Carmen's Crew adds a seventh Buckeye alum.
Ohio State's alumni TBT team just got even more Buckeye-heavy as Carmen's Crew announces former Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas will join the team for this year's tournament.
ALERT: Here's the news that @CarmensCrew fans have been waiting for.
— TBT (@thetournament) June 20, 2020
The champs have officially signed @Deshaunthomas_0 for TBT 2020! pic.twitter.com/gGpnWV8tJm
Thomas was announced as a member of last year's team, but never made an appearance during the title run as a result of his summer wedding. Now, Thomas is all set to make his Carmen's Crew debut.
Thomas' addition to the team makes sense from an on-court perspective, as he gives the Buckeyes some much-needed versatility on the wing, but he's also a good fit personally, as he's played with every other former Ohio State player on the roster.
Since leaving Ohio State, Thomas has bounced around the EuroLeague, most recently playing with Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece where he won both the Greek Basketball Cup and the Greek Basketball League championship in 2019.
Thomas has averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game throughout his EuroLeague career, averaging double-digit scoring and more than three boards per game each of his last two seasons.
With Thomas' addition, Carmen's Crew now has a 10-man roster including seven Buckeyes – Thomas, Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, William Buford, David Lighty, Lenzelle Smith Jr., Dallas Lauderdale – along with coaches Jared Sullinger and Leon Rodgers. The team will also feature three non-Buckeyes: Columbus native Jeff Gibbs, Illinois alum Demetri McCamey and new addition Pape Malik Dime, a 6-foot-9 power forward who played his college ball at Washington.
Evan Ravenel, who was part of last year's title run, isn't listed on this year's roster at present.
The Basketball Tournament is still on despite COVID-19 concerns, but will be played in a modified format that will include 24 teams and 23 games played over 11 days, starting July 4 in Columbus with all games at Nationwide Arena. As the defending champion, Carmen's Crew is the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament.
