TBT Primer: Five star Terps chasing $1 million prize

The 11th installment of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a popular summer event featuring 64 teams in a single-elimination format vying for a $1 million prize, kicks off this weekend.

Last summer, a team of Maryland alumni, named Shell Shock, made their debut, led by standout Darryl Morsell. They won their first-round game against Florida alumni but were defeated by Gutter Cats, the top-seeded team in their region, in the round of 32.

While Shell Shock won’t be participating this year, Maryland alumni will still be represented in TBT. Five former Terps are slated to compete with various teams this summer: Rasheed Sulaimon, Pe’Shon Howard, Qudus Wahab, Nick Faust, and Varun Ram.

Sulaimon, who hails from Houston, will play for The Program NYC for Autism, the No. 4 seed in the Houston region. He recently played in Lithuania and is set to join Buducnost in Montenegro for the upcoming season. Howard, now with the L.A. Cheaters (Drew League), will compete as the No. 6 seed in the Wichita region. Wahab joins the Happy Valley Hoopers (Penn State Alumni) as the No. 5 seed in the Pittsburgh region after a college career spanning multiple schools. Faust is on Team AboutBillions, the No. 8 seed in the Cincinnati region, following stints abroad in Indonesia and Angola. Finally, Ram returns for his third season with Brown Ballers, now known as India Rising, as the No. 4 seed in the Cincinnati region.

Each player brings a wealth of experience from their collegiate and professional careers, adding a Maryland presence to this year’s TBT despite the absence of a dedicated Maryland team in the tournament bracket.