Best Virginia

Brad Smith   |  
Jun 11, 2019

The Basketball Tournament (TBT), airing on ESPN and starting July 19th, is a single-elimination tournament consisting of teams vying for a $2 million winner take-all cash prize.  There are 64 total teams and 8 Regions (8 teams per region).  “Best Virginia“, comprised of ten former WVU players, is the #4 ranked team in the Richmond Region.

Best Virginia is truly magnificent, featuring Da’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones, Nathan Adrian, Darryl “Truck” Bryant, Joe Alexander, Jaysean Paige, Tarik Phillip, Juwan Staten, Devin Williams and General Manager/Player John Flowers.

This is a deep, talented team.  Not only are they deep and talented, this is a team filled with winners.  All members of the team are NCAA Tournament battle-tough and have represented (and often led) the Mountaineers in the Sweet Sixteen, Elite 8 or Final Four.  All of the players, with the exception of Nathan Adrian, have played professionally either overseas or in the NBA G League.

Best Virginia will be coached by former WVU point guard Jarrod West, who is the current Head Coach of Notre Dame High School’s basketball team.  Former WVU Assistant Coach Billy Hahn will serve as an assistant.  Dave Tallman, Morgantown High School’s Head Coach, will also serve as an assistant coach.

Looking at the other 63 teams, West Virginia can compete with any of them from a talent perspective.  Some teams have played together for a lot longer, but the core group of Butler, Jones and Bryant have all played together a lot in college already.   In other words, chemistry shouldn’t be an issue, particularly with a group of unselfish, team-first players like Best Virginia has.

One particular team that might present problems for Best Virginia is the defending champions, Overseas Elite, who has won the tournament four consecutive years.  Best Virginia, if able to win their first round game against #5 Seven City Royalty, which is a team comprised of Old Dominion Alumni, will have to play the 4-time champion Overseas Elite in the 2nd round.  According to General Manager John Flowers, he’s fine with playing the champions in the 2nd round:

This is a confident, tough Best Virginia team that will be an extremely tough out in The Basketball Tournament and this is a tremendous opportunity for fans to see some of WVU’s best players ever on the court playing together again, trying to bring back some of that old Mountaineer Magic and win $2 million.

For more information on The Basketball Tournament, visit the official website at:  https://thetournament.com/

Visit the Best Virginia official page at:  https://thetournament.com/teams/best-virginia-west-virginia-alumni

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