Amid a once-in-100-years pandemic may seem like quite the suboptimal setting to breathe life into a pro sports career.
For most athletes, it is. Most are having to stay inside, playing the waiting game while their leagues figure out how to navigate their respective 2020 seasons.
But for a handful of former Auburn basketballers, the time is now to make a splash and take the next step in their professional aspirations.
Desean Murray, LaRon Smith, Horace Spencer and Bryce Brown, as most Auburn fans are aware of at this point, are linking up again this summer down south, joining forces to play on team “Tampa 20/20” in this year’s edition of the The Basketball Tournament.
TBT is like the NCAA tournament in terms of its makeup, with 64 teams playing a single-elimination format.
Oh, and the winning team gets $2 million.
Many of the league’s teams operate like Tampa is this year — bringing together a number of similar players, whether it be a single school’s alumni, or players from the same state or region.
Smith, a big man grad transfer at Auburn in 2016-17, fancied himself the ringleader for Tampa this spring, bringing together his buddies from the Plains.
“They’re all my great friends from school,” Smith told AuburnSports.com. “I always keep in contact. Our tournament that happens — it’s on ESPN, it’s good exposure, it’s a chance to win $2 million. It wasn’t too hard convincing them.”
Smith has plenty of experience playing professionally post-Auburn. The 6-foot-8 power forward went overseas after graduating from Bruce Pearl’s program, playing in Bulgaria, China and most recently Argentina, where he was teammates with Spencer. He’s also played on the U.S. Virgin Islands national team.
Each former Tiger playing for Tampa this summer is at varying stages of his pro career, but Smith is always looked to as the veteran who can offer advice.
“I’ve been a lot of places,” Smith said. “Whenever they hit me up with questions about agents and playing overseas, I like to talk to them about that.”
While Spencer and Smith were earning their stripes overseas, Brown boasts the highest-profile 2019-20 pro experience, playing a year for the Boston Celtics NBA G League team in Maine. He was one of the squad’s best shooters at 16.1 points per game, while also dishing out his signature high-level defense on the perimeter.
But even for Brown, nothing for next season is set in stone. His 2019-20 contract with the Red Claws was an Exhibit 10 deal (meaning he’d be paid depending on whether he was playing in the G League or the NBA in a given game) for just one year.
“Me and Bryce always kept in contact,” Smith said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Bryce ever since I met him. I like to watch his games and what he’s been doing in the G League.”
Brown’s production certainly warrants a look from the G League again, however, and TBT is just another chance for he and his former teammates to prove they deserve that opportunity while playing against other pros.
“You’re not playing against scrubs or anything;” Smith said. “You’re playing against guys that played overseas, past NBA players and people that have played in the G League.”
Brown, Spencer and Smith can say they’ve been through the process. But Murray is still looking to get that first professional break.
Murray, an undersized power forward but a tenacious rebounder and post defender, played with Tampa in TBT two years ago after his college career ended. His overseas opportunity didn’t come then, and since, he’s been itching to get another shot.
It’s not as easy as just getting up one day and hitting the road toward a pro basketball career. Life doesn’t pause and stop demanding attention. A number of personal matters popped up, among which was the birth of his daughter, Robyn Faith Murray, who adorably cameos on his social media.
“I’m just now starting to go down that (professional) road, to get on that trail, honestly,” Murray told AuburnSports.com.
After one year at Auburn on the 2017-18 SEC regular-season championship team, in which he started at power forward and led the Tigers in rebounding for most of the year, Murray opted to spend his final college season at Western Kentucky.
“A lot of things came into play,” Murray said of transferring from Auburn. “I just felt it was a better move for me. That’s why I decided to do it — I felt like it was a move I needed to take. I thought it was going to be a better move, but it didn’t turn out the way I thought. But everything happens for a reason.”
He left the WKU program after just eight games played.
“I had things come up,” Murray said. “I got a little busy with personal things. I’m just glad to get back into it now.”
As he said, the past is the past, and the opportunity is here now. Murray signed with an agent earlier this month.
TBT’s Week 1 begins July 23, so the organization is optimistic that nation-wide COVID-19 guidelines will permit its short season to be played without fans, seeing as the NBA is currently eyeing a late July return date with no fans, too.
Smith said just last year a player on Tampa 20/20 received a G League workout in Charlotte after playing a monster game there against Chris Paul’s TBT team. That kind of pro chance isn’t uncommon during the summer tournament.
“There’s a lot of coaches, especially in the G League, sometimes you get NBA looks,” Smith said. “It’s big-time exposure for playing overseas and in the G League.”
The earnings from a possible tournament victory loom large and would obviously go a long way to help the crop of former Tigers continue to chase their dreams. But just as valuable would be a ticket to the next step of their aspirations — a springboard into a professional basketball career.
“I’m just now starting to get back into it, so I’m excited,” Murray said. “It’s going to be a big opportunity to showcase my talent against some top talent and play with my guys I’ve been playing with for a little while. I’m really, really excited.”
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