Forward Octavius Ellis, hasn’t been back to Cincinnati in the last 4-5 years as he is playing professionally overseas in Turkey, talked what it was like to be back in Cincinnati and what it meant to have a friendly event with crosstown rival Xavier, and what it means to the community of Cincinnati.
“Man, I can’t believe it, the campus looks so nice, especially back from when I was here back in 2011 during my freshman year to now, so much has changed, even Calhoun Street has changed and looks different. The gym looks different, the locker room looks amazing, I’m proud it looks like this. It’s great for the city of Cincinnati, Xavier and Cincinnati is always going to be one of the best rivalries in college basketball, at the end of the day it’s all love though we all just want to hoop. We’re going to go out and compete and have fun for the fans.” said Ellis.
Forward Tre Scott who played at Cincinnati from 2016-2020 has been back to the city of Cincinnati very frequently over the last two years since leaving the Bearcats program where he is now pursuing an NBA contract, as his younger sisters Jadyn and Jada are members on the woman’s basketball team. Scott was a fan favorite during his time as a Bearcat, but he did say he hasn’t won at the Cintas Center, is looking to change that one ahead of this weekend’s showdown and TBT tournament. Scott was looking forward to getting back out there and hopefully getting that first win in the teams scrimmage Saturday night.
“This is huge for the city of Cincinnati, it is big for us to have the opportunity to be a part of this opportunity with this historic rivalry. It should be fun, I know their fans are looking forward to it, the guys are looking forward to it. We already know how the city of Cincinnati is when it comes to that rivalry, the city would be quite then the day of the game the city will get feisty, fiery. The day of the Crosstown Shootout the city of Cincinnati is not quite at all, it gets rowdy from sunup to sundown. Everyone is going to enjoy this opportunity, and we all are looking forward to it. I have never won at Xavier, so we got to change that.” said Scott.
Both universities are bringing in some all-time fan favorites ahead of the TBT tournament, but having a little event and get both schools together for a crosstown event, especially with the history of this highly anticipated rivalry in college basketball, it shows how much the city of Cincinnati is embracing the two universities and what an event like this can bring for the city. The get to mix some former players of each program along with currently players for a fantastic event and get a good scrimmage in ahead of the TBT Tournament where the Bearcats Nasty Nati squad will look to make a run at that 1-million-dollar prize in next weeks TBT Tournament that will feature more than 70 former NBA players along with some of the biggest names in college basketball over the years.
This event will take place today at 7 pm at the Cintas Center as tickets are available still online, so make sure to come out and enjoy a weekend of basketball festivities ahead of the TBT.
