Men of Mackey Announces Newest Roster Addition for 2024 TBT
Another player will be joining Men of Mackey for the 2024 TBT (The Basketball Tournament). Former UCF and UNLV forward Mbacke Diong has joined this year's squad.
With Diong's commitment, Men of Mackey now has an 11-man roster. The team is a No. 4 seed in the Butler Regional and will play the No. 5 seed Fort Wayne Champs.
We are excited to announce power forward @MbackeDiong from @UCF_MBB & @TheRunninRebels has committed! Welcome to the team!
— Men of Mackey (@PurdueTbt) July 11, 2024
➡️ '21-22: led UCF with a 58.8 FG%
➡️ '21-22: 7 games with 3+ blocks
➡️ '20-21: 8.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg at UNLV
➡️ Former teammate of @WorldStarDave at UNLV pic.twitter.com/pUBRdPOA4l
Diong spent a majority of his career at UNLV, suiting up for the Rebels from 2017-21. He then used his final year of eligibility at UCF during the 2021-22 campaign.
In four seasons at UNLV, Diong averaged 6.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. The 6-foot-11 forward was also a teammate of former Purdue guard and fellow Men of Mackey commitment David Jenkins Jr.
Diong averaged 6.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in his lone season at UCF. He also shot 58.8% from the floor that year.
Men of Mackey roster (school)
- Sasha Stefanovic (Purdue)
- Kelsey Barlow (Purdue)
- David Jenkins Jr. (Purdue)
- Jon Octeus (Purdue)
- Eric Hunter Jr. (Purdue)
- Malik Osborne (Florida State)
- Ian Miller (Florida State)
- Max Landis (Purdue Fort Wayne)
- Bobby Planutis (Purdue Fort Wayne)
- Tahjai Teague (Ball State)
- Mbacke Diong (UNLV/UCF)
What is TBT?
TBT (The Basketball Tournament) is a summer basketball event that features several former college basketball standouts. It's a single-elimination event — similar to the NCAA Tournament — with a $1 million, winner-take-all prize at stake.
Men of Mackey will start the TBT in the Butler Regional (Indianapolis) and play at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Games are scheduled to be played between July 19-23 for the regional. Both Indiana and Butler will also have alumni teams participating in this year's TBT event.
Butler Regional schedule
No. 1 Assembly Ball (Indiana alumni) vs. No. 8 The Cru (Valparaiso alumni)
- Date: Friday, July 19
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- TV: Big Ten Network
No. 4 Men of Mackey (Purdue alumni) vs. No. 5 Fort Wayne Champs
- Date: Friday, July 19
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV: TBT Live
No. 3 Team Arkansas (Arkansas alumni) vs. No. 6 Eberlein Drive
- Date: Friday, July 19
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- TV: TBT Live
No. 2 All Good Dawgs (Butler alumni) vs. No. 7 Fail Harder
- Date: Friday, July 19
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox Sports 2
DUSTIN SCHUTTE