The Basketball Tournament, known simply as the TBT, has been a summer sports staple since the
tournament made its debut in 2014. The $1 million, winner-take-all tournament has been
captivating basketball fans for a decade now, but one team in particular has been making a big
impact on the TBT over the past few years.
There are a wide range of teams involved in the TBT, usually featuring 64 squads all looking to
win the $1 million prize. The field consists of players from all over the world ranging from
talent that made its name overseas to former NBA standouts. College alumni teams make up a
great portion of the TBT field each year, but one alumni team burst onto the scene in 2020
named Herd That, and the TBT was never the same again.
The Marshall University basketball alumni team has been one of the most captivating teams in
the TBT since Herd That debuted during the 2020 pandemic version of the TBT that featured 24
teams at the time. The roots of what would become Herd That were planted in 2018 when the
West Virginia Wildcats were a competing member of the TBT. Comprised of mostly former
Marshall basketball players such as Jon Elmore, Ot Elmore, Ryan Taylor, Stevie Browning, and
others, the West Virginia Wildcats had limited success in the TBT in 2018 and 2019, compiling a
record of 1-2.
Herd That – A Rebranding for 2020
It wouldn’t take long for the team to realize what was staring it in the face, the West Virginia
Wildcats needed a makeover, of sorts. The team was rebranded as Herd That, a Marshall alumni
team, just in time for the 2020 TBT. The first Herd That team entered the tournament as the 23-
seed in a shortened field of 24 teams. Not many felt like the team had much of a chance to
succeed, but Herd That would become the talk of the TBT. The 10-seed Peoria All-Stars were
the first to fall to Herd That in 2020, 80-65. A tall task stood in front of the team in the next
round when 7-seed The Money Team, funded by boxing megastar Floyd Mayweather, was
waiting.
The Money Team featured several former NBA players and was viewed as one of the
frontrunners to win the TBT in 2020. Herd That found out what it was up against quickly when
The Money Team opened up an 18-point lead in the first half, but there was no quit in the
Marshall alumni team. The gap was closed to seven at halftime with The Money Team up 62-55,
but it would remain an uphill climb the whole way for Herd That. The game appeared to be in
hand heading into the famous TBT staple, the Elam Ending. The Money Team was up 93-84
with a target score of 101.
After hitting a 3-pointer to extend its lead to 97-86, The Money Team was sitting pretty. Or was
it? You couldn’t count out Herd That just yet and it went on a massive run during the Elam
Ending to turn the tide. Herd That finished the game on a 16-2 scoring run to cap off one of the
biggest comebacks and greatest games in TBT history to win 102-99 in shocking fashion. Herd
That fell to former four-time champions of the TBT Overseas Elite in the next round, but the
statement it made during the 2020 TBT carried over and put the squad on the forefront of the
minds of everyone involved with the TBT.
There was no sneaking up on anyone anymore, Herd That would be a major player in the TBT
moving forward. The success of the team, coupled with the emergence of West Virginia
2021 – The West Virginia Region
University’s alumni team Best Virginia, led the tournament to create a West Virginia Regional,
which was held in Charleston, WV in 2021 and 2022. Herd That was a 3-seed in the 2021 TBT
out of the 16 teams competing in the West Virginia Regional and played 14-seeded Team DRC,
led by former NFL star Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, in the first round. Team DRC gave Herd
That a game and trailed by only four heading into the Elam Ending, 77-73. Herd That’s lead was
cut down to 78-76 with the target score set to 85 before eventually putting the game away. A 7-0
scoring run put the game away for Herd That, moving past Team DRC with an 85-76 victory
after Rondale Watson connected on the target score-clinching putback dunk.
The second round was one of the early marquee matchups of the 2021 TBT when Herd That
faced 6-seeded Team 23, who made no bones about the fact it was looking to silence the hype
around Herd That. This was not your ordinary 6-seed and Team 23 proved it was a force to be
reckoned with. Trailing by as many as 14 points, Herd That played uphill the whole game.
Team 23 led 44-37 at halftime and never lost the lead, but Herd That never went away.
