Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Morey Hershgordon
Former Quinnipiac basketball guard Evan Conti has a chance to win a share of $2 Million in the upcoming weeks. How? The 2015 graduate, who played professionally in Israel this past season, will participate in the third annual The Basketball Tournament (TBT) event.
“I got involved with the team, 7 Outz, through one of my American teammates this season in Israel, Paul Marigney,” Conti said via email. “He was an all-league player at St. Mary’s and played at high levels overseas for the past 10 years.”
Sponsored by ESPN, the TBT is made up of a range of former college basketball players. Some guys are still playing professionally, but none are in the NBA. Former NBA players Mike Bibby, Mike Sweetney, Jason Williams and Hakim Warrick, to name a few, are playing in the tournament.
7 Outz is led by Marigney and former Xavier guard Andrew Lavender. Last year 7 Outz was the tournament’s Cinderella as it advanced to the Super 16 after it upset top-seeded Grantland which boasted NBA champions Bibby and Brian Scalabrine. With the win-or-go-home format, Conti believes his team could make some noise yet again.
“I think that if we find a way to win these two games this weekend and get to the Super 16 anything can happen. It’s a single elimination tournament and when the talent level is full of experienced professionals trying to win $2 million you never know how far you could go.”
In the first round, his team will face No. 11 seed Air Force Bomb Squad on Saturday July 9 at 12:30 p.m. PT. If his team wins, it would likely face the No. 3 seed A Few Good Men, a team made up of Gonzaga alumni. Two wins would land Conti in Philadelphia and airtime on ESPN.
Conti, whose share will be $100,000 if his teams wins it all, flew out to California during the middle of this week and has been practicing with his new team for a few days. He’s been enjoying the nice weather by spending down time on the beach.
“The goal is obviously to win the tournament, but it’s great to be in the gym with these guys all week and get to go to California for the first time while being able to compete in such a great event.”
Whether the team makes a run to New York City or loses the first game, Conti is thankful for the opportunity and knows he’ll be back next year, maybe even with his former Quinnipiac teammates.
“It’s nice to represent QU in an event like this that is only growing. Hopefully next year some of us alumni can get a team together and compete in this tournament. We have very talented alumni that can make a run in this tournament in the future which would also be great exposure for the University.”
The TBT, originally formed in 2014 as a free-to-enter, winner-take-all tournament with a $500,000 prize has turned into the summer version of March Madness. Just like the big dance, 64 teams compete throughout four regions (Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Charlotte) nationwide. The first two rounds are July 9-10 and July 16-17. The Super 16 and Elite 8 will be in Philadelphia on July 21-23. The Final Four and Championship game will be played at Fordham University July 31 and Aug. 2 on ESPN.
Other MAAC players in the event:
Louie McCroskey (Syracuse/Marist) – West Coast Ronin
George Beamon (Manhattan) – Basketball City NYC
Rhamel Brown (Manhattan) – Basketball City NYC
Scott Machado (Iona) – HBC
Mike Glover (Iona) – Team Fancy
Tre Bowman (Iona) – Sideline Cancer
Nate Brown (Saint Peter’s) – 120 Sports
Navar Gadson (Rider) – Sideline Cancer
