It might be the Syracuse region, but Buffalo alumni team Blue Collar U won’t be afraid to spoil things for the Orange faithful.
Blue Collar U won TBT in 2022 and now look to defend in a loaded region that includes 2021 TBT champs Boeheim’s Army. One team will have to give, and Western New York college basketball fans are hoping it’s the UB alumni team.
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Current Roster:
- Antwain Johnson (Buffalo)
- Antwon Lillard (Bowling Green)
- Blake Hamilton (Northern Arizona, Mt. San Antonio, & Buffalo)
- CJ Massinburg (Buffalo)
- Davonta Jordan (Buffalo)
- Dontay Caruthers (Buffalo)
- Jeremy Harris (Buffalo)
- Lamonte Bearden (Buffalo & Western Kentucky)
- Montell McRae (Buffalo)
- Nick Perkins (Buffalo)
- Wes Clark (Missouri & Buffalo)
- Xavier Ford (Buffalo)
Coaching Staff:
- Adam Bauman (Head Coach)
- Bryan Hodgson (GM)
- Edric Dennis Jr. (Asst. Coach)
- Tom Fox (Asst. Coach)
- Wes Scheier (Asst. Coach)
Region:
- Syracuse, New York
Team MVP: Nick Perkins
Big men don’t always dominate in TBT but Nick Perkins was critical in Blue Collar U’s run to the championship in 2022. The Buffalo big man led the team with 21 points and 8 rebounds in a quarterfinals win over Team Heartfire. Then, in the championship game, Perkins was also the high scorer for Blue Collar U, with 19 points.
On a team with so many players who can score, Perkins is also tasked with owning the paint. Having so much pressure to perform isn’t for everyone, but Perkins excels in his role.
Make-or-break Player: Dontay Caruthers
In 2022, it was mostly Perkins, Wes Clark, Jeremy Harris, and CJ Massinburg leading the way. In 2023, I’d like to see Dontay Caruthers step up. The Rochester, NY native was always an underrated player during his time in Buffalo. Despite only averaging 6.9 points per game for his collegiate career, Caruthers was known to explode from time to time. he had multiple 20-point games as a sophomore and had a career high 28 points at Bowling Green as a junior. Caruthers doesn’t need to be a 20-point per game scorer in every game for Blue Collar U, but if they are to make another deep run, a big game here and there can help take the weight off the stars.
Team Outlook
Blue Collar U has so many scoring options, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Most of the players on this team played at UB when they were dominating the MAC and scoring a heck of a lot of points. They clearly didn’t lose it, dominating the scoreboards in their tournament run in 2022.
Now, the team has a target on their back. How will they respond? They should have a good following down the road in Syracuse, but Boeheim’s Army will be the favorite, even if they aren’t the 1-seed in this region. A Blue Collar U versus Boeheim’s Army matchup would be great for TBT.