past Dukes greats are in negotiations to join as well.

Here’s the important part. Regular fans get to decide who plays in the TBT. The bracket will follow the same sort of four, sixteen team region format of another tourney you might be familiar with. And 9 teams in each region will get “bids” based on the results of an online vote. Seven other teams will be given at large bids, provided the reach a minimum number of votes and fulfill some other eligibility requirements. The final slot in each region will go to a team that plays its way in via a TBT Jamboree.

It’s an online vote people. That’s pretty much a JMU speciality at this point. So vote, vote vote! It’s a fun tourney and it’d be great to see some Dukes cut down the nets on ESPN and capture the $2 million prize. Oh yeah, one more thing. The fans who vote can get a cut of that prize. That’s right. Your vote could get some Dukes into TBT and net you some cash. The top 100 fans of the winning team will each take home between $1,000 and $20,000. That’s not a bad return for just voting. And rootin’.