Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr. join Assembly Ball for TBT 2025

Assembly Ball will be returning for the 2025 The Basketball Tournament this summer and there will be once again a Indiana basketball alumni presence.

Per a release today, two huge former Indiana basketball guard were announced as the first two members with those two players being Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr.

Ferrell competed last year for Assembly Ball while this will be Blackmon Jr.’s first season participating. More names are expected to be announced in the coming months.

Below is the full release.

BLOOMINGTON, IND. (May 6, 2025) –  Assembly Ball, the Indiana alumni team hosting The Basketball Tournament’s (TBT) regional alongside All Good Dawgs (Butler Alumni) at the Hinkle Fieldhouse from July 19-22, today announced the roster additions of Indiana greats Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr.

Ferrell and Blackmon Jr. join Assembly ball as the first two roster commitments. Additional players will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ferrell returns to TBT for the second consecutive summer, leading Assembly Ball to a regional championship appearance in 2024 with 20.3 points per game.  

Yogi Ferrell was a four-year starter at Indiana University (2012–2016), setting program records for both career assists (633) and starts (137). He made an immediate impact as a freshman, earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors while helping lead the Hoosiers to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Over his final three seasons, Ferrell averaged 17 points per game and was named First-Team All-Big Ten in both his junior and senior years. As a senior, he also earned First-Team Wooden All-American honors.

After leaving Indiana, Ferrell played five seasons in the NBA, playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Clippers. Ferrel’s most productive NBA campaign came in the 2017-18 season, where he appeared in all 82 games for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 10.2 points and 2.5 assists per game. Ferrell has played for multiple teams across Europe and Asia since leaving the NBA, currently playing for Budućnost in Montenegro. 

James Blackmon Jr. will be making his TBT debut this summer for Assembly Ball. Blackmon Jr. made a significant impact during his three seasons at Indiana University (2014–2017), appearing in 76 games for the Hoosiers. A McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit, Blackmon Jr. delivered a standout freshman campaign, averaging 15.7 points per game and setting an Indiana freshman record with 77 three-pointers made. Despite a sophomore season shortened by injury, he returned as a junior to post a team-best 17.0 points per game while shooting 43 percent from three-point range. Blackmon Jr. decided to forgo his senior season to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft.

Blackmon Jr. signed with the Philadelphia 76ers as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2017, going on to spend multiple years in the NBA G-League. He has since played professionally in Italy and Turkey. 

The winner of the Indianapolis Regional will advance to TBT’s quarterfinals on July 28. The semifinals will be held on July 31, and TBT’s $1 million championship will be played on Aug. 3. 

For the first time, TBT will give each host team the opportunity to have home court advantage for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the $1 million championship game. Should two regional hosts face off, the tie breaker will be determined by which host sells 4,000 tickets the fastest. 

Tickets will go on sale to the general public May 6. Tickets are available for purchase at tbthoops.com/tickets.

For more information on this year’s TBT or Assembly Ball, visit tbthoops.com. 

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