Playing For Jimmy V Falls In TBT First Round

On Friday afternoon, a team coached by former Rutgers men’s basketball managers and led by former Scarlet Knights Corey Sanders, Deshawn Freeman, and CJ Gettys fell in the first round of The Basketball Tournament. The squad, named Playing For Jimmy V, which we previewed here, was put together and coached by former Rutgers managers Alex Neumann, Matt Johnston, and Vinny Vetrone. They were seeded sixth in the Syracuse Regional and opened play against third seeded Team Brotherly Love. Unfortunately, Playing For Jimmy V trailed by 8 points after the first quarter and wasn’t ever able to assume control in the game. They ultimately fell 80-67.

Shooting was a big part of the story, as Brotherly Love shot 55% from the field and Playing For Jimmy V made just 37% from the floor. From three-point range, Brotherly Love shot a red hot 52% (9 of 17), while Playing For Jimmy V made just 29% (7 of 24). Even though the Jimmy V team forced 20 turnovers, made 11 steals and held a +6 turnover margin, they couldn’t take advantage, as they scored 1 less point off of turnovers than its opponent, 14-13.

Brotherly Love was led by Ramone Moore, the former Temple star, who scored a game high 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Former Drexel star Samme Givens scored 21 points and pulled down 4 rebounds. Novar Gadson, who is from Philadelphia but played college ball at Rider, added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Jimmy V’s squad was led by former Georgia star Kenny Gaines, who had a team high 13 points, but shot just 5 of 15 from the floor. He added 5 rebounds. Freeman has 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, as well as 5 rebounds and 3 steals. The only other player to score in double figures was former St. John’s player Bashir Ahmed, who scored 11 points off the bench on 3 of 7 shooting. Former Rutgers star Corey Sanders had a tough day, making just 1 of 10 shots from the floor, finishing with just 2 points and adding 3 assists. Gettys added 4 points and 3 rebounds.

The Basketball Tournament will enter second round action tomorrow, with regional play ending this weekend. The Final 8 and beyond takes place the following weekend in Chicago, with the championship team winning a $2 million dollar prize. Unfortunately, the Rutgers-centric squad is eliminated, but will hopefully come together again in the future.

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