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In the midst of a global pandemic, the TBT bubble was a needed success story

In the midst of a pandemic, the TBT created a safe environment

[lawrence-newsletter]After thousands of COVID-19 tests, a million dollar three pointer, and hundreds of pros going head-to-head, The Basketball Tournament (TBT) came to a successful end last night. TBT safely instituted a rampant testing plan inside of a bubble in Columbus, Ohio that brought basketball back to America from July 4 to July 14. The state of Wisconsin was well-represented in the finals as Fond Du Lac native and former Marquette Golden Eagle Travis Diener hit the million dollar shot (thank you Elam Ending) to give his Golden Eagles Marquette alumni squad their first ever TBT victory.

The Badgers also had their imprint on basketball’s return to the United States. Former Wisconsin standouts Vitto Brown, Kahlil Iverson, and Trevon Hughes were all part of Big X, a Big Ten alumni squad, and Ethan Happ was a member of Team Hines in this year’s tournament. Big X won their initial game before falling to Dayton alumni squad Red Scare, while Team Hines went down in a first round thriller to eventual runner up Sideline Cancer.

For professional basketball players, this was an experience they will never forget. Playing inside of a successful bubble was a unique challenge that Brown, who currently plays in the NBA G-League, took on with hundreds of other pros. The feeling of getting out there and hooping still gave these athletes the same thrill that it always does, despite the strange circumstances.

“It felt great to play again. Although the result was not what we wanted, I know myself and everyone else was happy to be a part of the first major basketball in America since the pandemic,” Brown told BadgersWire. “It’s always cool getting back with my fellow Badgers Khalil [Iverson] and Tre Hughes. I knew everyone on [Big X] either from playing with or against them in the past so we enjoyed our time on and off the court.”

Playing inside of a bubble was a new experiment in unprecedented times. The NBA is currently attempting to do the same in Orlando as most players have already entered their bubble at Disney World. As the last ten days showed, the world’s premier basketball league should look to TBT for guidance. During TBT, inside America’s first sports bubble, the protocol passed safety tests with flying colors. Testing began when players were at home, and then continued during their isolation period when they arrived to the hotel in Columbus. Any positive test at any point resulted in the disqualification of teams, which happened to multiple squads before the tournament began and on day one of TBT. By the time the players inside of the bubble reached day 5 of their quarantine period, there were zero positive COVID-19 tests in Columbus.

So what was all of this like from the player’s perspective? “The experience in the bubble was extremely unique,” Brown told BadgersWire. “Upon arrival we had to get tested immediately (after passing 2 tests at home prior to arrival). We had to quarantine in our rooms until our results came back negative. Any positive test at the hotel/bubble resulted in the disqualification of your whole team. Food would be at designated pick up spots during specific times slots. You could order delivery but you had to go down and pick it up from the lobby and bring it back to your room. Once tests were passed you were allowed to interact with your team only, in your designated team suite.”

The former Badger and Big X standout echoed statements from around the basketball world that TBT had done a fantastic job of keeping athletes safe and healthy while giving them a chance to hoop. “TBT did an excellent job in terms of safety, protocols, organization, etc. Especially for the first time. If this situation were to happen again, they’d no doubt have a perfect system next time.”

TBT successfully created a safe environment while bringing sports fans ten days of joy that has been severely lacking without live athletics. Hopefully aspects of the tournament model can be used as a game plan for success as other leagues begin to attempt their own returns.