KU basketball alumni team, coached by Morris twins, will participate in TBT

Kansas will field an alumni men’s basketball team in the popular The Basketball Tournament, better known as the “TBT,” this summer.

Initial player commitments for “Mass Street,” a KU alumni squad that will be part of the Wichita Super Regional hosted by the Wichita State alumni team called the “AfterShocks,” are former Kansas guards Keith Langford and Tyshawn Taylor.

Former KU players and current NBA players Marcus and Markieff Morris will serve as two members of the team’s coaching staff. Marcus is the head coach; Markieff is his top assistant.

The KU roster will be announced in coming weeks. The Wichita regional will consist of 16 teams with games spanning July 19-23.

The alumni team, Mass Street, is organized by Mass Street Collective, the Name, Image and Likeness collective for University of Kansas student-athletes.

“At Mass St. Collective, we are absolutely thrilled to organize a team to participate in TBT,” said Dan Beckler, president of Mass St. Collective and general manager of Mass Street.

“These guys didn’t have the benefit of NIL when they were in college, but we are looking forward to helping them now since they were critical in paving the path in the current landscape of college athletics. For us, NIL is always about benefiting the student-athlete, no matter when they were at Kansas. We know Wichita is full of KU fans that will come out and support these Jayhawks and fill up the arena each game.”

Current Los Angeles Clippers player Marcus Morris said: “I’ve been part of TBT in the past in different roles and can confidently say that this is the best place for guys to play who are still trying to get a shot at the (NBA).

“I’m excited to be the head coach for Mass Street and have my brother, Markieff, be my top assistant coach. We’re both looking forward to using our years of NBA experience in a new way to help this team win games. The partnership between TBT and Mass St. Collective is what sold me on joining this KU Alumni team. The Mass St. Collective team is elevating the player experience in so many impressive ways that I wanted to do everything I could to be part of it. This is going to be a great roster when it’s all said and done, and we can’t wait to unveil it.”

Additional player commitments will be made in the coming weeks through the team’s Twitter and Instagram pages, @MassStreetTBT.

Mass Street’s first-round game will be Wednesday, July 19. If the team wins, the second-round game would be Saturday, July 22.

The Wichita Regional championship game will be played Sunday, July 23. The winner of the Wichita Regional will advance to the quarterfinals, also to be played at Koch Arena, and scheduled for Tuesday, July 25.

Tickets for the Wichita Regional and quarterfinals game will go on sale on May 1 to members of TBT’s ticket wait list, and on sale to the general public beginning May 4. Fans interested in signing up for the wait list can do so at thetournament.com/tbt/ticket-waitlist.

For more information on this year’s TBT or Mass Street, visit TheTournament.com.

Beckler said there is the possibility the KU alumni team will train in Lawrence the weekend before the first game. Former KU players will be invited to join the team. There will be no tryouts.

“When you look at Marcus Morris being involved, Markieff wanting to be involved, the fact Tyshawn has played in the past, ... the fact Keith is involved, we are striving to set our basis strong to get the top level guys to compete in the TBT,” Beckler said.

No current KU Jayhawk players can compete in the single-elimination tourney according to NCAA rules. The only players off limits are one who played in an NBA game this past season. G League players can participate, Beckler said.

KU fielded a team in 2019, the only year it had an alumni squad in the TBT.

“We’ve had some initial discussions with guys, putting out feelers,” Beckler said. “What it’ll come down to is, ‘Can guys fit in 2 1/2 weeks into their schedule?’ There’s a 17-day window in theory.’’

Beckler noted that it’s a good opportunity for former KU players to try to earn the $1 million prize money that goes to the winning squad.

“I think a program like KU and just the number of elite athletes that have come through KU ... we saw a need to get a KU alumni team involved,” Beckler said. “I started a conversation with TBT, how to make it happen probably a couple months ago. This is an opportunity for a KU team to go out and win a million dollars.”

Former KU standout Langford said there will be a “soft reveal (of names of players).”

“I guarantee you the names coming to play, ... you guys are going to want to see this,” Langford said, noting it’d be his “last hurrah as a player.”

“I haven’t been in a sold-out KU arena in decades. I’m expecting that, hoping for that, very exited to be participating with Kansas basketball one more time. With Mass St. Collective we are looking to put on a very high level event, play some real high level basketball, give the Kansas basketball fans another round of excitement from the exiting season they participated in this past season. I’m excited to play in a sold-out arena representing KU again.”