Trailing 58-44 late in the third quarter, Herd That rallied, and Jon Elmore took over. Elmore led
all scorers with 28 points and helped cut Team 23’s lead down to 64-62 heading into the Elam
Ending with the target score set at 72. The game was tied at 71 and the next basket would win
the game. Team 23’s J.D. Sword nailed a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to sink Herd
That and lift Team 23 to a 74-71 win before eventually getting all the way to the championship
game, losing a close game to eventual champion Boeheim’s Army.
The Showdown in 2022
Heading into the 2022 TBT, fans couldn’t help but notice the bracket of the West Virginia
Regional. Best Virginia was the 1-seed and Herd That was the 4-seed, meaning if both teams
won their first game, they would square off in the second round in an in-state rivalry matchup the
TBT had never seen before. Best Virginia handled business easily in the first round, but Herd
That had a much tougher time trying to put away 5-seeded Founding Fathers, the James Madison
alumni team.
Herd That led by 11 points early, but Founding Fathers battled back and led most of the second
quarter before trailing 35-32 at halftime. The second half saw Herd That unable to put away
Founding Fathers and every time it looked like Herd That was about to separate itself, Founding
Fathers had an answer. The game headed into the Elam Ending tied at 69 with a target score of 77. Herd That pulled ahead 74-71 and a late 3-pointer by James Kelly closed the door on Founding Fathers and Herd That earned a 77-71 win, setting up the much-anticipated showdown
with Best Virginia.
The mountain state was abuzz heading into the first-ever matchup between Best Virginia and
Herd That. The game would start to turn in Best Virginia’s favor in the second quarter and it
eventually opened up a 36-17 lead. But Herd That closed out the second quarter on a 10-0
scoring run to cut the Best Virginia lead down to 41-34 at halftime. Just as it did in the second
quarter, Best Virginia began to separate itself in the third quarter when it stretched its lead to 70-
54 heading into the fourth quarter.
The WVU alumni controlled the game and led 80-61 as the Elam Ending arrived with a target
score of 88. Herd That didn’t go down without a fight and managed to get the lead down to
single digits, but a final basket gave Best Virginia an 89-79 win over Herd That before eventually
falling to Red Scare in the quarterfinals of the tournament. This defeat gave Herd That better
insight into what its roster needed to look like to get the team over the hump and to the next
level. Heading into the 2023 TBT, the team was able to successfully add new additions to the
roster that gave Herd That hope of going farther than it ever went before in the TBT.
2023 Brings Revenge. . .
Alumni teams in the TBT often add players to their roster that didn’t play for the school. It has
gotten teams much success in the tournament and Herd That has been no stranger in doing the
same thing. Non-Marshall players such as JaCorey Williams, Derek Cooke Jr., Chris Cokley,
and others helped the success of Herd That in previous years. But prior to the 2023 TBT, the
team added non-Marshall players Rob Gray and J.P. Tokoto to the roster as well as former
Marshall players Jarrod West and Taevion Kinsey. These additions paid big dividends for Herd
That.
As it did in 2022, Herd That was given the 4-seed in the West Virginia Regional in 2023, but this
time the regional location shifted to Wheeling, WV rather than the state’s capitol city of
Charleston. Herd That’s opening round matchup was against 5-seeded Zoo Crew, the University
of Pittsburgh alumni team and the Marshall alumni team proved to be too much. The final score
ended up being 86-71 in favor of Herd That, setting up a rematch with top-seeded Best Virginia
in the second round. This year’s showdown would be much different than the 2021 game and it
was just what Herd That was hoping for.
Best Virginia led 13-4 early in the first quarter before eventually holding a slim 30-27 lead
heading into halftime. The lead was even tighter as the third quarter came to a close with Best
Virginia up 49-48, but the fourth quarter would be dominated by Herd That. Outscoring Best
Virginia 16-6 in the period, Herd That led 64-55 heading into the Elam Ending with a target
score of 72. Best Virginia could not get back into the game and courtesy of a Jon Elmore 3-
pointer, Herd That hit the target score and got revenge on its in-state rival, 74-61. People knew
now that the 2023 Herd That team was different and going to be a major threat to win it all.
