LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Basketball Tournament (TBT) will return to Lexington again this summer, with the La Familia Kentucky alumni team making another appearance. La Familia will compete in a 64-team field for a $1 million prize, beginning in the Lexington Regional July 18-23.
“Man, we had so much fun last year and we got so close to winning the championship,” said La Familia general manager Twany Beckham. “Playing the games in Rupp Arena was awesome last year. The fan base came out and it was something for our community to do in the summertime.”
The 2024 TBT filled a basketball-shaped hole in the summer for Big Blue Nation and former Kentucky players. It also included a rivalry matchup between La Familia and Louisville’s alumni team The Ville.
“A lot of our former players came back, and they loved it,” Beckham said. “They loved the energy, the excitement that the fans showed. We just thought it'd be a great idea just to bring it back and take another shot at it.”
The tournament will return to Lexington in the summer of 2025, and so will La Famlilia. Along with the announcement of the TBT Lexington Regional, Willie Cauley-Stein put his name as the first on the team this year.
“Willie was defensive player of the year in TBT last year and so he had an amazing run,” Beckham shared. “Running it back with Willie was a no-brainer. He's excited to come back. Since TBT ended last year, he's been around a lot back in the community doing some things, so it was a no-brainer to announce him first.”
Beckham added there are more players on the roster already, their names just haven’t been released yet. He hopes to have nine to 11 players on the La Familia roster this year.
This year’s Lexington Regional will look a little bit differently because it won’t be played at Rupp Arena. Instead, the games will take place at the Historic Memorial Coliseum from July 18-23. There is extra incentive for another game potentially if Big Blue Nation can beat Louisville in ticket sales.
“Last year Louisville, they outsold us on tickets, so they got the Louisville-Kentucky game, and we're hoping to get the game this year. If we, if it comes down to us playing Louisville. So I think the, the way that we can beat Louisville this year is, is the first to sell 4000 tickets,” Beckham stated.
It’s not just the Louisville game, either. Beckham later shared the first to sell 4,000 tickets will have home court advantage throughout the entire tournament.
The chance to manage this team for a second year is one that Beckham enjoys.
"I grew up a big time Kentucky fan from the time I was a young child,” Beckham said. “These guys are heroes to me, the guys that I played with and the guys I didn't play with. So being able to be in my seat and just connecting with these guys on a daily basis or just getting on the phone with guys and not making it all about basketball, just being somebody that generally cares about these guys and just checking in with them, seeing how they're doing. It's been fun and I love it.”
Last year’s La Familia team made it into the last four group of teams before getting bounced by the Ohio State alumni. Beckham expects that experience to provide even more motivation this summer.
“It's six games, it's just like the structure of the NCAA tournament. So it's one game and you survive and you move on. We approached every game very serious. We played every game like it was our last and so this year we’re going to go with the same mentality,” Beckham added. “We're going to be hungry, we're going to be motivated and, you know, hopefully that, you know, the guys come in and ready to go again and we'll take another shot at it.”
Tickets for the 2025 TBT Lexington Regional will go on sale May 6. You can also be on the lookout for La Familia gear coming soon.
