Ferris State Hoops To Be Featured Nationally In The Basketball Tournament On ESPN Networks This Weekend
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University men's basketball will be showcased live across the globe this coming weekend as part of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a $1 million winner-take-all event, slated to air across the ESPN family of networks.
FSU head coach Andy Bronkema will serve as an assistant coach for the second consecutive year with Team D2, which is comprised of former NCAA Division II all-stars. Additionally, the Bulldogs will have a pair of alums taking part in this year's tournament as the Team D2 roster includes a former Bulldog player in Taylor Adway, who will make his tournament debut. In addition, former Bulldog standout guard Kenny Brown will compete for Team DRC, playing in the TBT for the third consecutive year.
Team D2, featuring Coach Bronkema and Adway, will open action on Saturday, July 17, against Bleed Virginia in the West Virginia Regional to be held at the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, W.Va. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN3. Meanwhile, Brown and Team DRC will also take part in the same regional earlier in the day and face Herd That at 12 p.m. (ET) on Saturday on ESPN.
The TBT is a 64-team, single-elimination event open to the world's top standouts and competitive teams with the championship week held in Dayton, Ohio. The preliminary rounds are played at four regional sites, including West Virginia.
The TBT is now in its eighth campaign and the winning team takes home $1 million this year. GMs negotiate with each team member over his/her share of the final prize. Teams are seeded based on each team's talent, chemistry and reliability. Games also utilize the Elam Ending, which eliminates the game clock at the end of play and sets a Target Score.
Supporters can become fans of the team by logging onto thetournament.com. Fans can also follow the D2 team on twitter @D2Unheralded or @D2unheraldedTBT.
Bronkema led Ferris State to the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship, earning consensus National Coach of the Year recognition, as the Bulldogs matched the all-time NCAA Division II record in a remarkable 38-1 campaign during the 2017-18 season. FSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament five of the last seven years under his direction and won 20 games or more six of the past seven seasons.
Adway spent three seasons at the University of Toledo (2015-18) before concluding his collegiate career at Ferris State in 2018-19, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 20-win campaign. He has since played overseas in Belarus and most recently Georgia where he spent the 2020-21 campaign.
A two-time All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) selection during his Bulldog playing career, Brown has played professionally overseas since 2013 in Iraq, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Turkey, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Romania.
More information on The Basketball Tournament can be found at this link:
TheTournament.com