DOUBLE DUTY | Hancock signs on with The Ville TBT team as a player-coach

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Luke Hancock has said repeatedly that he didn’t expect to play with his former University of Louisville teammates when some of them reunite with The Ville, Louisville’s alumni entry into the TBT, the $1 million winner-take-all tournament that begins next week in Freedom Hall.

But with former Cardinal Earl Clark having to bow out for contractual obligations, team organizers prevailed upon the 2013 NCAA Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player to join the effort as a player-coach.

The announcement came via the team’s Twitter account Saturday morning.

Hancock’s arrival means the team will feature 5 former players from Louisville’s 2013 title team, including starters Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan. Hancock came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points, including a stretch of four consecutive 3-pointers in the first half to bring the Cardinals back from a double-digit deficit against Michigan.

After the NCAA ordered Louisville to vacate its 2013 championship, and all the records associated with it, after its investigation into a scandal in which a coach arranged for strippers for players and recruits during campus visits, Hancock sued the NCAA to restore his award, and reached a settlement with the NCAA to restore it.

A banner honoring Hancock’s performance in the Final Four was raised in the KFC Yum! Center in 2019.

Hancock signed with Panionios Athens after the 2014 season but his season was cut short after tearing a calf muscle just 6 games into his season. It was his last professional action.

He returned to Louisville and got involved in business and charitable ventures, and in 2019 joined the ACC Network as a studio analyst for college basketball. He’s also a radio host at ESPN Louisville.

As a result, Hancock could pull off a rare triple of playing, coaching and announcing in the same game.

The Ville begins play in the TBT on Tuesday against a team of Auburn alumni in Freedom Hall at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for as low as $19.