Love Virginia looks to do just that, bringing the love in this TBT to Harrisonburg, Virginia
Love Virginia makes their debut in the tournament, and no better place to start than in their home state of Virginia. With a mixture of size and speed, this team could fly under the radar and give their two-seed opponent a tough first-round matchup. They lack TBT experience, but hopefully the learning curve is short, and they can make a name for themselves in this tournament.
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Current Roster:
- Dajour Dickens (Providence, Old Dominion, Hampton)
- DeMonte Buckingham (UNC Greensboro)
- Deshaun Morman (Towson)
- Jordan Talley (UNC Wilmington)
- Justin “Tu Tu” Lewis (Mercer)
- Keysean Faulkner Smith (Virginia Union)
- Khris Lane (VCU)
- Maliek White (Providence College)
- Malik Johnson (Canisius)
- Walter Williams III (Virginia State)
Coaching Staff:
- CJ Wiggins (GM, Head Coach)
- Phillip Owens II (Asst. Coach)
- Lual Rahama (Asst. Coach)
Region: James Madison
All-time Record: 0-0
First Matchup: vs. Shell Shock (July 18th at 6:00 p.m. EST)
Team MVP: De’Monte Buckingham
Buckingham is a Swiss Army Knife type of player, averaging 12 points, 7.5 rebounds, and six assists a game in the Swedish league. He shot well from the line as well, shooting just over 80%. Buckingham will be the facilitator and on-court leader for this team. He’ll most likely have the offense run through him, and he’ll make his teammates better.
Love Virginia’s first-round opponent has a lot of great guards, so they’ll need to be able to size up with them and not let them take over the game. With Buckingham on the court, he can help with that.
Make-or-break Player: Malik Johnson
Johnson might be coming off the best individual season on Love Virginia, averaging 13.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, and 6.8 assists per game for his team in Poland. His playmaking can be crucial to his team’s success, like we saw overseas.
If Johnson can do a good job putting his teammates in good spots and generate easy shots for himself and them, it could be the difference maker for his team. He can also decide to put the team’s fate in his hands and try to get some buckets if the rest of his team is struggling.
Team Outlook
Love Virginia got the seven seed and will face Shell Shock, the Maryland alumni team, in the first round. As mentioned earlier, this team has a lot of great guards, and it might be tricky to keep up. On paper, this is definitely a mismatch, but anything can happen in TBT, and Shell Shock has just one win.
The big X-Factor could be the crowd. Shell Shock will definitely have a big fan base, but if the Virginia locals can come out and support and give them that boost, that could work very well in their favor. The road for Love Virginia is tough, but they’re optimistic and focused on the prize.