Austin's Own will start its quest for TBT's $1 million prize in Houston
Austin’s Own is back for another crack at The Basketball Tournament’s $1 million prize.
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Austin’s Own, a team featuring former Texas men’s basketball stars like Alexis Wangmene and Kerwin Roach and coached by Longhorn legend Reggie Freeman, is participating in the 2024 TBT this year after a one-and-done appearance during their debut run last summer.
Vincent Hu, a former team manager during the Rick Barnes era, is Austin’s Own general manager and is ready to bring about a better result starting July 19 against Forever Coogs, a Houston-centric squad.
“We appreciate being part of this prestigious event,” Hu said Tuesday. “A lot of teams apply but not a lot of teams get to make it.”
The team isn’t as chock-full of Longhorns like it was last year. Putting together a team is the biggest challenge Hu faces. Guys like Andrew Jones and Dylan Osetkowski who already have solid professional opportunities aren’t the types of players who would risk future overseas earnings for a shot at a share of a $1 million prize. Hu understands that and put together a roster with that in mind.
That said, having Texas alums like Roach, someone looking to springboard his professional career, and Wangmene, someone playing for burnt orange and white pride, is key for Hu. It is Austin’s Own after all, and the team is going through training camp at T.J. Ford‘s training facility in the Houston area ahead of an opening round matchup next week at the Fertitta Center on the campus of the University of Houston.
“The goal of TBT is not only to give people opportunities to coach and to play, but also give our players exposure and really bring the brotherhood back together,” Hu said. “It’s kind of a lost art with the transfer portal, COVID, and coaching changes. I’m taking it upon my self to be the connector of all the Texas basketball eras.”
Wangmene, someone whose time overlapped with Hu, is looking to show he still has the skills to play with younger athletes.
“I was like ‘hey, do you want to coach this year?’ He was like ‘no, I want to play,'” Hu said. “TBT is for the younger guys to get opportunities, but a lot of it is to bring the brotherhood back together and some of these guys do want to play for pride. They might not be playing professionally year round, but some of these guys want to lace it up in the burnt orange one last time. Those are the guys who have more to fight for, play for pride, and want to represent their school.”
Freeman, a two-time all-conference selection for the Longhorns in the 1990s who went on to a lengthy international basketball career, is the program’s head coach.
“Reggie is obviously a Texas Longhorns legend,” Hu said. “He’s a pioneer of Texas basketball. I don’t think there’s a lot of stars at Texas if it weren’t for guys like Reggie, Chico (Vasquez), Kris Clack proving to guys like TJ Ford, LaMarcus (Aldridge), (Kevin Durant) that you can go to Texas and succeed. Reggie is definitely a big part of who Texas basketball is, not just for his scoring but also being a big brother to all these young guys with coaching experience and playing experience with a great overseas career.”
Also on the bench for Austin’s Own is Eric Davis, a shooting guard during the Shaka Smart era who Hu identified as his main recruiter.
“Eric’s great because Eric will tell you as it is,” Hu said. “He’ll tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear. Eric’s been a really good resource as far as getting feelers out to fill our roster.”
Other players on the roster are from a number of different programs like James Madison, Goshen College, New Mexico, Texas Southern, Cal, Rider, LaSalle, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and George Mason. Last year’s team lost its first-round game, failing to set up a second-round matchup with a Texas Tech-centric team in Lubbock.
This year, Hu hopes Austin’s Own can prevail in enemy territory against a team with homecourt advantage.
“For us to play in a true road game is a great opportunity because we’re both big-time programs in the state of Texas,” Hu said. “I’m glad that we do get to play the host team in round one because last year I was very devastated when we let everybody down and didn’t get a chance to play Air Raiders in Lubbock in the second round.”
Hu wants to advance further this year while also playing for hometown and Texas pride just a short drive away. He’ll get his opportunity starting July 19.
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“To get an opportunity like this, it’s special,” Hu said. “Having a team in Houston is something I would have done whatever I could to make happen. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep well if we didn’t do a year two when there was a regional right down the road at UH.”
