Tyler Ulis – Syndication Server

Tyler Ulis is named head coach of Kentucky alumni team, La Familia

Tyler Ulis named head coach of The Basketball Tournament team La Familia.

Kentucky basketball has been putting together a team of alumni to play in The Basketball Tournament in late July and early August. Now, they have a head coach. It was announced on Tuesday that former Wildcats point guard Tyler Ulis will handle the coaching duties.

The Basketball Tournament will feature 64 teams playing for a prize of one million dollars. Several teams are made up of alumni from various other college programs. They will be one of eight teams to play in the Lexington Regional.

Related: Three Wildcats selected in new NBA mock draft

Ulis played for Kentucky for two seasons, then spent some time in the NBA before joining the coaching staff of the Wildcats under John Calipari. He was excited to be named La Familia head coach, saying in a release:

I’m very excited to be named La Familia’s first head coach. We’ve assembled a great group of Kentucky basketball legends, and I’m really looking forward to being able to work with everyone. Playing these games at home in front of our fans is an incredible honor for our group, and we’ll make sure the guys are focused this summer to go win that $1 million grand prize!

The brackets for the tournament haven’t been released yet, but information can be found here, including tickets.

Tyler Ulis will leave Kentucky basketball for John Calipari and Arkansas

Former Kentucky great Tyler Ulis will join the coaching staff at Arkansas.

Coach Mark Pope had a lot of things to do, when he was hired, and building a coaching staff was high on the list. Many Kentucky basketball fans were hopeful that Tyler Ulis would remain with the Wildcats in a role similar to what he had under John Calipari. However, that won’t be the case, and Ulis is off to join the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Ulis was a hugely popular, and successful, player under Coach Cal at Kentucky. Though undersized, he became a star. In his lone season as a starter, he averaged 17.3 points and 7 assists per game. He was also a terrific leader, which would translate to the coaching ranks.

Big Blue Nation will certainly be sorry to see Ulis leave, especially to go to Arkansas. It was likely not an easy decision for him either. However, he had to make the best decision for himself, and sticking with Calipari was it for now.

Good luck to Tyler Ulis next year and in wherever his career takes him.

Notable NBA veterans who are eligible for 2021 G League Draft

When the upcoming NBA G League season tips off next months, fans can expect to see more familiar faces than they would in a typical year.

The NBA G League is hosting a bubble tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex in Florida. Once teams are assembled, they will arrive to the location by January 26 for physicals and onboarding. The first game is set for February 8 and teams are expected to play a “12-to-15 game schedule” before their single-elimination playoffs from March 5-March 9.

This offseason, per ESPN, the league also eliminated restrictions for signing players with at least five years of NBA experience. For example, as reported by Adam Johnson, this is how Jeremy Lin was able to sign outright with the Santa Cruz Warriors rather than enter the draft pool. This is reportedly a one-time exception for the G League.

Similarly, others with NBA experience signed outright as veteran mentors for the inaugural G League Ignite squad. Players like Amir Johnson and Bobby Brown will lend a hand for top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green as they transition to the pros.

Otherwise, however, players not already on a roster who are looking to get back on the court and play in the upcoming bubble season will have to hear their names called on Monday. Over the last few days, we have learned about several players (e.g. Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson) who recently signed NBA G League Standard Player Contracts.

Even those who have been around the league for years have no guarantee of being selected, though. There are only 17 teams playing in the bubble, as 12 have opted out.

While the draft will have a maximum of 26 players selected, teams are allowed to forfeit their picks, so that number could end up even smaller. But that has not swayed the nearly 200 players who are hopeful about suiting up in Florida.

The 2021 G League Draft is scheduled for Monday, January 11, at 1:15 PM EST. Below are some of the most notable candidates, listed in order of how many minutes they have played in the NBA: