After a disappointing debut last year, Team Gibson cleaned house and looks to have a better go around this time.
Team Gibson came into the tournament with loads of excitement, but left disappointed after a 16-point loss to Boeheim’s Army. This time around, they bring in a completely new team, hoping that this time around, they can win not only the opener but the million dollars.
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Current Roster:
- Akeem Ellis (Coppin State)
- Byron Wesley (USC & Gonzaga)
- Duby Okeke (Winthrop & Nebraska)
- CJ Wilson (Young Harris)
- Emmanuel Egbuta (Tennessee State University)
- Francis BJ Fitzgerald (Virginia State)
- Jovan Mooring (UNLV)
- Malik Anderson (USC & Lee College)
- Rob Howard (Illinois at Chicago)
- Troy Franklin Jr. (Towson & Coppin State)
- Tyler Cheese (Akron)
- Vance Johnson (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Coaching Staff:
- Andre Brown (Asst. Coach)
- Billy Fazio (GM)
- Gregory Watson (GM)
- Taj Gibson (Head Coach)
- Tameek Floyd (GM, Asst. Coach)
Region: Cincinnati
All-time Record: 0-1
First Matchup: vs. Dream 34 (July 19 at 1 p.m. on TBT Live)
Team MVP: Byron Wesley
Byron Wesley had a successful college career, averaging 17.8 a game his senior season for USC. He then went to Gonzaga for his senior season and earned second-team all WCC. He didn’t slow down after that, averaging around 20 points for three seasons in Israel. He’s great at getting to the rim and drawing fouls, which we’ll see quite often.
He also does a great job of staying out of foul trouble, which is going to go a long way. He’ll easily get to double-digit scoring, and don’t be surprised if he hits 25 points in the opening round and pushes Tean Gibson past Dream 34.
Make-or-break Player: Akeem Ellis
Ellis has bounced around but has been productive wherever he goes. In two years with KW Titans in Canada, he averaged 17.8 PPG and 7.2 RPG. At 6’6, those rebounding numbers are impressive, and with this team being relatively small compared to some other opponents, having him crashing the glass will be very useful.
The biggest concern is Ellis’s production level. Ellis is 33 years old, and his production level has started to decrease as of late. He’s still productive, but not putting up the numbers he used to. This tournament is full of recent college grads and players in their mid-20s, so if he can’t keep up, then he may see his time reduced. With that being said, Ellis should have no issues.
Team Outlook
I don’t know what Team Gibson did to deserve this, but they somehow got a three-seed in this tournament. They will take on Dream 34, which has some talent of their own. If they win, they’ll most likely face off with Zip ‘Em Up, an extremely talented team that will have the home crowd behind them.
What makes this team stand out is their head coach. Taj Gibson has played in the NBA for 15 seasons, so he knows a thing or two about the sport. He’ll know when to make the right adjustments and give his team the best opportunity to win. Team Gibson would be even better if he suited up, but even without him, they have a chance to make it out of Cincinnati on top.