We have seen some great in-season tournaments in the past (Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational, etc.), but the Players Era Festival has simply taken things to another level. Last year’s debut featured 8 teams, but this year there is an 18-team field featuring some of the best teams from the best conferences in the country. It is taking place this week in Las Vegas, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel concludes our coverage from Sin City with a recap of Tuesday night’s action.
I missed the entire Kansas-Syracuse game but hustled downstairs for the postgame press conference. Since Coach Adrian Autry hosts Tennessee next Tuesday, I asked him if he planned to take advantage of the rare opportunity for some in-person scouting this evening when the Vols faced Houston. He smiled and said he will not be scouting Tennessee because he is already very familiar with Coach Rick Barnes and his program. All he is worried about now is getting prepared for his next opponent in Vegas:
This rematch of Houston’s win over Tennessee at the 2025 Elite 8 is by far the premier game on today’s schedule…and since my prediction a few weeks ago was that these 2 teams (along with Purdue/Gonzaga) would make the Final 4, I am very excited to check them out in person, as Barnes/Kelvin Sampson are 2 of the only active coaches with 800+ wins:
I found an empty seat in the media area…and ended up sitting next to Gonzaga radio color commentator/2006 NCAA scoring champ Adam Morrison!
I asked Players Era CEO/AND1 founder/Penn alum Seth Berger about the $50 million equity partnership announced on Monday with the Big 12 and whether he thinks that is the best conference in the sport. He said that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said it best: “The Big 12 is the 2nd-best basketball league in the country to…the NBA!” He talked to all the conferences but went with the Big 12 because he wanted to work with their players/coaches:
I asked Coach Sampson about facing 3 fellow members of the 800-win club in the months ahead (Rick Barnes tonight, John Calipari next month, and Bill Self in February). He said they are all good friends of his. He remembers playing basketball against Barnes 50 years ago: he used to call him Little Ricky from Hickory (the city in North Carolina where Barnes was born)! They are all high-character guys who are great for the game, as well as great husbands/fathers/role models. It has been a thrill for him to see some fellow baby boomers on the sideline:
That is a wrap for now but check back next month to see if Georgetown is #STILLundefeated!
