War Ready look to turn their The Basketball Tournament luck around with a roster of Auburn fan-favorites.
In terms of success, we haven’t seen it from War Ready. They are 1-4 all time, including a 24 point loss in the first round last year. This year, while they do bring back several players from last year’s team, they’ve upgraded, bringing in loads of guard talent. Hopefully for War Ready, we don’t see a performance like Auburn’s team last year, but rather the Final 4 performance a few years prior.
For more TBT team profiles, click here.
Current Roster:
- Babatunde Akingbola (Auburn & George Washington)
- Cinmeon Bowers (Auburn)
- J’Von McCormick (Auburn & Lee College)
- John Florveus (Georgia)
- Laron Smith (Georgia State, Bethune Cookman, & Auburn)
- Malik Dunbar (Auburn)
- Noah Horchler (Providence)
- Romani Hansen (Albany & Savannah State)
- Samir Doughty (Auburn)
- Terell Smith (Limestone University)
- TJ Dunans (Auburn)
- Toarlyn Fitzpatrick (South Florida)
- Wendell Green Jr. (Auburn)
Coaching Staff:
- Jeremy Calzone (Asst. Coach)
- Marc Hughes (Head Coach)
- Matt Moschella (GM)
- Michael Davis Jr. (Asst. Coach)
Region: Lexington
All-time Record: 1-4
First Matchup: vs. D2 (July 19 at 6 p.m. on TBT Live)
Team MVP: Wendell Green Jr.
While he is one of the shortest players in the whole tournament at 5’11, he is one of the more talented ones. He’s a high-volume shooter and not necessarily the most efficient, but he can get to 15 points without a sweat, and that’s what this team needs. What’s even more important is his passing. Green averaged around 5 assists a game in his three college seasons, and having a facilitator like Green will make the lives of his teammates easier and finds his teammates for open shots late in the game, which could be crucial if they’re trailing.
He’s taken his game to the next level overseas. He averaged 20.8 points per game this season in Serbia, and has severely increased his shooting splits. With a solid performance in the TBT, don’t be surprised if he gets a call from an NBA team.
Make-or-break Player: Samir Doughty
Auburn fans love Doughty, and War Ready is excited for him to perform in this year’s TBT. As a senior at Auburn, Doughty averaged 16.7 points per game, and had his team primed for a big tournament run before COVID canceled it. He hasn’t been able to replicate his college success since, but this is a great opportunity to do so. He’s an aggressive driver, and can shoot if needed. Moreover, he’s a leader on the court. If he can replicate the success that we saw in his senior season, the ceiling raises significantly, they can turn that 1-4 record to 4-4 or better.
Team Outlook
War Ready has a nice blend of everything. They have fast high-scoring guards, versatile forwards, and defensive and rebounding centers. While the key contributors didn’t play last year, they do have four players on the team who played in the TBT last year, so at least they have a little experience. J’von McCormick and Malik Dunbar are also guys who can turn it up and leave a mark on their team.
If they want to rite the ship and finally win multiple games, they’ll need to beat D2, who are 2-3 themselves all time. The matchup to watch for would be a third-round matchup against La Familia, a fellow SEC alumni team in Kentucky. The two teams have had great battles in the past, so adding a TBT one to the list would be special. This team is war ready, and will do whatever they can to win the million.