Illinois Basketball: Best Illini roster for The Basketball Tournament

Ever since The Basketball Tournament was created, I have wanted to see a group of former Illinois basketball players put a team together.

Well, Illini fans, the wait is over. In a tweet from TBT’s Twitter account on Thursday, they announced that an Illinois alumni team has applied for the Columbus Regional. This is huge news for Illini fans everywhere. But TBT also posed the question; which former Illini greats do you want to see go after the two-million dollars this summer?

This is the million dollar question, or should I say two-million dollar question.

Well, since the TBT Twitter account tagged and made the picture on their tweet of Rayvonte Rice, one would naturally assume he is leading the charge for this team. They also tagged Dee Brown in there too. That made my ears perk up a little bit.

Let’s play a hypothetical. This Illini alumni team needs a coach and at least seven players. Let’s have Dee be the coach since he is a little long in the tooth. Rice would then be one of the seven players. Who else fits around Rice and would be a good option?

We need a big man. I am thinking we bring in Nnanna Egwu. He tried to latch on in the NBA but couldn’t stick with a team. He dipped his toe into the G-League waters but was last seen playing overseas in the Australian league. He would be a perfect candidate for the No. 5 spot.

Looking at potential guards who could come in and make an impact, I think we would have to go with Brandon Paul. He was great with the Illini. The San Antonio Spurs signed him for a couple of seasons. He is now playing over in Europe. Having him come back to the states would be a great thing for this Illini alumni team.

Illinois is going to need someone who can handle the rock. That someone should be Demetri McCamey. He couldn’t latch on via the NBA Summer League, so he spent most of his time overseas. He was last seen playing in Australia. McCamey would be a perfect option at the No. 1 spot.

Now we have to find a solid No. 4. I know one player who put up some big numbers as a junior and left the program to pursue a professional basketball career. Yes, Leron Black would be perfect at the No. 4 spot. He went undrafted a couple of years ago but has been playing overseas since. Let’s get him on this team.

We have to find, at least, two backups for the team. There have been some special shooters come through the program, but one player who I think would be perfect as a backup is DJ Richardson. He played his entire career overseas. The last stop he had was in France. I think having Richardson come off the bench would be clutch.

The final spot on the team to reach the minimum players should be Mike Davis. He is a player who has dabbled both in the G-League and overseas in the past decade. He still can hoop and would be a perfect player to go and get rebounds.

Head Coach Dee Brown, No. 1 Demetri McCamey, No. 2 Rayvonte Rice, No. 3 Brandon Paul, No. 4 Leron Black, No. 5 Nnanna Egwu, Backup-1 DJ Richardson, Backup-2 Mike Davis.

There you have it. This should be the roster for The Basketball Tournament 2020. I think this roster would compete with the other teams and, potentially, take home the two-million dollars. I have been calling for the Illini to get a team in for years. It is about damn time.