Tag: red scare

Former Ohio State guard C.J. Walker to play in TBT, but not with team you think

Umm, what’s the deal here? Say it ain’t so C.J.

It looks like there will be another former Ohio State basketball player taking part in the winner-take-all basketball tournament known as … wait for it … The Basketball Tournament. You know it well. The Buckeye alumni squad Carmen’s Crew won the whole thing in 2019 but stubbed its tow last summer in the first round. The squad is back for another run at glory with much of the same nucleus it’s had before.

Now, it appears another former OSU player of recent feats of athletic endeavors is getting into the mix in the TBT, but not for Carmen’s Crew. According to an announcement on Twitter, OSU’s point guard from the last couple of seasons, C.J. Walker, is in the fold to play with Dayton’s alumni team, the Red Scare.

Walker isn’t the only former Ohio State player moonlighting for the Red Scare. He joins Trevor Thompson and Jordan Siebert (who transferred to Dayton). Dayton and Columbus are only about 70 miles apart so maybe there was some confusion.

Either way, we’ll root for any former Buckeye until they run up against Carmen’s Crew. And by the way, if the chalk holds, the two will meet in Columbus in the regional final at the Covelli Center as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.

Sign me up for that.

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TBT game preview: Big X vs. Red Scare

TBT game preview: Big X vs. Red Scare

HOW TO WATCH: Big X vs. Red Scare, ESPN, 2ET 

Game Preview: Three Wisconsin alums remain in the 2020 TBT, and all play for Big Ten alumni squad Big X. Vitto Brown, Trevon Hughes, and Kahlil Iverson all had a significant impact in Big X’s come from behind first round victory over D2. Iverson hauled in 11 boards and Hughes connected on major threes during elam ending time to send the former Badgers to round two with a 79-74 win. Former Michigan State big man Nick Ward led the way offensively, and his presence on the interior could decide whether or not Big X lives to see another day.

Waiting for Big X in round two is the No. 8 seeded Red Scare, a Dayton alumni squad that had the last automatic bye into the second round.

Red Scare is led by a pair of Dayton Flyers from this past season in Ryan Mikesell and Trey Landers, although Wooden Award Winner Obi Toppin will not be suiting up. A plethora of players from the Flyers run to the Elite Eight in 2013-14 are also hitting the hardwood. Kyle Davis, Devin Oliver, and Jalen Robinson are among players from that cinderella squad who are reuniting in TBT 2020.

The leader of the Red Scare group has a familiar last name to anybody who follows the NFL. Joey Gruden, the son of current Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach John Gruden, will serve as the Head Coach of the Red Scare squad. He played at Dayton as a walk-on, and his since gone into the college coaching ranks.

Both of these teams were victims of eventual champions Carmen’s Crew in TBT 2019. Big X lost in round two to the Buckeye alumni squad and Red Scare fell in the regional final to Head Coach Jared Sullinger’s group.

Big X prides themselves on their defense, and GM Andrew Dakich has built a squad that can defend at the highest level in TBT. The skilled Red Scare offense versus a capable Big X defense should decide this second round battle.