JHX Hoops, the newly renamed Kansas alumni team in The Basketball Tournament, announced on Tuesday its first two team members for the 2025 edition of the competition.
Lagerald Vick, who played for the KU alumni each of the previous two years, will make his return. Meanwhile, Nick Timberlake will be a first-time addition after a successful season playing overseas in England for the Cheshire Phoenix.
Timberlake began his first year as a professional with AD Galomar in Portugal before signing with Cheshire in late December. On Jan. 19, he banked in a buzzer-beating 3 as part of a 37-point showing. On the year, he averaged 15.9 points per game while shooting 35.9% from deep.
The 2023-24 season was Timberlake’s lone year as a Jayhawk and he did not live up to his high billing as a coveted transfer from Towson, tallying just 5.2 points per game. He did post a few memorable late-season performances, including 19 points to help KU escape Samford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and became something of a fan favorite.
Vick is a TBT veteran at this point, having played for what was previously known as the Mass Street TBT team each of the last two seasons. Most recently, in 2024, Vick averaged 12.7 points and 3.3 rebounds and he was 10-for-22 (45.5%) from beyond the arc. He has recently been with professional teams in Libya and New Zealand.
Vick’s time at KU, a tenure that lasted from 2015 to 2019, was plagued by controversy. He was averaging 14.1 points per game during his final year before taking a leave of absence that cut his season short.
JHX Hoops is managed by fellow former KU basketball player Tyshawn Taylor, as well as Stephanie Temple. A TBT press release said additional roster announcements were forthcoming in the weeks ahead.
New this year, the KU alumni will have the chance to play even closer to home than when they were in Wichita. JHX Hoops is part of a Kansas City Regional that will take place at Municipal Auditorium from July 19-23, which it is cohosting with the Kansas State alumni team Purple Reign.
Also new this year is the possibility that if a team like JHX Hoops keeps winning, it can continue to host games as long as it sells 4,000 tickets faster than its prospective opponents. TBT previously held a neutral-site Final Four in Philadelphia.
TBT tickets for the general public went on sale Tuesday morning.
Mass Street’s Lagerald Vick celebrates after hitting the winning shot against Florida TNT on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Wichita.
The Basketball Tournament