After a close loss to the eventual champions last year, the LA Cheaters plan to make a run of their own this year.
Last year, LA Cheaters went 1-1. In their second game against Team Heartfire, the target score was 62, with Heartfire up 54-52. The two teams would go back and forth, with the first shot by Casper Ware 3, then Marcus Hall for Heartfire made a jumper, and then the Cheaters’ Kaden Anderson made a layup. After that, the LA Cheaters couldn’t make a basket.
In back-to-back years, Team Heartfire having taken them down, but with the two teams being in different regions, the window has opened for the Cheaters to finally make a deep run and potentially win it all.
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Current Roster:
- Casper Ware Jr. (Long Beach State)
- Chris Copeland (Colorado)
- Erwin Ware (Mount Sac Junior College)
- Jerry Evans (Nevada)
- Kaden Anderson (Point Loma Nazarene University)
- Kenneth Nwuba (UCLA)
- Marcus Bell (Cal State Stanislaus)
- Mark Ogden Jr (Utah Tech)
- Pe’shon Howard (Maryland/USC)
- Sedrick Barefield (Utah)
- Terrell Carter (Fresno State)
- Van Girard II (CSU-Dominguez Hills)
Coaching Staff:
- Casper Ware (GM, Head Coach)
- Richard Clay (Assistant Coach)
- Russell Brown (Assistant Coach)
Region: Wichita
All-time Record: 5-4
First Matchup: vs. Florida TNT (July 20 at 6 p.m. on TBT Live)
Team MVP: Casper Ware
Casper Ware is the main cog for this team. Moving into his sixth year playing in TBT, he continues to be an athlete and can score from anywhere. Ware is a leader for this team and how it runs with him on and off the floor. Besides that, his father being the coach translates to Casper and Erwin being an active coach on the floor. These players have the playdown pat, know what to do, and find ways to score.
Casper is a sharpshooter, and it will be needed. Ware hit two threes last year, and averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds a game. Ware is a staple of the tournament and the key reason why this LA Cheaters team can get hot.
Make-or-break Player: Pe’shon Howard
After playing for In The Lab in The Basketball Tournament last year, Howard has switched to the LA Cheaters. He adds another player who finds ways to score. Howard is a former G-League player, and his talent is impressive. His addition, again, makes this team scary. He adds a sharpshooter, but he is also a shot creator. Howard creates shots for himself and others, which is a positive move for this team.
Team Outlook
The LA Cheaters earned the 6 seed this year, a surprising number given the success in the last two seasons. In their first game, they’ll face Florida TNT, a team with nine all-time TBT wins, one of the best in the whole tournament. They would also have to potentially play Mass Street, the Kansas alumni team, and the Aftershocks the Wichita State alumni team. They certainly won’t have home court, but they’ve become used to that. If they were to play Heartfire for a third year in a row, it would be in the championship game, which would make one heck of a storyline.
Other key players on this team include former Indiana Pacer and New York Knick Chris Copeland, who averaged 11.5 PPG last year for the LA Cheaters, and Sedrick Barefield, the talented former Utah Ute. They return seven guys from last year’s team, and that continuity will certainly help. This team is certainly capable of making noise in Wichita, so keep an eye out.