If you enjoyed all the buzz and excitement surrounding the Ohio State alumni team comprised mostly of former Thad Matta players the last couple of years in The Basketball Tournament, you’ll be happy to know that the team is back for another run. But this time, it’ll be under another name — Carmen’s Crew.
Why the name change? Because Ohio State likes to keep all things bottled up that have anything to do with its image and brand. In this case Team Scarlet & Gray was too close to the fabric of the big, bad, beast that is The Ohio State University. So, according to its head coach Scoonie Penn, the team had to come up with another name to go by.
Apparently then, Carmen — presumably from the school’s alma-mater song “Carmen Ohio” is far enough away from the Ohio State brand to work.
Also with the announcement on Twitter of the new name via @CarmensCrew, came the reveal of at least part of the roster. Back for the 2019 run are players Jon Diebler, Aaron Craft, Evan Ravenel, Courtney Pigram, Leon Rodgers, and David Lighty. New to the team are Lenzel Smith and De’Sean Thomas.
You can also bank on more players being added as things get closer to the start of the tournament, but glaringly missing are Jared Sullinger and William Buford who both played the last two years.
Carmen’s Crew will once again be coached by former Ohio State All-Big Ten guard and current Director of Recruiting and Player Development, Scoonie Penn.
The artist formerly known as Team Scarlet & Gray made a run to the final four of TBT in 2017, but got knocked out much earlier than anticipated in the quarterfinals last year to Team Fredette.
It’ll be looking to make a deeper run in 2019, and will do it with a new identity, new uniforms, and a new team name. Hopefully all the hype and excitement are still there when things tip off at Capital University on July 19. Want tickets? You can get them now.
