With The Basketball Tournament around the corner, eight Westchester Knicks alumni are set to compete in the 64-team tournament.
It’s been more than two months since the Westchester Knicks were in action at the Westchester County Center for their final game of the season. Unfortunately, the outcome for the Knicks wasn’t what they expected, as the team finished with a 19-31 record and missed the playoffs.
Many thought it would be the last time multiple former Westchester Knicks players would be in action until next season.
That’s not the case.
The Basketball Tournament will feature eight players who have suited up for the Westchester Knicks.
On the first weekend, The Basketball Tournament will open with the TBT Jamboree, which is where the first former Westchester Knicks will be in action. JR Inman will join uKnighted, a team consisting of Rutgers alumni, and the team will attempt to qualify for The Basketball Tournament.
On June 17 & 18, uKnighted will be one of 16 teams (four teams in each region) competing in the Jamboree. The other three teams competing in TBT Jamboree in the Northeast Region are Wesley Paul Team, Stars & Stripes, and Silver Spring’s Willows Runners.
With two wins, uKnighted can secure a spot in The Basketball Tournament.
Over the course of two seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16), Inman suited up for the Westchester Knicks in nine games. During the Knicks’ inaugural season, the Rutgers product averaged 4.3 points in 11.5 minutes per game on 42.9 percent shooting from the field.
Although he didn’t play for Westchester, Dane Miller, the Knicks’ 2016 fifth-round selection, will join Inman on uKnighted.
Lasan Kromah is another former Westchester Knick who will be appearing in the Northeast Region. City of Gods had successful runs in the previous two years. In both years, the squad won the Northeast region.
City of Gods had a 17-point lead over Overseas Elite in TBT’s 2016 semifinals, but fell to the eventual back-to-back champions. Kromah recorded 22 points in their 2016 semifinals game.
The Queens native played two games with the Westchester Knicks during the 2016-17 season. In his debut against the Delaware 87ers, he totaled 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 24 minutes of action.
John Jenkins joined a team that he’s familiar with. Memorial Magic (Vanderbilt Alumni) will compete out of the South Region. Out of the eight players on Memorial Magic, Jenkins played with six of them during his three years at Vanderbilt.
Jenkins played with Jermaine Beal during his freshman season in 2009-10. He played with Joshua Henderson, Rod Odom, and James Siakam during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 season. The 6’4″ guard played with Lance Goulbourne and Steve Tchiengang, along with the team’s booster, Festus Ezeli, for his entire collegiate career.
Memorial Magic benefits by having built a team that has played together previously and had success. The Commodores compiled a 72-31 record from 2009 to2012, along with winning the 2012 SEC Tournament and making the NCAA Tournament all three years.
In the West region, there’s a team that’s getting a double dose of Westchester Knicks. Team Fredette, which is led by coach Jimmer Freddette, will feature former Westchester Knick guard Jordon Crawford.
Crawford spent most of his NBA D-League career in Westchester (78 games between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 season) before he was traded to the Canton Charge on February 11, 2017.
During his time in Westchester, Crawford was known as a spark plug off the bench. The Bowling Green product would enter the game and provide a defensive presence for the team.
When Fredette received a call-up in February of 2016, the 5’6″ guard stepped into the starting rotation and shot at an efficient rate. In the six games he started, Crawford shot 50.8 percent from the field (an 8.9 percent increase).
During his time in Westchester, Fredette formed a top-notch backcourt alongside Travis Trice. With Fredette and Trice running the backcourt during the 2015-16 season, the team had a mix of mid-range shooting and scoring efficiency.
With the backcourt duo, as well as solid defensive frontcourt presence, the Dub Knicks secured their first ever postseason appearance in 2016.
Along with Crawford and Fredette, Kevin Capers will be competing out of the West region with Pedro’s Posse. With a talented roster, Capers is looking to add his skill set to the team and help them take home the $2 million prize.
Dating back to his time at Florida Southern, Capers has shown an ability to score and knock down shots in the clutch. Even though the Knicks fell short to the Delaware 87ers, the Florida Southern product drained a huge shot against the 87ers in the final 10 seconds of their Dec. 8, 2016 meeting.
He played point guard for most of his second season in Westchester and started to facilitate the team’s offense. In his final eight games, he recorded six or more assists on four occasions. Also, Capers recorded the first double-double (14 points and 10 assists) of his professional career in a 123-111 win over the Long Island Nets.
A fourth former Westchester Knick will be competing out of the West region. Sean Marshall is competing with Team Challenge ALS to win the $2 million grand-prize. The team is playing to raise awareness for ALS.
“Team Challenge ALS is playing to raise awareness and contribute funds to support those affected by ALS. Join us and our dear friend, Pete Frates and help us #StrikeOutALS! DONATE TO THE ALS ASSOCIATION IN HONOR OF PETE BY CLICKING HERE,” Sean Marshall said. (h/t The Basketball Tournament)
Marshall will be the small forward and the GM of the squad.
Sean Marshall played 22 games with Westchester during the 2015-16 season. During his time in Westchester, he showed that he could do a little bit of everything. With the scorers the team had during the 2015-16 season, he wasn’t relied on to score, but he could add 10-to-15 points per outing.
During his time with the Knicks, the Boston College product averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
With the Northeast and West regions featuring multiple former Westchester Knicks, there’s a chance former the former Knicks will square off on the court.
The West region features some tough competition. Some of those teams are Team 23, which were the 2015 runner-ups, and Team Colorado, which were the 2016 runner-ups. With the competition coming out of the West region, there will be many great match-ups in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The Basketball Tournament consists of 5-on-5 games and 64 teams that compete for a grand prize of $2 million. There are four regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West) that have 16 teams per region.
On June 1, nine teams from each region were selected based on fan votes. 24 teams (six per region) were selected “at large.” Finally, one team in each region will make the Tournament via the TBT Jamboree on June 17 (9 a.m.) and June 18 (11 a.m.) in Philadelphia.
The Northeast and South Region will compete on July 8 & 9, while the Midwest and West will compete on July 15 & 16. The Super 16 will be held in New York on July 20-23. The semifinals will take place on Aug. 1.
TBT concludes on Aug. 3 in Baltimore, MD.