Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army deserves a top-three seed in TBT

Boeheim’s Army, a squad of former Syracuse basketball stars, has put together a ridiculously stacked roster.

The 24-team field of this summer’s The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”) will get unveiled on June 16, and it would come as a total stunner if Boeheim’s Army, comprised of former Syracuse basketball players, isn’t among the participants.

The winner-take-all event, with a 2020 purse of $1 million, will transpire from July 4-14 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the tournament’s organizers have announced.

The invited TBT entrants, competing in the tourney’s seventh installment, will suit up under quarantine in the first live televised basketball played in the United States since mid-March, when the novel coronavirus pandemic halted the NBA as well as collegiate hoops prior to March Madness getting underway.

By having this summer’s TBT in Columbus, the 2019 champion, Carmen’s Crew, can defend its title in its hometown. Carmen’s Crew is made up of Ohio State alumni.

Former Syracuse basketball guys known collectively as Boeheim’s Army have a legit chance at claiming the TBT crown.

Tournament officials say that more than 120 groups have applied to play in the 2020 TBT, and only two-dozen will make the cut. For my money, the top three seeds, in no particular order, should amount to Carmen’s Crew, four-time TBT winner Overseas Elite, and Boeheim’s Army.

I know, people will say that I’m acting like a homer in suggesting Boeheim’s Army as such a stellar seed. But this team, which a few days ago added its ninth member in 6-foot-7 small forward Andrew White III, is truly loaded.

White is a tremendous shooter from beyond the arc, setting the Orange program’s single-season record for most 3-pointers made, with 112 during the 2016-17 stanza.

He joins power forward Donte Greene, wing Malachi Richardson, center Chris McCullough, power forward Tyler Lydon, combo guards Eric Devendorf and Brandon Triche, point guard John Gillon, and forward Demetris Nichols.

Boeheim’s Army has made deep TBT runs in previous terms, but this year’s line-up is undeniably its best ever. This unit should prove one of the favorites to reach the tourney’s final four and, hopefully, beyond.

The 2020 TBT, with no fans in the stands and strict protocols in place amid the pandemic, marks the start of a new three-year extension with ESPN that lasts through the summer of 2022, tournament officials said in their press release.

It’s unbelievably exciting that basketball will seemingly occur in just a couple of weeks, and we all hope that the players, coaches, team personnel, officials, and others involved in the TBT stay safe.

Another hope is that 2020 represents the campaign in which Boeheim’s Army captures the tourney’s ultimate prize.