Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State TBT team Carmen's Crew claims $2 million championship

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise! Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more.

Ohio State team wins The Basketball Tournament

A few former Ohio State basketball players just got a lot richer.

Carmen’s Crew, a team comprised primarily of former Buckeye basketball stars, won the 2019 edition of The Basketball Tournament by taking down Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) by a 66-60 margin in the title game. William Buford hit two free throws to win the game under the Elam Ending rule. For his performance, Buford took home MVP honors.

The members of the team will split the $2 million prize.

Will Ohio State pursue Brenton Cox?

On Monday, news broke that Georgia linebacker Brenton Cox had entered the transfer portal and would be leaving the program. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Cox was committed to Ohio State for about eight months but decommitted in December 2017 and ultimately signed with the Bulldogs.

Here’s what Birm had to say about whether the Buckeyes could try to revisit his recruitment now that he’s back on the market:

At first blush, it would seem that the Buckeyes would pass on Cox given his decision to spurn the program at the last minute in the winter of 2017 and the aforementioned struggles he’s faced since. That said, Larry Johnson’s relationship with him was very strong. And similar to former Auburn and current Ohio State defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson, those relationships made in recruiting don’t just end when a kid signs elsewhere.

Adding to the intrigue here is that the Buckeyes are obviously searching for a talented edge rusher in the Class of 2020. Maybe if Cox played his natural position and for the coach he believed would make him a first-round NFL Draft pick, he could regain his old form.

I don’t think there will be any rapid reaction here from Ohio State. But after revisiting this interesting turn-of-events in my mind, I will concede that there’s at least a good chance the Buckeyes discuss Cox and debate if or how could be rehabilitated in Columbus to become a contributor for the Ohio State program.

For more on Ohio State recruiting, check out the Tuesday edition of Dotting the ‘Eyes.

Jonah Jackson loses black stripe

The first black stripe removal of fall camp wasn’t a surprising one. Rutgers transfer offensive guard Jonah Jackson became the first, getting his black stripe removed by the Ohio State coaches. Although Jackson is a transfer, he still has an age and experience advantage over all the other black stripe candidates, who are either freshmen or walk ons.

Kirk Barton appears on the Tim May Podcast

On the latest episode of the Tim May Podcast, May was joined by former Ohio State offensive lineman Kirk Barton. They broke down what it’s like to be a first-time starter along the offensive line, the offensive line outlook for this season and memories from Barton’s playing days. Lettermen Row Senior Writer Austin Ward also joined the show to break down fall camp for the Buckeyes.

New episode of Lettermen Live

This week on Lettermen Live presented by Byers Auto, senior writer Austin Ward was joined by Lettermen Row contributor Tim May and Director of Recruiting Jeremy Birmingham to break down Ohio State’s fourth day of training camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Ward, May and Birm talked about Josh Proctor, the new-look offensive line and what needs to be seen from the running backs.

WATCH: Lettermen Live show discussing fall practice

Counting down

• Ohio State vs. Florida Atlantic (season opener): 24 days
• Ohio State at Michigan: 115 days

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