Another big challenge awaited Herd That when 2-seeded Sideline Cancer came calling. Sideline
Cancer was a staple of the TBT and has made many deep runs in the tournament over the years.
This would be a close game through three quarters with the lead never stretching beyond single
digits for either team. However, as it did against Best Virginia, Herd That started separating
itself when it mattered the most. Sideline Cancer led 47-46 late in the third quarter, but Herd
That ended the quarter on a 10-3 scoring run to lead 56-50 at the start of the fourth quarter. Its
lead would extend to 12 points early in the fourth quarter before heading into the Elam Ending
up 65-56 with a target score of 73. Herd That never let Sideline Cancer truly threaten it again
and put the game away with a 73-64 victory after Tokoto hit the final shot.
. . .and the Final Four
This was the first time in team history in which Herd That won three games in a single TBT and
won the team its first-ever TBT regional. However, much work was left to be done with 2-seed
and Syracuse Regional winners Boeheim’s Army looming. Syracuse’s alumni team was no
stranger to TBT success, winning the 2021 TBT and having a great shot of doing the same this
time around. Former Marshall player DeAndre Kane helped push Boeheim’s Army ahead in the
first and second quarter, but Herd That closed out the half strong and cut the Boeheim’s Army
lead down to 38-33 at halftime. Coming out of halftime, Herd That dominated and outscored
Boeheim’s Army 34-13 in the third quarter to surge in front 67-51 as the fourth quarter began.
Boeheim’s Army was never able to get back in the game and Herd That maintained at least a 12-
point lead throughout the fourth quarter and Elam Ending time before closing the deal with an
88-71 convincing victory to advance to the TBT’s final four in Philadelphia.
Herd That was getting ever so close to the ultimate goal, but 2-seed and Wichita Regional winner
Team Heartfire awaited. Comprised of many former Team 23 players from the 2021 team that
defeated Herd That, Heartfire had been on an impressive TBT run itself. Something had to give
and it was a wild game filled with twists and turns. Herd That led 16-9 after one quarter, but its
shooting woes began to play a big role in the game from that point. Heartfire went on a 22-3
scoring run in the second quarter to take a 31-19 lead. Herd That managed to cut the lead down
to six points at halftime and trailed 34-28.
But the third quarter saw another big scoring run by Heartfire, this time a 13-0 run, to extend its
lead to 51-35 before eventually holding a 60-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Herd That
was 0-15 on 3-point field goals through three quarters. Heartfire led 65-56 as the Elam Ending
arrived with a target score of 73, but Herd That was far from done. The game would end up
coming down to the wire as Herd That outscored Heartfire 12-5 to start the Elam Ending period
to cut the lead down to 70-68. However, that was as close as Herd That would get and Heartfire
nailed a 3-pointer to clinch the victory, 73-68, and went on to win the 2023 TBT after defeating
Bleed Green in the championship game.
America’s Team is Here to Stay
In four years as a team, Herd That has an all-time TBT record of 8-4 with some of the most
memorable games in TBT history. Dubbed “America’s Team” by the TBT itself, Herd That has
left a major impact on the tournament in a relatively short amount of time. It’s not just a regular
game when a team plays Herd That, it’s a big game. That is the reputation the squad has carved
out over the years. The brand of basketball it plays is a direct reflection of Marshall head
basketball coach Dan D’Antoni’s “organized chaos” system and it’s a brand that has made Herd
That one of the most must-see TBT teams in the tournament’s history.
The team has done a great job of blending former Marshall players with non-Marshall players
and it has helped put Herd That over the top, getting closer to the $1 million prize. If the core of
the team stays intact moving forward, it will remain a contender in the TBT for years to come.
And if it continues to improve the roster with new additions, it will be considered one of the
favorites to win it all. Its legacy is still being written and there are many more chapters before the story is over, but in
only four years, Herd That has left an indelible mark on The Basketball Tournament that not
many teams can match.
All images used with permission of the Herd That team from their Instagram account. Follow them on Instagram at @tbt_herd_that and on X @TBT_Herd_That.
