The Basketball Tournament 2025: The Ville Team Profile

After a loss to the rival last year, The Ville hopes to not only get revenge, but also win the million.

After a 2-1 record in 2023, The Ville brought in one of the most talented teams into the home tournament. With the home crowd behind them, they took care of business in the regional. They then faced La Familia, the Kentucky alumni team, and weren’t able to continue the dream, losing by nine.

They bring in a loaded team yet again, and with home-court advantage, this team has the potential to win it all. They can’t get too confident, though, because in a single-elimination tournament, anything can happen.

For more TBT team profiles, click here.

Current Roster:

• Chane Behanan (Louisville)
• Chris Jones (Louisville)
• David Johnson (Louisville)
• David Sloan (Kansas State & ETSU)
• Earl Clark (Louisville)
• Jay Scrubb (John A. Logan)
• Montrezl Harrell (Louisville)
• Peyton Siva (Louisville)
• Raymond Spalding (Louisville)
• Russ Smith (Louisville)

Coaching Staff:

• Peyton Siva (GM)
• Chrissy Banta (GM)
• Cole McKeel (Asst. Coach)
• Jeremy Kipness (Asst. Coach)
• Keith Oddo (Asst. Coach)
• Mark Lieberman (Asst. Coach)
• Mike Stone (Asst. Coach)

Region: Louisville

All-time Record: 5-2

First Matchup: vs. Boston vs. Cancer (July 19 at 12:30 p.m. EST)

Team MVP: Russ Smith

Russ Smith was the MVP in last year’s team profile, and he showed why, averaging 15.3 PPG to lead the team. He’s one of the best Louisville basketball players of all time, and without a doubt, the best “The Ville” player of all time. He’s a rediciously talented scorer, and gets to the line at a high rate.

While many things are uncertain, you can always count on Smith to step up in a big game. They’ll look to him once again to lead this year, and he’s more than capable of doing so.

Make-or-break Player: Montrezl Harrell 

Getting Harrell last year was a game-changer, and he was a huge reason why they were able to go so far. In his debut, he scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for The Ville. The former NBA sixth man of the year is physically dominant, making him such a tough matchup, and with Chinanu Onuaku not on this year’s roster, he’ll have more opportunities down low.

The big question is… will he play? Harrell is a member of the Big 3 team, the Chicago Triplets, who play during TBT. While he is listed on both rosters, it is unclear what his commitments look like. Without him out there, The Ville’s frontcourt is weak, so his availability could be the difference between a championship ceiling and a regional finish.

Team Outlook

When looking at the guards on this team, there is no team in the entire tournament better. You start with Smith and Peyton Siva, the backcourt of the Louisville national championship team. Siva took a step back last year, but he acts as a GM/Player/Coach, making his off-court role just as important. Then you have David Johnson, who averaged 14.3 PPG last year, and Chris Jones, with just over 10 a game. Then they add Jay Scrubb, who averaged 16 a game in the G-League last year.

They bring in Earl Clark, who has five years of NBA experience under his belt. He’s also in the Big 3, so a few questions surrounding his ability. The Ville should walk through this region, but the four seed, Sideline Cancer is never a team to take lightly.

The game to circle is a quarterfinal rematch against La Familia, the Kentucky Alumni squad. From an attendance standpoint, this would shatter TBT records if it were to happen, so keep your fingers crossed that it does. Basketball is back in the city of Louisville, and this team hopes to recreate the magic of 2013 in 2015.