Cincinnati, Ohio- This weekend the Bearcats will look to get some action in ahead of the TBT aka The Basketball Tournament that kicks off early next week as they are hosting a collaborative showdown with crosstown rival Xavier University. The Crosstown Showdown will feature skills competitions along with some fan contests that will be headlined by current players from Xavier and Cincinnati University, that will be followed by a quick scrimmage between the two TBT teams as the Bearcats Nasty Nati and the Musketeers Zip Em’ Up squad will get a quick scrimmage in ahead of the TBT where the teams could eventually face each other in a summertime version of the crosstown shootout, this time with a million dollars on the line.
The Bearcats have a lot of alumni back in town ahead of the TBT that features guys like Jarron Cumberland, Tre Scott, Jacob Evans, Octavius Ellis, Shaq Thomas, Kevin Johnson, Troy Caupain, Coreontae DeBerry as well as Cane Broome who will help as an assistant, as well as former Bearcat superstar Corie Blount, who will be leading the Nasty Nati Squad en route to that 1 million dollar prize.
For people who havent been following these guys since their time at Cincinnati came to a close, most of these guys are now playing professional overseas along with in the G-League as Tre Scott is a member of the Cleveland Charge. You could sense the excitement and the brotherly bond back in Fifth Third Arena yesterday where the Nasty Nati Squad held their first practice open to the media ahead of the TBT next week where we talked the scrimmage and how cool it is to have an event like this go down in the summer. This is a great time to feature some big time players from Xavier and Cincinnati over the last few years that will feature the names of guys like Dee Davis, JP Macura, Trevon Blueiett, Tre Scott, Jarron Cumberland, Troy Caupain, Jacob Evans and more.
Former Bearcats guard Troy Caupain spoke a lot on what it means for the city to come together and do an event like this, especially with how big this rivalry is within college basketball and what it means to him to have the city of Cincinnati supporting them along the way.
“At the end of the day, the rivalry isn’t like what it was back in college, back in college it was very hyped up, you learn to say hey we don’t really like them, but as you get older and become a professional you start to see those same players in different areas weather it’s playing against them in other countries, it’s like well it’s good to see you doing well bro from where you were back then to now. We all have a certain kind of level of respect, to be able to do this for the city of Cincinnati, it’s something special because a lot of fans are going to come out and support, whether it’s the people that represent Xavier, or the people that represent Cincinnati. To have a family event like this, and bring the fans out for some summertime fun, it should be a special time.” said Caupain.
