Auburn fans will get a chance to see several former Tigers in a televised basketball tournament next month.
We may have not gotten to see Auburn basketball defend their SEC championship and Final Four run from last year but, even with the cancellation of March Madness, fans will have the opportunity to see some former Tigers in action this summer.
Four Auburn alumni will be a part of The Basketball Tournament (also known as TBT) which features a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The team, originally known as Tampa 20/20 was renamed to War Tampa due to the team’s Auburn influence and support from Auburn fans across the country.
During the tournament’s bracket reveal show on Tuesday, War Tampa was placed as the 17th overall seed in the 24-team field and will play their first-round game against House of ‘Paign — a team primarily of former Illinois basketball players.
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The team features Auburn’s all-time three-point shooter Bryce Brown, former Auburn forwards Horace Spencer and DeSean Murray as well as former Tiger center Laron Smith.
Brown, who was a major part of the Tigers’ 2019 Final Four run, played at Auburn from 2016 to 2019 and most recently played with the Maine Red Claws — the G-League affiliate of the Boston Celtics.
Spencer also attended Auburn from 2016-19 where he averaged 4.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his career. Prior to the tournament, Spencer was playing professionally for Atenas Cordoba in Argentina.
After transferring from Presbyterian, Murray spent two seasons (2015-16 to 2016-17) with the Tigers but only playing in one season due to NCAA transfer rules. Murray averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds for Auburn before transferring once again to Western Kentucky.
Lastly, Smith joined the Auburn program in 2016 after transferring from Bethune Cookman. The 6-foot-9 shot-blocker played just 12 minutes a game in his lone season for the Tigers where he averaged 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 block per game.
The team also features former Florida point guard Walter Hodge and Wofford shooting guard Fletcher Magee who ended his collegiate career in 2019 as the NCAA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made.
War Tampa’s Auburn influence goes beyond the players too. Auburn basketball alumni such as K.T. Harrell, C.J. Holmes, Mustapha Heron, Austin Wiley, New Williams and Chuma Okeke have all pledged their support for the team. While former Auburn star and current coach Marquis Daniels will be a booster for the team.
the tournament, which has been an annual event since 2014, will start on July 4 and will last until July 14. Games will be played in Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and will be broadcasted live on ESPN.