Carmen's Crew is still dancing.
After three victories in Columbus, the team of Ohio State alumni is through to Chicago, three games away from a $2 million check beginning with a matchup against Eberlein Drive – last year's runner-up in The Basketball Tournament.
Eberlein Drive features a lineup with three former NBA players and six overseas professionals led by former Cal Golden Bear Jerome Randle, who checked in at No. 4 on ESPN's list of the top-25 players remaining in the tournament.
Randle leads the team with 20.7 points and 3.3 assists per game. He is Cal's all-time leading scorer and the 2010 Pac-10 Player of the Year. Randle has no NBA experience but has made waves overseas, winning the Lithuanian national league championship in 2016 and the NBL MVP in 2017.
Joining him on ESPN's list is Donald Sloan at No. 13, a former NBA journeyman guard who is averaging 5.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game so far in the tournament.
But Carmen's Crew has weapons to counter.
Aaron Craft has been – as usual – a defensive force, averaging 3.3 steals per game in the Tournament, while William Buford and David Lighty have brought the points as the team's leading scorers, averaging 21 and 15.7 points respectively. All three of them made ESPN's top-25 list for their performances this tournament.
That trio is joined by a few fellow former Buckeyes in Jon Diebler, LaQuinton Ross, and Evan Ravenel – all of whom are now overseas professionals.
In their first three games, Carmen's Crew downed Illinois BC 88-71 before besting Big X, 89-75 in the next round. Carmen's Crew punched its ticket to the quarterfinals with an 85-71 win over the Red Scare, a team of Dayton alumni.
Thursday night's quarterfinal game tips off at 7 p.m. from Wintrust Arena in Chicago and will be televised on ESPN.
