PREVIEW: Best Virginia Meets Team 23 in Round 3 of the TBT
The West Virginia University men’s basketball alumni team, Best Virginia, takes on Team 23 in the third round of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Wednesday night at approximately 9:00 EST and streaming on ESPN3.
“Any team that you’re going to play at this point this in the tournament is going to be good,” said head coach James Long. If you’re in the tournament at this point in time, you’ve got a great makeup, you’ve got great chemistry, and that’s what Team 23 has. They have a solid group of guys.”
Team 23 has three ex-NBA players in guard Walt Lemon, Jr. and forward Daniel Ochefu, as well as guard Marcus Hall, who guided the Colorado alumni squad to the 2016 title game, but forward Raphiael Putney leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.0 points and along with Ochefu, a team-leading 6.0 rebounds per game. Three other members of Team 23 are averaging double figures: forward Eric Griffin, guard Craig Sword, and (11.0) Walt Lemon (10.0).
Mike Lawrence/TBT
Best Virginia has forced 27 in the first two games and held both opponents to under 40% shooting from the field. Kevin Jones has led all scorers in the first two games, averaging 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, while Tarik Phillip is averaging 11 points and five assists per game and has six steals during that span.
Best Virginia has gotten big contributions from multiple guys. Forward John Flowers went for 15 points in the opening round. Nate Adrian put up eight of his 11 points in the final five minutes of the third period in the second-round win over D2. However, the late addition of Jamel Morris has paid off. He’s been a stand hand in the first two games and has gone for nine and 11, respectively.
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