Friday morning the Basketball Tournament announced the Cincinnati Regional would have to go through Fifth Third Arena for the first time ever. The midsummer classic has taken place since 2014 which features a 64-team playing field all fighting for the big prize of $1 million dollars, with all games streamed across ESPN.
The TBT Tournament has been something that has skyrocketed throughout the years, for players who are still looking to continue their basketball careers in some capacity. Now for TBT, they have shown that this is a competition that will get you the exposure that is necessary to pursue a professional career if they haven’t had the opportunity already, which has featured some talented stars over the recent years, including the likes of Jimmer Fredette, Jacob Evans, Jarron Cumberland, Gabe York, Craig Sword and many more.
Former Bearcat Kevin Johnson is set to return as the team’s general manager for the third straight season and is determined to lead Nasty Nati to that $1 million-dollar prize later this summer. However, for Johnson, he is more so excited to have the Bearcat Rutkus in attendance at Fifth Third Arena. “I’m incredibly excited for TBT to come to the University of Cincinnati and Fifth Third Arena,” said Nasty Nati GM Kevin Johnson. “None of this would be possible without the Bearcats fan base, who helped propel us to the quarterfinals last year. We’ll need everyone to pack Fifth Third this summer and help us bring the $1 million prize back to Cincinnati.”
The Nasty Nati squad is coming off a relentless 2023 TBT run, after picking up their first ever TBT Victory over Floyd Mayweathers “The Money Team”. Nasty Nati also defeated Xavier alumni’s Zip Em Up Squad after Jacob Evans showed his inner splash brothers after a ridiculous step back three to seal a trip to the quarterfinals for the first time ever.
Nasty Nati was led by Jarron Cumberland (22.5ppg) and Jacob Evans (19.5ppg) throughout their historic 2023 TBT run as both Cumberland (1st) and Evans (5th) both continued to show why the talented back court duo was one, if not the best tandems in all of TBT.
As Johnson prepares his roster ahead of this summer’s tournament, the Bearcats will look to build around Cumberland and Evans who both already committed to Johnson and the Nasty Nati as the duo looks to run it back one more time in Fifth Third Arena, just like they did throughout their college career.
Nasty Nati’s 2023 tournament run was so impressive that even Bearcats head coach Wes Miller and staff made sure to catch every game that the former Cincinnati alumni participated on, despite not being at Cincinnati when most of the squad played throughout their collegiate careers. Wes Miller was spotted courtside with assistants Chad Dollar and Jake Thelan at UD Arena where Nasty Nati fell just short to Friday Beers in the quarterfinals.
“My staff and I are excited to have Nasty Nati as a regional host,” said Cincinnati men’s basketball head coach Wes Miller. “Our alumni are passionate about this place, so the chance to play on their home floor in the pursuit of a title will be an awesome thing to see. I know our fans will be thrilled to see some of their favorite faces back in Fifth Third Arena and give them incredible support.”
Now, the Tournament is still nearly five months away, but it is safe to say Johnson, and the Nasty Nati squad will be one of the top teams returning to the yearly tournament. Roster updates will be made available to the public via the Nasty Nati Social media pages which you can find @NastyNati_TBT.
