The Kansas alumni team JHX Hoops on Tuesday morning learned its opponent for the first round of The Basketball Tournament.
The former Jayhawks, who are cohosting the regional with Kansas State alumni team Purple Reign, have been seeded No. 2 in the newly enacted Kansas City regional at Municipal Auditorium and will face off against OffDaHook, “a New York-based squad known for its gritty streetball roots and high-energy play,” according to TBT.
The opening matchup is set for 3 p.m. on July 19.
With Tuesday’s announcement of four new players, JHX Hoops now features a roster of Cliff Alexander, David McCormack, Billy Preston, Nick Timberlake, Jamari Traylor, Lagerald Vick and Kevin Young, with Sherron Collins as head coach and Tyshawn Taylor as one of the organizers.
OffDaHook is making its TBT debut as a No. 7 seed, while JHX Hoops will enter its third tournament (it was previously known as Mass Street and has lost in the third round each of the last two years).
OffDaHook is coached and managed by Sidney Godbold with assistant coach Brian Gardenhire and features a guard-heavy roster of 10 players. It includes Brian Bridgeforth (Washington Adventist), Arnardo Camacho (Roberts Wesleyan), Jaheam Cornwall (Gardner-Webb), Joseph Efese (Central Connecticut State), Shane Gatling (Colorado), Paul Gause (Seton Hall), Jaimik Moore (NJCU), Jalen Nesmith (Clark Atlanta), Derrick “DJ” Rivera (St. Joseph’s, Binghamton and Montevallo) and Junior Saintel (Chipola College and Stony Brook).
Heartfire, which defeated the KU alumni in 2023 and won the entire tournament that year, is the No. 1 seed in the regional. There are only seven teams playing at Municipal Auditorium, so Heartfire gets a first-round bye.
Purple Reign is the No. 3 seed and opens against The Shine, a team representing a Houston-based pro-am that is also making its debut, at 1 p.m. on July 19. (Former KU forward Cam Martin, who also played at Jacksonville State, Missouri Southern and Boise State, is apparently playing with the K-State alumni, according to Tuesday’s announcement.)
The winner of the Purple Reign game will face the winner of JHX Hoops’ game in the second round at 8 p.m. on July 21. The other two teams in the Kansas City regional are the No. 4 Sheffield Sharks and No. 5 DaGuys STL.
The Kansas City regional is paired with the Wichita regional in which the KU alumni took part each of the last two years.
JHX Hoops is expected to host a pre-TBT scrimmage with Purple Reign in July, much like the one the two teams staged last year. More details on that event are coming soon.
The Basketball Tournament
