Carmen's Crew is adding another familiar face.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. will be rejoining some of his former teammates and fellow Buckeye alums as the former Ohio State guard has been added to Ohio State's alumni TBT team, Carmen's Crew, as it preps for its title defense.
BREAKING: Please help us welcome Lenzelle Smith Jr. to the team for TBT 2020! Alongside Crafty, he won over 100 games as a Buckeye from 2010-2014. Pumped to have him on board! @_NUMBER32 pic.twitter.com/ICJkpN0gjO
— Carens Crew (@CarmensCrew) May 26, 2020
Smith was actually announced as an addition to the team last year, but never made an appearance with the team. His addition makes sense, however, as Smith is a former teammate of every Buckeye alum on the current roster, arriving in the same recruiting class as Aaron Craft.
Since leaving Ohio State, Smith has played in the EuroLeague, finding recent success in the Israeli league with Hapoel Eilat in 2018-19 and Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2019.
Smith played 15 games with Eilat, averaging 12.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game before leaving the team with an injury. He then joined Tel Aviv the next year, and promptly scored 25 points in his debut, while shooting 6-of-11 from three-point range, along with five rebounds and seven assists.
With the addition of Smith, Carmen's Crew now has a nine-man roster featuring seven Buckeyes – Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, William Buford, David Lighty, Evan Ravenel and Dallas Lauderdale – along with coaches Jared Sullinger and Evan Turner. The team will also feature non-Buckeyes Jeff Gibbs, a Columbus-native as well as Illinois alum Demetri McCamey.
Carmen's Crew's TBT title defense is slated to begin on campus as Ohio State is partnering with the tournament to host the Columbus Regional in the school's new Covelli Center from July 23-26.
The reigning champs won't be the only team of Buckeye alums competing, however. Big X returns to the tournament with a roster including CJ Jackson, Andre Wesson and Andrew Dakich. Additionally, former Ohio State walk-on Jake Lorbach will be the general manager of Great Lakes Elite, a team that includes Buckeyes Kam Williams and Marc Loving.
