MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — John Flowers has good reason to be anxious these days.
The former West Virginia forward is expecting the birth of a little girl next month.
“I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited,” he said.
On a secondary note, Flowers is still in the process of putting together the roster for Best Virginia, the WVU alumni team that plans to compete in the 2020 The Basketball Tournament (TBT).
As of Monday, the coronavirus pandemic has not canceled plans for the TBT.
Officials at the Charleston Civic Center confirmed the West Virginia Regional is still planned for July 24-26.
“Until we’re told by the people of the TBT not to do so, we’re moving forward with our plans to play and to also hold some exhibition games around the state like we did last year,” said Flowers, who doubles as the team’s general manager.
The added bonus for Best Virginia: Flowers said there is a real possibility that Bob Huggins may coach his former players.
“He announced on his radio show he would do it and I think the plans are still there to coach us,” Flowers said. “It would definitely be a lot of fun to have him around.”
What would it be like to be yelled at again by Huggins?
“This time, I’d probably yell back,” he joked.
TBT is a 64-team single-elimination tournament, much like the NCAA tournament, except the TBT comes with a winner-take-all prize of $2 million.
Teams are seeded and play in one of eight regional sites. The eight regional champions will advance to the championship bracket in Dayton, Ohio on Aug. 6.
Best Virginia advanced to the second round of the tournament last year.
An injury to guard Juwan Staten saw the team play short-handed in a loss against Overseas Elite.
A year later, Flowers said it was a lesson learned.
“That was one thing we learned is you have to have one extra guard who can run the team and get you into the offense,” Flowers said. “We were right there with Overseas Elite until the final few minutes. Juwan getting hurt really hurt us, especially with guarding ball screens and things like that.”
As to what the Best Virginia roster would look like, Flowers said many members from last year are expected back, including Staten, Kevin Jones, Da’Sean Butler and Nathan Adrian.
Former WVU guard Gary Browne, a member of the Puerto Rico national team, may also have an opening to play this summer.
“With the Olympics being moved to next year, he doesn’t have any more excuses not to play with us,” Flowers said.
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, many of the overseas professional leagues have shut down and most of the roster had made its way back to the United States.
Flowers said Jones and Devin Ebanks are still playing in Japan, but could be returning soon.
TBT will be in its seventh season. Besides Charleston, the other regional sites are Columbus, Ohio, Syracuse, N.Y., Las Vegas, Wichita, Kan., Washington, D.C., Winter Haven, Fl. and Jackson, Tenn. This year’s field and bracket will be announced on June 22.
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