BOZICH | Harrell, Johnson, Jones primed to lead The Ville's deeper TBT run | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Only in Louisville.

Only in this town will you see four different eras of guards unite to play and coach for the beloved local college basketball program in The Basketball Tournament.

Reece Gaines, a Denny Crum recruit, will coach national championship guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva for The Ville.

They will be joined by Chris Jones, who arrived in 2014 when Smith was leaving, as well as David Johnson, who (kiddingly) said that he grew up watching Siva and Smith before he joined the Cardinals from Trinity High School.

Only in this town will you see an eight-season NBA veteran take his comeback up a notch by competing for the first time since he suffered a horrible knee injury that stopped his career 15 months ago.

TBT Montrezl Harrell — Former Louisville standout Montrezl Harrell talks at a news conference before the 2024 TBT event in Freedom Hall.
ERIC CRAWFORD

A torn ACL and meniscus stalled Montrezl Harrell's formidable career in 2023. He intends to accelerate his pursuit of winning another NBA Sixth Man of the Year award by performing with The Ville in the TBT.

And only in Louisville is there serious talk that the entire lower bowl of the arena will be sold out at 1 p.m. Saturday when The Ville plays its opening TBT game against UKnighted, a talented group of former Bellarmine star at Freedom Hall.

The game, which will air on WDRB, is the first of six that either team must win to claim the $1 million winner-take-all prize, which will be awarded to the champion of the 64-team single-elimination tournament Aug. 4 in Philadelphia.

This is the first TBT venture for a team of Bellarmine alums. Kentucky, in Rupp Arena, and Indiana, at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse, have also joined the event.

But this is year two for Louisville. A team that featured Smith, Siva, Chane Behanan, Chinanu Onuaku and others won two games before losing in the third round last summer.

Harrell and Johnson had sideline seats at Freedom Hall a year ago. This year, they agreed to play for The Ville. Jones played for a Memphis-based team that challenged The Ville in the second round but after that game promised to switch teams if his former teammates invited him.

They did — and Jones has.

"I can't wait to play in front of these fans again," Jones said. "We're here to win."

TBT Chris Jones — Chris Jones during a KFC Yum! Center practice for The Ville’s TBT team in advance of its tournament opener against Bellarmine.
ERIC CRAWFORD

I can't find any computer analytics or Las Vegas odds that predict how well The Ville will perform. But it appears to be a formidable squad — that understands how starved the Louisville fan base is to enjoy winning basketball again.

"The reason why (the players) are picking it up every day is it starts out as a fun event, the TBT," said Gaines, who moved to San Antonio, Texas, after he was part of the Kenny Payne staff that was dismissed after last season.

"After the first 30 seconds, it becomes a real deal. Another minute (goes by) and by the end it's life or death. That's how the players are starting to realize it and get in that mindset."

Harrell, 30, is already in that mindset. He played in his last NBA game on April 22, 2023 for the 76ers, his sixth NBA team.

He said he worked out for 15-17 teams in Las Vegas last week and that he expects to earn an invitation to a training camp next fall after teams examine their rosters following the conclusion of the NBA Summer League.

"I really don't know how I'm going to take it all in on Saturday because I've been away from the game of basketball for probably a year-and-a-half," Harrell said.

"It's been tough because this is my safe haven. This is something that before my grandmother left this earth, she instilled in me and I still wear it practically on my sleeve each day. So there's going to be a lot of emotion on Saturday."

Ditto for Johnson, who finished his two-season run with the Cards in 2021. Drafted in the second round by Toronto, Johnson has also battled through injuries that have limited him to primarily G-League competition over three seasons.

He said that he expects to attend training camp with the Memphis Grizzlies — after he helps The Ville make a deep TBT run.

"It's cool to be around familiar faces and get that love from the city again," Johnson said.

"I think it's going to be great. Seeing it last year and what the first year turnout was. I know there's even higher expectations this year. We have a pretty good team and we can make a run."

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