Field Set For “Super 17” Of $1 Million “The Basketball Tournament” Thursday in Chicago

BOSTON - July 21, 2015 - PRLog -- The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the single-elimination, five-on-five, winner-take-all, open-application tournament with a $1 Million prize has its field set for the first-ever “Super 17,” which will be held at McGrath-Phillips Arena on the campus of DePaul University starting on Thursday night, July 23. The field will have 16 teams that played through regionals in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, along with the defending champion Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, who received a bye into Thursday night’s matchup against the lowest remaining Midwest Region seed “Midwest Dream Squad.” That first matchup will be played at DePaul at 7:00 pm CDT on Thursday live on ESPNU.

The Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, led by former All BIG EAST Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough, and Torin Francis, among others, will meet Chicago-area qualifier, and #14 seed in the Midwest Region: Midwest Dream Squad, made up of former Illinois college players, Thursday at 7:00 pm CDT live on ESPNU to start the weekend’s action. Eight games will take place Friday and then four games Saturday to determine the four qualifiers who will advance to Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gym in New York the weekend of August 1 and 2.

The Midwest region will feature the #2 seed Ants Alumni, a reunion of many of the 2013 NBA D-League Champion Fort Wayne Mad Ants, taking on the winner of #14 Midwest Dream Squad and Defending Champion The Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, while Chicago’s Hoopville Warriors (#8 seed) led by former Illinois State stars, Missouri Valley Conference legends and professional veterans Rico Hill and Osiris Eldridge will meet #3 Armored Athlete, a team made up of several former Indiana University players including Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, and Will Sheehey.

The Northeast region qualifiers will feature #1 Boeheim’s Army, coached by former Syracuse University stars Lawrence Moten and Dwayne “Pearl” Washington and led by a team of Syracuse alums including first round pick Hakim Warrick, and #3 City of Gods, which features former NBA players Michael Sweetney and DerMarr Johnson.

The West Region features #6 Team Utah, a collection of BYU, Utah State, Weber State and Utah players, including Utes stars Justin Hawkins, Michael Dale, Jr. and Shaun Green, against #2 LAUNFD (LA Unified), coached by Nick Young of the L.A. Lakers and featuring former NBA players Dijon Thompson, Ike Diogu and Bobby Brown.

The second west region matchup will feature #9 7OUTZ led by Drew Lavender (Xavier) and Paul Marigney (St. Mary’s) against #13 Team 23, a team out of Arizona which also has Bradley’s Zach Andrews.

The South Region matchups Friday will be #3 Overseas Elite meeting #9 Sean Bell All-Stars. Overseas Elite is led by star point guard Errick McCollum II, brother of Portland Trailblazers swingman CJ McCollum and NCAA All-Time three point leader Travis Bader. McCollum scored 82 points in a game in China this year and brings his relentless scoring ability to Chicago. The Sean Bell All-Stars, perennial powerhouses from New York’s Rucker Park, are led by a host of college players from The Big East and Atlantic 10, including Cliff Clinkscales of DePaul and St. John’s Malik Boothe.

The 97-team field has included no fewer than 125 players who have played in either the NBA or the NBA D-League, and over 500 with professional experience. 317 teams applied to make the 97-team field, with each team consisting of a General Manager (GM), at least seven players, and 100+ fan votes. All players must be 18 or older and all games will be played under college rules with two 18-minute halves.

ABOUT THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Conceived by CEO Jonathan Mugar as the ultimate opportunity for fans, athletes and social media mavens to create teams and then participate in a high-stakes, professionally run and organized sporting event, The Basketball Tournament is a winner-take-all, single elimination, open competition for players 18 years of age or older.  In its first season, The Basketball Tournament drew over 100 team entries from around the country with 32 teams ultimately making the field.  Participants ranged from professional players and recent college talent to local legends and pickup basketball stars.  An overwhelming success in its launch year, the event is expanding nationwide in 2015, and doubling its prize. Among the advisors for the event are sports industry veterans Tony Ponturo of Ponturo Management Group, Andy Dolich of Dolich Consulting, and Len DeLuca of Len DeLuca & Associates, LLC. For more details visit http://www.thetournament.com/

Media Contacts:

Fran Kirmser fran@kirmserponturo.com

Joe Favorito, Kirmser Ponturo Group fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com 201-746-0005

Bill Hofheimer/ESPN bill.hofheimer@espn.com 860-766-9589