As the years went on and life separated former Pitt players such as Jermaine Dixon, Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee from one another, a longing sentiment would work its way into any conversation they would have.
Man, what I would do to play with you guys again.
Even though basketball was still a sizable part of their lives and, in some cases, livelihood, the experience they had playing together in college was gone, never to be replicated in quite the same way.
"You do underestimate it, but our bond we had let that togetherness carry on throughout these professional years," Brown said. "You miss it a lot just being able to be around each other and enjoy moments."
For these players, the opportunity to compete for a Final Four and play in front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center have come and passed. But, thanks to an innovative and intriguing tournament, they have the opportunity to reunite together on the court ... and play for a $2 million prize in the process.
The team of former Panthers _ named The Untouchables, with a roster that also includes Levance Fields, Antonio Graves and Talib Zanna, among others _ is one of 64 squads participating in the third-annual The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an open-application, five-on-five tournament in which the champion earns a hefty, winner-take-all purse.
"The interesting part of the tournament, for me, was that it would result in a different brand and a different type of basketball," said Jon Mugar, TBT's founder and CEO. "We have pretty lofty expectations to be the biggest, most open sporting event in the world and to kind of democratize pro sports."
Originally a 32-team event in 2014, TBT expanded to 97 teams last year before contracting to 64 this year, giving it an almost identical, single-elimination format to the NCAA Tournament, complete with Northeast (Philadelphia), Midwest (Chicago), South (Charlotte, N.C.) and West (Los Angeles) regional pools.
The appeal of openness and accessibility is apparent in the tournament's structure. It's free to enter and any player over the age of 18 is eligible to participate. A general manager creates a team page through TBT's website and signs players, though a fair portion of the recruiting and team-building is done between the participants, who are often ex-teammates. Fans then get the opportunity to vote online for teams to be included, with the top 11 vote-getters in each region receiving an automatic bid in the field.
A former television producer, Mugar hatched the idea for what became TBT several years ago. He thought of the hundreds of players who exit the upper echelon of college basketball every year and don't make it to the NBA, leaving behind hordes of fans who no longer had an outlet to connect with or follow these athletes. Also, as Mugar saw it, there was a four-month desert on the basketball calendar from July until late October in which fans couldn't consume the competitive, high-level basketball they craved. If he could marry these two voids, there was the potential for something big.
For the tournament's first year, Mugar and a group of investors put in $2 million to operate the event and fund the prize. In that trial run, however, they were met with skepticism and apprehension, even from participants.
"The first year, people kind of showed up not knowing if it was real or not," Mugar said. "Who was this group of people who haven't been in basketball before claiming to have a half-million dollars?"
TBT has grown significantly since then, with the winning purse going from $500,000 in its inaugural year to $1 million the next before doubling again to $2 million this year. ESPN has bought in on the concept, too, and will air 11 games on its networks, including the championship Aug. 2 in prime time.
Though the tournament is open to everyone, its top teams regularly feature big names, especially as the event grows in popularity. This year's field includes ex-NBA notables such as Mike Bibby, Cuttino Mobley and Jason Williams, as well as former college stars Marshall Henderson, Russ Smith, D.J. Kennedy and DeAndre Kane.
Like others, Dixon and some of his former Pitt teammates questioned the legitimacy of TBT in its first season. They were impressed by what they saw and after they were unable to get everything together for the 2015 tournament, they entered this year's bracket as a No. 3 seed in the Northeast regional.
If they win their opening game Saturday, a potential matchup with an uncomfortably familiar face awaits in the second round _ SuperNOVA, a team largely composed of Villanova alums that features Scottie Reynolds, whose buzzer-beating shot in the 2009 NCAA tournament kept Pitt from making the Final Four.
Before partnering with The Untouchables, Fields, a point guard on Pitt's 2008-09 team, had been offered a spot on SuperNOVA's roster, but he couldn't bring himself to join. Many players still carry the emotional toll from that loss, something that motivates them to advance _ perhaps even more than the $2 million they stand to split.
"It really still stings us to this day," Dixon said. "We talk about it all the time. We just want to get back at them. To play them and beat them would be a relief off our shoulders. I know it's not the same as losing in the Elite Eight, but it would feel good to beat those guys."
