Prediction: Best Virginia Will Win TBT and $1 Million

Morgantown, West Virginia – West Virginia legend Kevin Jones said it best on The Final Fourcast podcast recently: “We legitimately have the talent to win this tournament.”

Jones is absolutely right.  Best Virginia, the alumni team comprised almost entirely of former West Virginia basketball players, is a versatile, skilled team that has the size and chemistry that can compete with any of the teams in The Basketball Tournament.

With a potential starting lineup of Juwan Staten at point guard, Alex Ruoff at shooting guard, Nathan Adrian at small forward, Kevin Jones at power forward and Sagaba Konate at center, Best Virginia has shooting, size and athleticism.  Having all played for Bob Huggins, they all know how to play defense and understand the importance of it to winning games.

The reserves can be just as dangerous.  Tarik Phillip is a tough, gritty point guard who can score off the bench.  Teyvon Myers is instant offense and a scoring machine.  Jonathan Holton and John Flowers are glue guys that do all of the little things.  Logan Routt provides size behind Konate and Chase Harler is capable of lighting it up from three point range.  In addition, Best Virginia recently added former Fairmont State star Jamel Morris.  Morris averaged 16.4 points per game for the Falcons under Joe Mazzulla.

The entire roster has also continued playing professionally following their collegiate careers, so they’ve remained in good basketball condition.  Several of the players (see: John Flowers, Teyvon Myers, Logan Routt) have really improved their games since leaving college.

Losing a player of the caliber of Jaysean Paige, who was unable to play due to “scheduling conflicts”, hurts, but this team has the ability to win this 64-team, single-elimination tournament over the next couple of weeks.

It all starts today at 2:00PM when Best Virginia plays WOCO Showtime, a Wofford alumni team.  The game is at the Charleston Coliseum and will be televised live at ESPN.