La Familia's Nate Sestina ruled OUT for TBT semifinals

Well, this is certainly a downer…

Nate Sestina, who was the hero (both on and off the court) for La Familia during the Kentucky alumni team’s win over The Ville earlier this week, will not play in Friday night’s The Basketball Tournament semifinals against Carmen’s Crew. The 6-foot-9 power forward dropped a game-high 22 points against the team of former Louisville players, hitting five three-pointers in a decisive third quarter.

TBT announced the news on Thursday afternoon and did not provide an explanation. La Familia arrived in Philadelphia for this weekend’s semifinals/championship earlier in the day. Kyle Young of Carmen’s Crew has also been ruled out.

[UPDATE (2:50 PM): La Familia announces that Sestina had a “previously scheduled family obligation” that will hold him out of Friday’s game. The team is “hopeful” he will return for Sunday’s championship if they win the semifinal round.]

Semi Finals Philadelphia Status Report Thread:

(2) La Familia (Kentucky) vs (3) Carmen's Crew (Ohio State)
9pm EST/Philadelphia

La Familia (Kentucky)

Out
– Nate Sestina

Carmen's Crew (Ohio State)

Out
– Kyle Young

— TBT (@thetournament) August 1, 2024

This is a significant blow to La Familia’s chances of winning this tournament and the $1 million grand prize that comes with it. Head coach Tyler Ulis will have other options at his disposal to work with going into the semifinals, but there’s no denying Sestina’s importance through the first four games.

Sestina has played the second-most minutes for La Familia (273). He’s averaging 15 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and ranks third in the entire tournament in three-pointers made (15). Alongside Eric Bledsoe and Kerem Kanter, those three have been La Familia’s best players in this event.

Prior to this news, La Familia was not only favored to beat Carmen’s Crew (-2.5) but they were also viewed as the favorites (+150) to win the championship on Sunday, according to FanDuel. Sestina’s absence will be a huge loss for the Wildcats. He said following his team’s win over The Ville that he is the most confident in his game he’s ever been.

“I’m 27. It’s taken me 27 years to feel this confident in myself and in my game,” Sestina, who was spit on by The Ville’s Chinanu Onuaku in the postgame scrub, said afterward. “I speak with a mental health coach and he and I have been working the last three years to just really put misses out of my head and keep going, going, going.”

Without Sestina, Coach Ulis will turn to the likes of Aaron Harrison, Kellan Grady, and James Young off the bench. All three are capable shooters like Sestina but have yet to showcase that in TBT. Those three are a combined 13-43 (30.2 percent) from deep. Now would be the time for one or two or all three to hit a groove.

Tipoff against Carmen’s Crew is scheduled for Friday at 9:00 p.m. EST on FS1 inside Daskalakis Athletic Center (Drexel University).